Severe sweet itch - am I being cruel?

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Mitchyden

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I have owned Zara for 10 years and she has severe sweet itch. She has always worn a boett and for the majority of the summer, a normal face mask. I have to apply cream to her udders, between her back legs (down to her hocks), her front legs (down to her knees) and around her head on the bits the mask doesn't cover. She has managed to get her mask off the last couple of days which has resulted in the whole of her ears both inside and out being a mass of itchy, pus filled scabs :-(

I cannot stable her to keep her out of the midges as they still get into the stables and it would also mean her being in 24/7 which she hates. I am at my wits end as to what to do with her as she just looks so miserable all the time. I have considered putting her out of her misery but this seems a bit harsh just for sweet itch but it must be awful to spend from March until November permanently itchy.

Please do not recommend any lotions or potions as I have tried most. She is a very sensitive horse and the only creams I can put on her without an allergic reaction are Muddy Marvel and Udder Cream. She cannot have any with Deet, Vaseline, Sudocrem etc or her skin basically burns and falls off.

Anyone else have a horse with sweet itch this severe? If so, how do you manage it?
 
-Is she in a field fenced off with electrical fencing?? You need to try and eliminate anything she can rub on to break the itch scratch cycle.

-Are you feeding brewers yeast and linseed? Not sure if it would help a lot given the intensity of her SI but it could help a little bit.. My mare is a lot better on the linseed and her skin is not as flaky and scurfy.

-Are you giving her regular baths in a hypoallergenic non-scented shampoo? I got a really good one off the sweet itch website. And also I wash nelly's rug regularly and wash her tail and lady bits every few days to keep them clean and I really find it helps with the midges.

-I know you said don't suggest any lotions but have you tried benzylbenzoate in the mane and dock before the itching begins? I've found that really useful this year, although I appreciate your mare is sensitive so may react to it.

-Have you had blood tests done by the vet? It sounds as though she could have allergies to other things, ie grass pollens.

Hope this helps a little, I understand your despair it's a horrible condition.
 
Hi

Sorry to hear about the problems you are having with Zara. I have horse with a sweet itch and she has been OK so long as she wears her Boett from March until October. Up until last year I used a normal fly mask but her ears became really sore last year and so I had to buy the Boett mask. It is brilliant and her ears have been fine since. I have had to adapt the mask so that is has a velcro fastening as I couldnt get it over her head (probably because her ears were so sore). I know this wont solve the problems with the legs etc but it seems like the problem with the face is the main issue right now?
 
NellRosk said:
-Is she in a field fenced off with electrical fencing?? You need to try and eliminate anything she can rub on to break the itch scratch cycle.

-Are you feeding brewers yeast and linseed? Not sure if it would help a lot given the intensity of her SI but it could help a little bit.. My mare is a lot better on the linseed and her skin is not as flaky and scurfy.

-Are you giving her regular baths in a hypoallergenic non-scented shampoo? I got a really good one off the sweet itch website. And also I wash nelly's rug regularly and wash her tail and lady bits every few days to keep them clean and I really find it helps with the midges.

-I know you said don't suggest any lotions but have you tried benzylbenzoate in the mane and dock before the itching begins? I've found that really useful this year, although I appreciate your mare is sensitive so may react to it.

-Have you had blood tests done by the vet? It sounds as though she could have allergies to other things, ie grass pollens.

Hope this helps a little, I understand your despair it's a horrible condition.
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Our fields are fenced with the Fieldguard electric tape so to alleviate the itching she rolls around on the floor a lot. She is on linseed already but there is nothing I can do to get her to eat brewers yeast, she hates it with a passion. Washing her doesn't seem to make any difference and she reacts very badly to benzylbenzoate.

Admittedly I haven't had any blood tests done so perhaps it's worth going down that route. She used to get away with just a normal fly rug when I first got her but year by year she has got worse and this year it's become ridiculous. I hate seeing her like this :-(
 
Mitchyden said:
Our fields are fenced with the Fieldguard electric tape so to alleviate the itching she rolls around on the floor a lot. She is on linseed already but there is nothing I can do to get her to eat brewers yeast, she hates it with a passion. Washing her doesn't seem to make any difference and she reacts very badly to benzylbenzoate.

Admittedly I haven't had any blood tests done so perhaps it's worth going down that route. She used to get away with just a normal fly rug when I first got her but year by year she has got worse and this year it's become ridiculous. I hate seeing her like this :-(
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I would deffos give the blood tests a go and see what your vet has to suggest. Good luck!
 
saswain said:
Hi

Sorry to hear about the problems you are having with Zara. I have horse with a sweet itch and she has been OK so long as she wears her Boett from March until October. Up until last year I used a normal fly mask but her ears became really sore last year and so I had to buy the Boett mask. It is brilliant and her ears have been fine since. I have had to adapt the mask so that is has a velcro fastening as I couldnt get it over her head (probably because her ears were so sore). I know this wont solve the problems with the legs etc but it seems like the problem with the face is the main issue right now?
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I've tried the Boett masks but somehow she manages to twist them when she rolls. I don't know how as they are very tight but the last time I used one I had to get the vet out because she managed to damage her eye where it was tight across it.
 
I would think about getting her bloods done - it may be that your vet can prescribe her some antihisthamines (sp) which will stop her reacting to the bites. It could be though that she is also allergic to something else.

A friend had a pony with horrendous SI - she would rub herself until she bled if she could - it turned out she was allergic to some grass pollens as well as the midges. She was put on an intesive course of antihistamines and now she is on a feed supplement which does the same thing - the feed supp is not cheap as it's one that is mixed up specially but it does the trick. She has gone from needing a boett and fly mask to being out naked and a happy pony.
 
I would have the vet to see her and maybe take some blood, seems like her sweetitch has become more and more severe over the years.

I owned a gelding who when i bought him was treated with steroids as his sweetitch was so bad, the poor thing had been rolling in the school when ridden and covered in scabs. It took me a good few years to work out what worked and what didnt, I bought every lotion/potion/cream/fly spray with no avail, he was still bald and scabby. He had a Rambo sweetitch hoody which in all fairness worked a treat when worn all the time. He had weekly/twice weekly baths, this really helped soothe any sore skin and also helped with any swellings of fly bites, keeping his skin really clean seemed to help. If i put lotions on him he seems to get greasey and itchy. Best of luck! Its horrible seeing them in agony with itching!
 
Sorry to hear this. I can however sympathise. I have owned a sweetich pony for 20 years. They do seem to get worse as they get older but some years are much worse than others. She two wears a boett, in bad years i buy cheep leggings cut them in half (so you have two separate legs) and put these on her legs front and back. Attached to boett with elastic. Protects her from the flies and from herself rubbing her legs together. I find the hardest part is saving her from herself, at 27 she can still scratch her ears with her hide legs and her udder with her teath (i have a boett udder guard also).
Sounds like you need to break the cycle as previously said. Can you wash her in (sp) malaceb from the vets it stops the itching, i agree a vet visit might be a plus as it sounds like she could do with some antibiotics to clear up her skin. Had to do that once or twice. If there are very sore spots you can get equine sticking plaster type stuff to protect the area until it clears. Wash her rug often stop secondary infections and keep her clean to deter flies. I don’t put anything on her skin directly if i can help it just make her worse (even fly spray). I also don’t feed garlic.
She was in a sweet itch trial way back when and still take a weekly tablet (national sweet itch web site).
Keep her busy in the field as far as you can as standing about gives them an excuse to rub.
I have also stood and looked at her sometimes when she looks like boiling water has been poured over large parts of her body and though is this fair? Touch wood though so far we have always come up with another idea, and not all years are so bad. Never take her rug off in the season, i put a rain sheet on top if need be and try and get it on earlier next year? Bet the flies at their own game.
Hope you find something that helps yours, and if you find “the answer” let us all in on it please.
X
Have you tried marmite it has brewers yeast in? It works for some.
 
Friend used to give a marmite sandwich every day and smother him in deosect, bath regularly, and kept him clipped year round, it did seem to improve him
 
I have an itcher but physical barriers such as boett don't help - in his case it is an allergy to grass. Diet helps enormously - he is on low grass (not none at all, but a small amount supplemented with hay, sometimes soaked to minimise the sugars), a low sugar and starch diet and he is now having turmeric daily with freshly ground pepper and linseed. His coat gleams and I don't think he is itching as much - there are reports of much improvement to itching with turmeric, which would fit as it is an anti inflammatory and the itch is an inflammation reaction.
If you have tried all the topical lotions and potions (as I have, without success) maybe it is time to look at his diet, his mineral balance and whether or not he is allergic to something other than the culicoides midge. I know mine is because he doesn't begin to itch until June, even though there are clouds of midges around from March, and a good fly rug from February didn't stoop it all kicking off in June.
Maybe you could look again at all the symptoms and responses and then at his diet. What have you got to lose?
 
We have two pretty bad ones but seem to have it under control with rugs, hoods, electric fencing and this year covering the rest of them with neem instead of the other creams we used previously. They have both been on the Bioeos capsules for 3 years now and while I can't be certain how much difference they are making I think they are helping because since they have been on them they haven't chewed any serious holes in their skin like they did previously so I think it is worth trying them on yours if you haven't already. Mine also reacts badly to Benzyl Benzoate and to anything with DEET in.
Is there another place you could move her too for grazing where it is more windy? If you can't maybe rather than thinking of PTS you could find her a home somewhere where the wind is coming off the sea to keep the midges down, or similar.
 
Have you tried moving her to a different yard?

Ive heard of horses being almost curred when in a different location.

Somewhere breezy and hilly could be ideal, the coast especially, although i see you are in Hertforfshire.
 
I can only suggest getting the vet out, I know you didn;t want suggestions on lotions but I use neem oil. helps heal the scabs and repels the midges.
 
"kayb" sorry - digressing...... but you say you were in a "sweet itch trial" from the National Sweet Itch centre. Was this the "BioEos" tablets? If so, how did you find them? Did you see any improvement? I had a look at this but they seemed pretty expensive and there was no real guarantee that they worked. Just wondered how you found them with yours?

OP I am so sorry you have this awful dilemma. My boy has Sweet Itch and during this hot weather its been so awful to see him all hot and bothered and distressed with himself. Luckily we're fairly high up here so his field catches the breeze.

Someone else has mentioned turn-out, i.e. a different field/location can make all the difference - even just a mile away can make a huge impact. So it might be that you have to somehow or other find a different location for yours.

But meantime, I'd certainly ask the vet to come and take some bloods: like laminitis, sweet itch research is happening all the time and it might be that your vet can at least give her something to alleviate the problem in the short term??

Feel so sorry you are in the situation..........
 
We have a pony who used to suffer so badly with sweet itch that one year he completely rubbed his mane and tail out. We saw a letter in Your Horse magazine recommending a human shampoo - Dead Sea Spa Magik Mineral Shampoo, which can be bought from Holland & Barrett. Firstly we washed him with it every day, then every other day, every third day and so on. We noticed a difference within a few weeks. Now, 15 years on, he still wears a Boett, but hardly ever scratches and doesn't need regular washing/ treatment etc. I know you said you'd tried all the lotions and potions, but just thought I'd mention this one as it's probably less well known, and it's made a fantastic difference to our pony's quality of life.
 
smellsofhorse said:
Have you tried moving her to a different yard?

Ive heard of horses being almost curred when in a different location.

Somewhere breezy and hilly could be ideal, the coast especially, although i see you are in Hertforfshire.
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My mare was one of these - from a hairless itchy beast into a County show hunter - with just moving her away from Cows, Water and onto the side of a windy hill!
 
Different yards make a massive difference - I've been on ones where my pony has itched and itched, and ones where she didn't even need her rug. If your horse is bad, stable for dusk and dawn (so bring in overnight). It really does make a difference.
 
Lots of great ideas above but here's a simple thought I just had - have you checked the current mask that she has been happy with for a hole? If flies are getting in there that would cause her to take it off.
 
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