Please help. Ithchy pony driving me to dispaire

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LauraWheeler

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Please please can anyone help Herbie and I.
Herbie has become very very itchy. He scratches on everything it's been going on for weeks now and he has big bauld patches of hair :( (although he hasn't rubbed himself raw). Uptill yesterday he was only rubbing the base of his neck, chin, the side of his bum and if he could manage it his belly. But yesterday I noticed he had started to rub his mane and tail alittle. Now I want to show him and he is an m&m so I won't be able to if he has no mane :(.
He goes out at night unrugged and comes in during the day so I don't think it's due to the flys. He only gets fed a small amount of sugerbeet and a small amount of chaff (so he can have his rigcalm) and one section of horsehage while he is in all of which he has always had without problem. So don't think he is allergic to his food.
So far he has had two baths with dermoline insecticidal shampoo and last night I sprayed him with EQyss micro tek equine spray but when I looked out the window this am he was out in his field under the bush having a good scratch :(
If I put him loose in the school he will roll and he has started rolling on the lunge which he has never done before. He is fine to ride.
Please help I realy don't know what it could be or what else to try. Ofcause it won't be the end of the world if I can't show him but I would be very sad. The worst thing is knowing he must be uncomfortable :(
 
Wouldn't be surprised is it is flies...they seem to have started early this year thanks to this lovely March weather.

I've just started to introduce brewers yeast to The Welsh Cob's feed this year. I tried garlic for the first time last year put it only compounded his itching, which leads me to think its a bit more sweet itch like. I have also invested in pagony, the cheaper version of the Boett rug for less severe sweet itch suffers.
 
itsmylife I can't find any lice and no one else is itchy and the shampoo I used is ment to treat lice. But will give coopers andit a try if I can get it.

trendybraincell thanks I'll look into brewers yeast and that rug.
 
My Welsh D was coming up in his sweet itch lumps already and already itching with the flies. Since then I feed him marmite, brewers yeast and ly spray him before he goes out at night - and always have a rug on, at the moment he has a light on - but i will always put his fly rug on.

So far we still have a full mane! Which is very good news, so something must work!!
 
I think it could well be flies - the midges are awful here already and mine will have to be in their masks soon! Even though he is out at night, the midges are at their worst at dusk and dawn. :(

Coopers is good, but be careful when you apply it, its very strong and even eats through thin rubber gloves! :eek:
 
i had this with my pony last yr... i tried everything.. vets put him on antihystimine tablets he was on 150 tablets a day for months... did not work... vet had no idea what is was...he scrached so much he bled....so i put spot on for cattle on him... this yr hes still a bit itchy but nothing like last yr..it started in winter..... we are still clueless to what it was....
 
My boy was very itchy last summer, we thought he had sweet itch, as he was rubbing his mane & tail area, however, it didn't go away and finally after we got some skin scrapes done from the vet he was diagnosed as having a bacterial skin infection, which was treated with Malaseb Shampoo, antibiotics & betnovate cream.
 
I have just been looking at the benefits of feeding Apple Cider Vinegar and it apparently helps to relieve itching and also to repel flies. There is a good article I found bt googling ACV

Jane
 
could he have a grass mite type thing , i know that the feathery breeds can suffer , but they do travell upwards if left i.e belly ares etc I've used frontline spray in the past and that has worked , although looking at your previous posts the anti bac shampoo should have done the trick , don't forget though that some of these mite / lice type things have a 7 - 10 day cycle so a re-wash'n'shampoo may be needed. Also , it's just a thought , could the horsehage be making him a bit hot in his blood if you know what i mean , some feeds can make horses hot and itchy , maybe just put him on hay with nothing else and work up from there..??
 
LauraWheeler said:
itsmylife I can't find any lice and no one else is itchy and the shampoo I used is ment to treat lice. But will give coopers andit a try if I can get it.

trendybraincell thanks I'll look into brewers yeast and that rug.
Click to expand...

I got mine from local saddlers was about £23, I didnt see any lice either but since treating with coopers itching has stopped
 
You can tell if its lice when heair falls out and there are tiny red lumps.

To find out if it's other things, you can get some skin scrapings and send to vet for analysis in case it's mange or something under the skin or even test for fly saliva.

You could also get allergy testing done. At this time of year, sudden onset and nature of the itching it could well be pollen or even increased sugar in bloodstream.

I'm suggesting this because I know of someone who treated her horse as if it had sweet itch for years until it turned out he was allergic to afalfa, tree pollen (oak) and polyester in the very rug he was wearing to stop the itching.
 
Could well be lice, Laura, if I were you I would treat for lice first before you start throwing money at it.

Coopers spot on is great, off licence for horses but your vet will supply you with a dose (5ml for ponies 10ml for horses) pour along spine from wither to tail, miss out the saddle area if riding.

Repeat in 2-3 weeks to break the cycle.

Hope it works!
 
Thanks guys for all the tips. Will give them a go hopefuly something will help my poor little man.

paddy irish I bathed him twice 9 days appart with the shampoo but it doesn't seem to have helped. It says it kills lice. Also he has only been on the horsehage for afew weeks before that he was on hay. He was itching then to it just seems to be getting worse. He's on horsehage as I can't get any hay :( He also needs some feed as he HAS to have his rigcalm :(
 
as your horse is already itching if it is sweet-itch its a bit too late.
prevention is better than cure remember for next year.

firstly, costly as it may be invest in some electric fencing and fence him away from anything he can scratch on ( fencing trees water troughs etc) make sure you keep the battery topped up.
definitely get a fly rug don't bother with the 'rug types' go for a pagony / boet or similar everything else just doesn't have enough coverage for sweet itch sufferers.
a face mask is also a good idea.

use masses of fly spray try making your own its much cheaper there are recipes on this website.
i also recommend killitch it does what it says on the label.
and echoing what OP has said definitely NO GARLIC !!!
brewers yeast or marmite is much better.

the midges are attracted to sweat so make sure you regularly bath your horse after riding if he has sweat.

and in case you are wondering i too have a horse with sweet-itch so the above is all from experience !!
best of luck.
(p.s. im assuming it is sweetitch as you've treated for lice already)
 
LauraWheeler said:
If it is sweet itch would he still rub in the stable?
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Yes the bit causes the itch and it lasts for days so still itchy even if when stabled and midges still get into stables.

kickandshout's advise is spot on.

Itchy horses are sometimes best left out in an electric fenced field in a good fly rug rather than trying to stable them.
 
Ok thanks. Sorry for the stupid question but i've never delt with a horse with sweet itch before. Starting to look like thats what it is :( Unfortunatly he has to be stabled during the day at the mo. turn out issues but will deff try to push to get him out 24/7 again.

Sorry kickandshout forgot to say thanks for the advice :) Thats very helpful.
 
I think it sounds like sweet itch, as you have already tried treating him for lice.

We have a couple of horses on the yard who are showing symptoms, and have never had sweet itch before. The midges and flies are out quite early too because of this nice March weather!

If you can push for more turn out, and fence off anything he can scratch on that would be best. I know a couple of people who keep their (severe sweet itch) horses in during dawn and dusk (when the midges are at their worst) and they stick an electric fan by the door to help keep midges away from the stable.

Lots of fly spray (I use Coopers or Leovet Phaser), fly mask, boett rug, or a normal fly rug but boett rugs offer more coverage. Prevention is better than cure with sweet itch I'm afraid, there is lots of info on here and internet about how to get on with it too. Hope you can get on top of it! :)
 
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thanks Umbongo your right it is looking more and more like sweet itch. That was the one thing Lucy never had wrong with her ;) :p
Hopefuly with all the good advice on here my boy will feel alot better soon.
Thanks again everyone your help is realy appreceated. :D
 
Hi

Just a quick comment as a friend of mine has a connie with sweet itch, however he has the best coat and fantastic mane and tail. she is really strict with his management and its the only way she keeps him from scratching.

He has just this week gone into his Mark Todd fly rug (it has a belly bit and full neck). she puts Benzyl Benzoate on his tail and mane every 3 days and uses coopers fly repellant stuff that you wipe on every 2 days - without fail. we'll soon be swapping to night time turn out, and he will be stabled during the day - his rug stays on all the time other than when he is ridden. (she has a couple of the rugs so she can wash them throughout the sweet itch season).

Hope this helps and best of luck!
 
Hi

Just a quick comment as a friend of mine has a connie with sweet itch, however he has the best coat and fantastic mane and tail. she is really strict with his management and its the only way she keeps him from scratching.

He has just this week gone into his Mark Todd fly rug (it has a belly bit and full neck). she puts Benzyl Benzoate on his tail and mane every 3 days and uses coopers fly repellant stuff that you wipe on every 2 days - without fail. we'll soon be swapping to night time turn out, and he will be stabled during the day - his rug stays on all the time other than when he is ridden. (she has a couple of the rugs so she can wash them throughout the sweet itch season).

Hope this helps and best of luck!
 
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