question for people who have horses who suffer from sweet itch

[bedbug]

Is this sweet itch or should I get my vet out to do some tests?

Sorry a bit long

I bought a horse who arrived on Friday. When I went to see him the week before there was no signs of sweet itch, E.g. lumps on the neck, the tail was full but the mane was a bit short around the wither area. When he was vetted on the Thursday the vet pulled up that he had signs of sweet itch, E.g. indication of rubbing.

Apparently when he was stabled waiting for the vet he managed to rub both his mane and tail.

So off he gets from the trailor and the centre of his tail is bald but the skin is not broken he has 5 lumps just above the withers of which a couple have a yellow crust but still has almost all his mane there and he has a few marks on his poll area and just under his forelock, he has not rubbed any of his mane off around the poll and forelock. The marks on his poll area and forelock are not raised they just have a scab on them.

Now his history is up until last year he was just left in a field. he was essentially rescued and had bad rain scald.

He was moved to a new field/area a few weeks before I bought him.

In the field the flys don't seem to bother him anymore than the other horses, in fact less as I have him covered up in a fly rug and fly spray. He doesn't try to unduly itch, he doesn't roll around and he doesn't seem at all stressed. The only thing he does try to do is rub his tail when I have him tied up but only if I go out of site. As soon as I am back he gives me this guilty look and shuffles away from the wall where he has been trying to rub.

He does dislike flys around his face when being ridden so I have ordered a fly veil to ease this for him.

I am cleaning all the areas with hibiscrub and then putting sudocrem on them. he seems to enjoy me doing both of these things. I have not noticed any further marks on him, raised lumps or anything since arriving and the hairs already seem to be growing back.

So is it a case of he only has mild sweet itch or do you think it could be something else with his history of prior skin conditions.

Brownie points to those who managed to read this far

 

[Cahill]

here`s the site you need....
http://www.sweet-itch.co.uk/

you will see,once they itch,they have been bitten already.so you have to get in 1st and cover up to prevent this.

it can make a difference it you are on a hill cos the midges are not supposed to be able to fly in a breeze.also stay away from streams and ponds and damp places.

if you buy a sweetitch rug you will have to use leccy fence or it will be shredded in no time.
i bought the pagony,its really good and cost 80.00 with the hood.

 

[conniegirl]

Personaly i have a very bad sweetitch sufferer and he has never had lumps anywhere. if he isnt rubbing his mane much, i would start by worming him then cleaning his sheath both those can cause a horse to rub its tail. Interestingly enough so can sore teeth, my vet has seen that many times with young horses who have thier wolf teeth coming through.

Then i would get his teeth checked, cover him in louse powder and give him a good bath with an insecticidal shampoo.

If non of that works then you can presume you have a sweet itch sufferer.
To me the scabby bits wityh pus indicates rainscald rather then sweet itch.

 

[mandy4727]

I dont know a great deal about sweet itch. Many on here will. I have never had a horse with it. But must admit my horse and a couple of horses on the yard have started to rub their tails too. None of them have sweet itch to date. In fact my horses tail looked like a toilet brush this morning. She stops in summer and does a similar thing around autumn time. She has a very full tail for plaiting. Maybe it is a "time of the year" thing with yours rather than sweet itch. I am sure a vet can take a blood sample and test for it. But there are many products on the market now that can help with the situation. However, the yellow crusty bits do sound a bit dubious. But as I said I am not an expert on this.

 

[kateknights]

Hi there bedbug.
Everything you have explained tells me your boy has sweetitch i am afraid.
It has only just really set in on my mare, so that would explain why he had no rub marks when you went to view him.
My girl has a rub on her poll and just started to rub when i tie her up, only this last week though.
You are doing the right thing in keeping his fly rug on 24/7 and spraying him.
I wash my girl in teatree shampoo and conditioner and this really eases her. Hibiscrub is great too, make sure you smother his sheath area in sudocream every day as this acts as a barrier to the flies.
The pagony or boett rugs are great i would strongly recommend you get one of these rugs, this is the first year i have had my boett rud and it's the best thing i have ever bought for her.
Hope this helps
Kate x