Scratching til bleeding...Help!

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Siam Jack

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My mare who I bought last Oct came to me with a "dust Allergy" and during the winter rubbed herself down to the skin even with her rugs on whilst in the stable.
Spring came and she is now out 24/7 and much better lovely coat etc I have put a full fly rug on her while out.

My problem is when she is in the stable even just for 10 mins she is rubbing and scratching herself until bleeding!! next week I have to keep her in for 2 nights while they are wormed and I really done know what to do!!!!

The fly rug I bought just 2 weeks ago now has 2 big holes in it were she has rubbed herself against the stable wall so that now comes off, I had thought about a snuggy rug but I'm sure she will just rip that to bits as well.
I have her on antihisamines (sp?) and last night I brought her in and put her in her stable for just 10mins while I got my other one in when I came back she has rubbed her chest and has a big sore there now!! in the winter I can put her winter stable rug on which helps protect her but its so warm here at nights I dont know what to do???
 
can you discuss with your yard manager fencing her off into a small paddock for a few days rather than stabling her, with the proviso that you will diligently poo pick the field? Sounds like she is definately reacting to something in the stables. If YM won't let you do that then you will have to speak to your vets and see if they can give her a shot of something stronger for now.
 
Thanks Ella19,
I will speak to YM and see if she can go in the starvation paddock as no one seems to be using that, good idea!
If she is tied up in the yard you can bet she will find something to rub against even if its just the wall! so not sure its her stable. I bathed her last night with Camrosa shampoo and she seemed to love it with the cool water, but as soon as I stopped she started again!!
Just hoping we can get through Fri/Sat without major problems.
 
Where does she rub?

Has she Ben checked for pin worms?

As for rugs - yes stay away from snuffy hoods - I like them but they don't stand up to itch-a-holics. I use a weaterbeeta summer sheet combo (White with green plaid ripstop) which is more canvas like, so heavier but it reflects sunlight, so she doesn't get hot in it - and also keeps her pretty dry underneath. Plus at £40 they are much cheaper to replace and for my pony a better fit than the Rambo hoody.

I love the global herbs Skratch plus - nightmare to feed - but worked wonders for us - you wouldn't know she has sweet itch.

Itching can be due to inhaled things too - and also a multiplied effect - for example a midge bite would not normally cause a hrse a reaction, but if their immune system is already on high alert - say they are allergic to dust and in a very dusty environment - what would usually be a normal rection becomes bigger due to the immune system already being fired up soto speak.

Global herbs also do some respiratory ones which I've not used but may be worth a try? I honestly cannot believe the difference in the Skratch - she too itched until she had large open sores on her legs. But no longer!!!!:)

I also found stripping back her diet o basics (speedi beet or a plain unmollassed chaff with no treats) and limiting grass made a big difference. She is definitely worse on garlic too.

My Skratch is fed in a marmite sandwich as the only way I can get her to eat it!

I also use a menthol anti dandruff shampoo as is helps shift the scruf without being too aggressive on her skin.

My pony has an autoimmune disease too, hence I am so OTT about all this stuff - but I've learnt from the awful two years I've had of a miserable sore pony and wouldn't wish on anyone.
 
Thanks for reply, she rubs just about everywhere!!! today its her chest area right at the front, now has a few bleeding sores!!!!!! after about 10mins standing in the yard.
Will definately check out the rug option, the dust allergy, (I thought) would have caused more problems during the winter when she is stabled overnight, she is now out 24/7 and the itching is worse!!
I dont think its sweet itch as her mane and tail are fine (she scratches her tail in the stable) but her mane is clear I am still growing it since she was hogged last year!
Someone suggested it could be an anxiety/stress thing??? so have got her on Magic as well. I used the Global herbs Scratch during the winter when she was fed twice a day and it seemed to help but not much,
Tonight she was really scratching again I may just have to put up with this??
 
I would try a thick rug (not a standard fly sheet) to see if that helps, if it does I would probably look back into the skratch or fly free as a fly repellant to see if that helps in summer as no flies in winter really.

Have you looked for lice? Or treated for them anyway? Might sound a bit basic, but biggest cause of itching is lice. They are a pain to get rid of too and need several rounds of treatment to kill unhatched eggs.
 
You can always tie her up when she is in her stable for just a few hours, with a haynet. I assume you have cleaned off the stable wall and have a very clean non allergy type bedding, it seems odd she can't be stabled.
 
MrsD123 said:
You can always tie her up when she is in her stable for just a few hours, with a haynet. I assume you have cleaned off the stable wall and have a very clean non allergy type bedding, it seems odd she can't be stabled.
Click to expand...

Before I discovered skratch, my girly couldnt be stabled - simply because she itched solidly - at least out there are distractions/things to eat. Sometimes in is worse than out :)
 
A friend's pony does the exact same thing when he's stabled but its sweet itch with him :(
He doesn't generally rub his mane and tail but his forelock has near enough gone and he has large sores on his bum and around both his eyes. At the moment he is living out in a full fly sheet and full fly mask, on flowers of sulphur, and comes in to have his cream put on once a day.
Such a horrible thing to have to put up with.
K x
 
I agree that it could be made worse by stress. When she's out, there are more distractions so she doesn't think about it so much. It could have become a sort of stable vice like weaving.
Camrosa shampoo is good - what about the ointment? It's expensive but less so than a new rug! Biteback ointment is cheaper and is supposed to be very good for allerdies etc
 
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