Numpty question on sweet itch

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My Shetland has been itchy since I got him 5 years ago, this year I have doused him in all products known to man (and some not known to anyone!) and I thought we'd got on top of it. But recently he has started to scratch really badly again. Is this a bad time of year for sweet itch? I'm ashamed of my ignorance on this :(

He is putting in his winter coat already and we are still quite warm down here and I'm wondering if he is just too hot? I really feel for him and would happily clip him if it would help, but wonder if it is the midges would clipping him make him more vulnerable?
 
He is in electric fenced paddock or stabled. He lies on the ground, on a back leg and rubs his tummy (not to be seen by young children or grannies!). Rugs just get ripped, believe me I have tried.

I really want to know if this is a bad time of year or if he could just be too hot!
 
Not sure this helps but my highland is exactly the same in terms of "controlled" SI and recent itching. He's currently shedding a short summer coat in handfuls and growing his thick winter one with surprising speed. He has also gone very greasy and itchy. As we're due a few warm days I think I'm going to give him a good bath to see if it's just all this loose, short hair that's bothering him as nothing else in his management has changed.
 
Bit late now for flying insects - he could be itching from all the products. It's always worth a thorough bath, getting down to the skin (with a Shetland that ain't easy!!) to remove all build up. And it could be the heat as well so a bath will help with that.
 
showjump123 said:
my mare is on calvalesse stopped the sweetitch altogether!
Click to expand...
Had to look that one up and this came up. http://www.ed.ac.uk/polopoly_fs/1.18067!/fileManager/dvepfactsheet-sweetitch.pdf

My pony with mild SI has been helped with feeding brewers yeast in the past but more recently even better improvement with a high spec balancer.

There's also this product to try based on B vitamins I believe. http://www.sweetrelief.co.uk/

I think midges are still about. They certainly are here.
 
We are still in the throes of sweet itch season. You need to stop the itch cycle....I would bath him with a mild shampoo. Check for lice and treat if necessary. Then I would get him a rug. Make sure he has nothing to itch on. My cob also sits on his leg and rubs but this will not break his rug. Make sure the rug is a proper sweet itch one. Normal fly rugs are not up to the job. I can highly recommend the Rambo Sweet Itch Hoody. It is very tough (1000 denier) and although expensive, will save money in the long run. I also use Coopers Fly Repellent Plus and/or Stop Itch Salve . Both are excellent midge repellents. The Salve is messy though.
You need to be sure there is nothing to rip the rug on to give him time to reduce the itch, otherwise you are fighting a losing battle. In the past I have put on a cotton rug over the fly rug to help protect it.
I would definitely NOT clip...as you say, it will leave him more vulnerable to the midges. make sure his water trough is clean...I have just cleaned mine and it had a ton of midge larvae in the bottom!!! Also be sure to clear poo from the paddock and have it well away from the muckheap and too many trees.

Good luck...I have had my sweet itch cob 15 years and am about to take on a mini shetland with it (I must be bonkers):p:)

Try this on his belly if you haven't already...
http://compare.ebay.co.uk/like/2612...&ff3=1&ff11=ICEP3.0.0&ff12=67&ff13=80&ff14=65
 
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I've been walking through clouds of midges at times in my field the last couple of days, so they're definitely still about.
Touch wood, my SI pony has been almost completely clear this year (apart from a couple of minor rubs on his neck that stopped with one application of Aloe Vera gel). Since about October last year he's been on a diet of Fast Fibre, Pro Hoof, Linseed and a little bit of chaff (lowest Alfalfa content I can get locally). Come February I started to mix in a dollop of Marmite every day. Fly spray is diluted Deosect. No rug, electric fence to stop him rubbing on posts, although there are now some posts available to him and he isn't doing it. First time in 8 years he's had a mane in September!
Changing the diet won't help this year I shouldn't think, and there are no guarantees for next, but it might be worth a try.
 
There are definitely plenty of midges about still....I wouldn't say we are safe until there has been a frost.
 
_HP_ said:
We are still in the throes of sweet itch season. You need to stop the itch cycle....I would bath him with a mild shampoo. Check for lice and treat if necessary. Then I would get him a rug. Make sure he has nothing to itch on. My cob also sits on his leg and rubs but this will not break his rug. Make sure the rug is a proper sweet itch one. Normal fly rugs are not up to the job. I can highly recommend the Rambo Sweet Itch Hoody. It is very tough (1000 denier) and although expensive, will save money in the long run. I also use Coopers Fly Repellent Plus and/or Stop Itch Salve . Both are excellent midge repellents. The Salve is messy though.
You need to be sure there is nothing to rip the rug on to give him time to reduce the itch, otherwise you are fighting a losing battle. In the past I have put on a cotton rug over the fly rug to help protect it.
I would definitely NOT clip...as you say, it will leave him more vulnerable to the midges. make sure his water trough is clean...I have just cleaned mine and it had a ton of midge larvae in the bottom!!! Also be sure to clear poo from the paddock and have it well away from the muckheap and too many trees.

Good luck...I have had my sweet itch cob 15 years and am about to take on a mini shetland with it (I must be bonkers):p:)

Try this on his belly if you haven't already...
http://compare.ebay.co.uk/like/2612...&ff3=1&ff11=ICEP3.0.0&ff12=67&ff13=80&ff14=65
Click to expand...
This post says it all.
 
"HP" has given some very good advice......... there are still plenty of midges here and coupled with the fact that we're having sunny weather AND hardly any breeze, its not good for SI sufferers unfortunately.

Ditto advice re. Rambo SI hoody.

Where does your shetland graze? The ideal place for a SI is as high up as you can possibly get, and away from woodlands or lowland areas with standing water. Sometimes just moving a SI as little as half a mile away to a different field can make a huge difference.

Also, if practicable, you might need to stable the pony in the "dusk to dawn" periods and/or if the midges are bad at any time during the day.

Killitch is a good topical application for itchy places.

Have a look at the National Sweet Itch centre website, they've got something called "BioEos" which I think may come up if you do a search on here. I haven't tried it; but you might like to (warning, it isn't cheap!!).

I've not seen the other supplement someone else has mentioned. Have to confess am a tad cynical about manufacturers' claims re. SI stuff. IME its more about management than the latest, and invariably the most expensive, "fix".

My traddie cob has: 1 scoop of Brewers Yeast; 1 scoop of micronised linseed; and 1 scoop of Clivers (sticky stuff that grows in hedges); plus a splash of Cider Vinegar in his feed (has 2 X feeds daily), plus is covered up by a Rambo SI hoody at all times whilst turned out and wears an Amigo fly rug if inside just in case there's any midges around.

He looks fantastic, even though I say so myself. You'd never ever believe he had sweet itch. He's also turned out 600ft above sea level in a reasonably breezy field.

If he DOES go through an itchy phase; I shampoo him down with Tea Tree shampoo (ordinary human!) and/or wash him down with Lavendar Wash if he comes in hot from exercise.

He's a traddie cob with lots of feather, but I keep him clipped out as his legs get very itchy.

PS - you may get someone advise to use Pig Oil and Sulphur - be careful of this and never ever use it without a 48 hr patch test! Just a warning, it can be very nasty stuff.

Sweet itch CAN be managed........... my loan mare has exactly the same routine as my traddie boy and looks good on it, so once you get into it, its not too much of a hassle TBH.

Sorry forgot to add that the "sweet itch season" is basically (but not always!) from mid February through to end of October. IF you're gonna feed supplements, you need to start feeding rounda bout the school half term hols in mid-Feb (good time to remind yourself); and you can start cutting back around the half-term hols at the end of October. BUT midges can still be around in a mild winter! I remember a few Christmasses ago, out on Christmas morning when it was particularly mild, ponce-ing around with a SI rug in high heels and party frock!!! So you need to keep an eye out all year round basically! But particularly March through to say end of Sept/October time is when it will be at its worst. Hope this helps.
 
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