Recommendations for an itchy horse?

Courbette

Courbette

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My loan horse is incredibly itchy at the moment. Does anybody have any suggestions for something I can apply to help soothe or alleviate the symptoms?

He has stinky stuff and a fly rug that he wears intermittently but unfortunately as he is not my horse I can't make major management changes.
 
If it's just fly bites and general summer itch I find washing the areas at least once a week with a medicated shampoo, and applying benzyl benzoate every few days it stops my horses rubbing, they only wear regular fly rugs which are washed weekly.
 
If it is sweet itch rather than just a generally itchy horse you really need to talk to the owner about getting proper rugs for protection and electric fencing to stop him damaging himself from rubbing.
 
Pinkvboots said:
If it's just fly bites and general summer itch I find washing the areas at least once a week with a medicated shampoo, and applying benzyl benzoate every few days it stops my horses rubbing, they only wear regular fly rugs which are washed weekly.
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Thanks! We used benzyl benzoate on him last summer but I couldn't remember the name of it so will look at getting some more and upping his bathing routine.
 
Thanks. I'll have a look at both. Apparently it is not sweet itch, I assumed it was but he doesn't have dandruff or sores (luckily) but is incredibly itchy. He was on piraton last summer after a vet visit so my understanding is some sort of allergy but he hasn't been tested to try and narrow down what. I've not been present for the vet visits so some things could of got lost in translation. It is horrible to watch him trying to scratch.
 
A jolly good head to toe brushing. Mine is coat shedding and she also has itchy bits she can't get to.
You can buy soothing washes etc, but I just rinse her off with plain water and give her a scrub, she loves it.

If you are using fly rugs they will need regular washing and those on occasion can make the horse more itchy and as they irritate. My isn't in one.
 
I try to break the cycle with piriton but one of mine needs it for most of July. We thought mites for a long time but it seems to be some form of reaction to flies
 
Courbette said:
Thanks. I'll have a look at both. Apparently it is not sweet itch, I assumed it was but he doesn't have dandruff or sores (luckily) but is incredibly itchy. He was on piraton last summer after a vet visit so my understanding is some sort of allergy but he hasn't been tested to try and narrow down what. I've not been present for the vet visits so some things could of got lost in translation. It is horrible to watch him trying to scratch.
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Doesn't need to have dandruff to have sweet itch and sore are what you are trying to avoid as once the skin is damaged they get itchier still, because the damaged area itches. If you can get him away from things to scratch on with an electric fenced paddock it will be a good help.
 
My vet recommended Coatex shampoo for my itchy horse; it does seem to help but needs to be used fairly frequently
It's a beggar to rinse off if you put it on neat but much easier if you dilute it first - I do a 1 part shampoo/10 parts water mix
 
Hilton Herbs No more Itch is a supplement given all year round.It helped my friends horse with sweet itch amazingly well.It it is effective for auto immune related itching like sweet itch and if Piriton has been given in the past it sounds like this supplement may help.
 
My friends mare was like this and we had a really good result with a diet overhaul. Low sugar and starch, brewers yeast, linseed and 10gms of salt per 100kgs of bodyweight. She stopped itching whereas before she was beside herself some of the time.
 
My mare got lice and I used deosect to treat her. A pleasant side effect I have noticed is that she is generally much less itchy than normal at this time of year. It is licensed as a fly spray too so maybe worth a try?
 
Thanks all for the suggestions. Will have a chat with his owner about management and I'll also look at trying the suggested shampoos etc :)
 
Sorry to hijack! I bought brewers yeast recently to try for the same reason and my horse who’s usually a complete pig won’t touch even half a dose. Is it worth persevering?
Op I swear by Leovet no rub. It seems to sting maybe the second it’s applied but then has all but stopped the constant rubbing.
 
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