Swee Itch - Diagnosis, Treatment and Routine

Hey, I've just been through the wringer of sweet itch testing.
We took bloods but they didn't show much, so she then went to the vets and had intradermal skintesting done by the specialists at Langdon Hospital, confirming it was sweet itch.
What's working for us is a Boett rug and hood (thank you insurance!), hogging the mane off, and spraying any exposed bits with Deosect. Also removing any opportunities to scratch, as once she starts, she won't stop.

ETA: Mention Pinworms to the vet, as if it's just the tail area, it very well could be them.
 
do you do Facebook. there are a couple of Sweet itch pages on there. very helpful. my horse has si. I have found feeding anti histamines and using as boett rug is the best treatment. however it is so hot at the moment that he is unrigged and has a barrier cream rubbed into mane and tail daily and anti fly repellent applied. also some feed stuffs seem to trigger the itching. I do not feed alfalfa. and try to keep feeding as simple as possible unfertilised grass and hay . there re lots of food supplementy available I don't think, myself that any of them work. you can use google to find out info and be aware there is a big market for products which can be expensive and not necessarily effacatious. also hogging and deosect seems good .
 
If it's just the tail, I'd be checking for pinworm first.
Sweet itch is an allergy to midge saliva and the horse will usually Itch wherever it can...typically the mane, tail, face and belly.
The way to treat sweet Itch is usually to protect them from being bitten by using a sweet itch rug. I use either a Rambo or a Premier Equine sweet Itch hoody. Both have excellent coverage and are tough. The rug will also protect the horse from himself from the excess rubbing he's likely to do. You'll need to protect the rug from getting snagged/ripped using electric fencing and or making sure there is nothing that it can get caught on. A good barrier cream/Repellent is also useful along the midline, especially the belly button, sheath/teat area and anywhere that the rug doesnt cover ie the face and ears. I use Net Tex Summer Freedom (Itch Stop). There are some good lotions you can use to help calm the Itch along the mane and tail such as Biteback lotion.
Location is also important....an exposed field is better than one surrounded by trees and streams.
 
How long's a piece of string?

Brace yourself, Peter, you're going to get a different answer from everyone you meet. ;-)

My mare was classified as 'severe' prior to me buying her- so much so it was marked on her passport! For her, the most important part of her routine is restricted grazing. Sweet itch normally is part of a systemic inflammatory response, so anything that irritates her gut sets her SI off, too, including rich grass, alfalfa and bizarrely, timothy haylage (but not rye...she is speshul...) I used to get away with more acreage when I rented my own place, as the grass was poor, but we're now on ex-livestock pasture. She is fed hay all year round to compensate for lack of grass. Topical applications depend on time of year, as she HATES anything moist being applied to her skin. So, in winter she gets nothing but rough grooming (massage mitt/HandsOn gloves kind of thing). In Spring she has benzyl benzoate and as we approach nasty bitey bottom-hole fly (horsefly) season, we progress to neem oil applied direct from a butter tub with a sponge. She used to be ok with neem oil, but isn't now (perhaps a brand thing?), so I limit this to a needs-only basis. Now the horse flies are waning, we've dropped the neem and just groom with a soft body brush dampened with a home-made 'slosh', with tea tree oil, eucalyptus and citronella. That's enough to keep the black flies away and midges, which are number one enemy at this time of year. Sudocrem or germoline are my favourites to apply to wounds/raw skin rubs. Something with anaesthetic in is soothing!

What I call 'bed baths' are de rigeur for this time of year. Literally a bucket with medicated shampoo at a concentration that doesn't need rinsing (I use Dermoline or Malaseb). As my mare is so water phobic, I use the Hands On gloves to get her wet and work through the fur, mane and tail (and to lift any scabs), but if your horse likes a bath, go for it with the usual bathing protocol!

For rugs, it'll depend on body shape. As an Exmoor, she has a HUGE neck and middle region, so Shires sweet itch hoody is great except I can't do up the base of the neck. I forgive it for it's durability, though - she can rub holes in herself through her rugs and this one even withstands that. Rambo is equally robust, but there's no belly flap and my mare self harms (bites holes in her belly, udder and groin), so I need as much as possible covered. I also use the PE stay lite and it's superdry equivalent. The former is on it's second season and the belly flap elastic is looking rather tired. My mare produces a lot of sebum when she's hot, so I change rugs every week. The superdry has had less use, but the lining is thicker and seems to be holding up better.

Lastly, I'm sure this has already been mentioned, but also check for pinworm first thing in the morning. Yellow gunk around the anus or a yellowish worm in the poo surrounded by a mucous sac. I say this as you only mention rubbing on the tail/surrounding area.

There is a vaccine, but as a scientist I'm not convinced by its effectiveness. Steroids are used in severe cases (my mare had injections before I changed her management) and anti-histamines are said to be useful in flare ups, but I haven't used them in years - it hasn't been bad enough. I also don't know if things have been investigated further, but there was talk about 10 years ago about the histamine receptors in horses being different to those of humans, so the effect was argued to be more placebo than actual benefit!
 
Each horse (or owner) has things that seem to work best for them, and some of that might depend on whether their horse is severe or mild sufferer. Get ready for loads of different options to try/empty your bank account!! The facebook pages can be helpful, with lots of tips for things to try.

I have an undiagnosed sweetitch cob - and the fields are lined with trees with a pond at the bottom so plenty of places for midges unfortunately.

I feed brewer's yeast & micronised linseed which does seem to help with the itching. All garlic is excluded from his feed and I've removed the biotin he had been having as he'd got more scurfy. His skin is getting much better. He's currently in Snuggy rugs, which work well for him, and fit his big shoulders. The rugs last a season before the velcro needs replacing, and otherwise can be easily patched if/when they rip. I have 3 sets so I can rotate. He's stabled in the day, out at night.

I jumped on the 'new thing' bandwagon and started feeding redbush and chamomile tea this year. I don't think it does anything at all but he likes it so he can have it till the packs are empty... I haven't tried the antihistamines yet, but I might next season.

I treat with salty water, get all the flakey skin out religiously, use sudocreme or silver cream on any open sores and biteback products on clearly itchy bits to soothe the skin. He gets a shampoo every couple of weeks with teatree stuff.

But the best thing I do for him is rug him. Ideally early in the year and till the frosts. I am saving for a de Meulencamp rug if they do a version with a zip, or I can put one in, as my boy freaks out with things pulled over his head.

So far he has a whole mane & forelock (wouldn't be there without the rugs!), his midline is growing back but he has a bit of a bog-brush tail which he can rub on his stable wall. Pinworm tests are happening when the kits arrive.
 
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My mare has been ‘diagnosed’ but just on inspection by a vet. As this spring, aged 15, over night she rubbed above her tails to pieces, red raw. So vet gave a topical steroid cream to help calm- just for a week. Worked really well. She also rubs along her mane. Was pretty obvious so didn’t feel a need to do any other tests

She is overweight and I treat as if she is lami anyway- with a track system and sugar free beet with oat chaff for a laminitis supplement. Have been advised too much sugar can aggrevate.

Irritatingly we are by a river and woodland and crops, so midge heaven. With a rug on she is ok- but still rubbing a bit. Ideally you want an electric fence so they can’t rub- there are a few areas in her field and in the heat she has been in a barn, so she can rub. But with kill itch cream and tea tree seems to help a bit. Snuggy hood on sale provides good coverage but gets a bit hot and moves when she rolls as so stretchy. Have a premier equine but it has rubbed her shoulders so now trying shires!

Rugs and creams are basically the most important. Not just a fly rug as midges get through.

Mixed reviews on supplements so not bothered.
 
As above, try worming first in case it's pinworm. Easy mistake to make quite honestly.
Also as above, different things work best on different animals, even ones that share a paddock. I once bought a pony with massive open sores on his neck and withers from long term sweetitch and found a £15 midge repelling collar and some zinc & caster ointment worked, when his last owner claimed to have spent hundreds with vets. That was just plain good luck, though.
 
I wash my boy during the season at least three or four times a week. in between I use kilitch. most people have no idea he has a problem
 
We have an elderly pony, probably been itchy for years. I suspected sweet itch when we bought her in Feb, due to her rather sparse tail and bald patch under her mane, so I had her tested. She is allergic to midges and horseflies, the bites come up in huge, hot raised areas and she itches.

So, Rambo sweet itch hoody for the immediate relief and on to a desensitisation vaccine, which is working so far. No rugs required, just fly spray, same as the other horses and so far she is no more itchy than a normal horse.

I am really hoping it continues to work, and it is looking promising so far. It isn't a cheap option though and there are no guarantees that it will work, but it has made a huge difference to our little old mare, so I am definitely going to continue with the injections.
 
7 yr old cob. Shires sweet itch hoody. Had allergy bloods taken and a "vaccine" created for him. One jab a fortnight in summer and once monthly in winter. Very effective.

Cutasol cream from vet for any bits he may rub on his face/ under carriage.

This year we have just one patch on face and all his mane and tail. Helped by living on a hill with a breeze .
 
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