Sweet Itch Advise Me Please

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SonnysHumanSlave

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I've never really dealt with sweet itch before having houdin, and he has it, but ive never seen it this sore before.

I was going to take a pic, should've done really.

i did make a post about benzyl benzoate the other day, but didnt treat it as with open wounds it will make it worse.

So someone suggested sudocream, but then my friend said that would smother it, and it needs to breathe.

Also i found a fly rug i could stick on him, it is a bit big, but since the weather is rubbish at the moment, i think he'll just end up like a drowned rat.

Its his tail that is the real problem, all the hair is still there as theres nothing to rub on in the field, but when i looked between the hairs it looks like the hair is detached if you know what i mean. He is extremly sore there as he clamps his tail and sticks his bum between his leg when touched there.

I have the vet out on the 14th so was going to see if there was anything they could give then, obviously if it gets worse i will call them out.

So what do i do now?
 
no real experience of sweet itch as such but my boy gets obsessive with rubbing his bum and whilst on box rest with lammi he rubbed it raw to the point where it was grazed and bleeding every day. I used aloe vera gel and it cleared it in no time. It might help cool and soothe the area and may be worth a try at least to make to make him a little more comfortable till the vet comes.
 
I think the single most effective thing you could do would be to put on the fly sheet. Mine is still wrapped head-to-toe in his, and I put a rainsheet on top if necessary. At this time of year, up here at any rate, once the day warms up we get clouds of midges in between the heavy showers!

Once you've got him covered up you can deal with the sore bits. Have a look at the website www.sweet-itch.co.uk which has lots of useful advice.
 
once they are itching,it`s too late because they have already been bitten.
you have to prevent the biting insects and the only way i have found is to rug from march.

from what you have said,i would smother with sudocream,make sure the horse has nothing to itch on and rug.
 
ok thanks!! Now off to read through that site, the fly rug will be going on tomorrow after he's had a good groom (he rolled today)
And sudo Creme!

Ijust felt so sorry for him today i wanted to hug and kiss him better.... he did not want the hugs or the kisses though!
 
Mine have SI, I am not sure how bad it is as to look at them you would not know they had it.

I rug from early April with my snuggy body and sheath/udder cover. Any bits left sticking out have my home made spray which contains bog myrtle, citronella and avon skin so soft amongst the ingredients.

They live out 24 x 7 until end of October with electric tape round the field so they cannot rub themselves sore. I do give them a good hand itch daily and they can groom each other.

I have found feeding linseed, brewyers yeast and clivers very beneficial to the condition.

Before I had the snuggies, Chancer would rub his belly and sheath so I mixed sudodcream with sulphur and tea tree oil and applied this to soothe and heal things.

On the rare occasions they come in during the summer, they have their bodies and hoods left on plus a cotton tail guard so again they can't rub themselves sore. They also tend not to rub if they are covered.

I normally can take the rugs off late September if cool and windy as I do like to try to give them 4 - 6 weeks of being out naked or they spend their whole lives rugged. By then they have a very thick coat and this seems to help with the biting. They are covered in spray and cream at this time.

Hope that routine helps give you some ideas.
 
Sudocream won't smother anything hun. The itchiness that drives horses mad is because they are allergic to the saliva of the midges that bite them. But the midges don't live on the horse - they just come looking for them when the weather conditions are right. You will probably need to get a special SI rug, rather than a so-called fly rug. SI rugs cover the whole body including under the belly. There's a lot of research going on at the mo to develop an injection that could stop the allergic reaction in the horse but it's along way away yet. Sometimes SI gets worse with each year so you may need a full face mask too. But neds live quite happily with SI as long as they are covered up from the midge bites. My YO has a huge ned called Barney who has SI and he lives pretty much all year round in his Boett rug and he's fine and as happy as Larry.
 
Excellent thanks peeps!!

I have sudocreamed him up today... my god the price of sudo cream!! £1.90 for a little pot!! And i used half of it on his tail alone!! But i've done it, my god it smells too!! Ive put them both back out rugged too.

He looked alot happier when i was putting the cream on, almost relieved! It didnt look as bad today as yesterday, so guess the rain must've soothed it a little.
 
I have two sweet itch cobs and keep them in rugs from March until the end of November. Sudocreme works really well on any sore bits but it is really messy stuff !. I spray Avon Skin so Soft dry oil spray on my boys underbits.

Stabling didn't work for us with the boys as they just rubbed on the walls and door frames even with the rugs on. Being turned out together means they scratch each others itchy bits without causing any damage.
 
There is a new product out this year called Cavalesse - your vet will sell it to you. It is quite expensive, but you buy a box that contains 3 months supplies, you mix the powder with tap water and give your horse s syringe of the liquid each day. The pack also contains a cream to rub on the itchy parts. My horse suffers bady and wears a boett rug - you need to buy one, or buy a snuggy rug, a regular fly rug will not be any good because the midges get inside them.

I don't know if this product will work on my horse as I have only just started it. My vet reckons 15 people in the practise said it worked and their horse was a lot less itchy, one person said it made no difference to their horse.

When you have a horse with this problem - you try anything, believe me.
 
[ QUOTE ]
There is a new product out this year called Cavalesse - your vet will sell it to you. It is quite expensive, but you buy a box that contains 3 months supplies, you mix the powder with tap water and give your horse s syringe of the liquid each day. The pack also contains a cream to rub on the itchy parts. My horse suffers bady and wears a boett rug - you need to buy one, or buy a snuggy rug, a regular fly rug will not be any good because the midges get inside them.

I don't know if this product will work on my horse as I have only just started it. My vet reckons 15 people in the practise said it worked and their horse was a lot less itchy, one person said it made no difference to their horse.

When you have a horse with this problem - you try anything, believe me.

[/ QUOTE ]

I have just been reading up on this on our vets website, and it says that it works best at the beginning of the season, so what i might do is start using this in february march time when his current outbreak has healed up a bit.
 
[ QUOTE ]
I have two sweet itch cobs and keep them in rugs from March until the end of November. Sudocreme works really well on any sore bits but it is really messy stuff !. I spray Avon Skin so Soft dry oil spray on my boys underbits.

Stabling didn't work for us with the boys as they just rubbed on the walls and door frames even with the rugs on. Being turned out together means they scratch each others itchy bits without causing any damage.

[/ QUOTE ]

I know exactly what you mean, i brought mine in for about 30mins while they dried off so i could get rugs on them, and straight away they nearly rubbed the walls down!! So dried them off quick and put them back out.

Avon oil skin so soft, i shall have a look into get some of that. I made a right mess with the sudocream yesterday, but he seems alot happier to have it on.

I also read that the midges that cause sweetitch, cant fly in winds over 7mph..... so bring on a bit of wind!!
 
Covering up is the only thing to help. If the horse gets bitten it will itch, simples.
A suitable rug and a good environment is what works.
Ideally IMO, a SI horse should live out in an electric fenced off field/paddock with other horses so he can mutually groom to relieve his itches although they can do this by rolling too obviously.
The field/paddock should be as exposed as possible, away from the much heap, lots of trees/woodland and watersources such as ponds/lakes/streams.
A good rug and a fly spray.
Sudovreme is good for healing any sores and Net Tex SI Slave is good for sheaths and faces although a bit messy.
Avon SSS fly spray recipe is good too and helps to keep the horse clean which in turn helps with itchyness..
 
had sweet itchy ponies - know how awful it can be for them

I found:
A wash made with warm water, cider vinegar (astringent) and chamomile helps soothe
Two heaped tablespoons of Neem leaf every feed helps to discourage flies and midges
Boett Blanket.

Sudocreme too messy for long term use and picks up grit.
 
basically you need
electric fencing
killitch every 3rd day or after a bath( it really does work )
boet style rugs there are cheaper on the market try pagony
remove any sweat after exercise. keep horse as clean as poss midges seem to smell sweat from miles away !!

fly spray - try some of the home made recipes !! id need a mortgage if i was buying the ready made stuff. but if you can afford to buy try phaser but be careful it gives me asthma !!

sudo works but is messy buy it in big tubs it works out cheaper.
and depending on your location lots of luck.
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thanks, well my ponies are in a pen of electric tape so only have thereselves to scratch with.

he has a fly sheet on now.

i have sudocreamed his tail and mane, and this does seem to have stopped him.

I also make my own fly sprays, and they have been covered in the icky smelling stuff lol

but over the weekend i think bathing it will be a good idea.
 
strongly advise the gold ointment its a thick gue and acts as a barrier, if the skin is sore you can mix with sudecrem to help the healing process, its brilliant my pony used to bite his sheath till it bled and i used it on that it healed up with in a few days and helped keep them away. he had no further problem, i just made sure he had it on every other day, its waterproof as well so wont wash of in the rain
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Also a boet style rug is a must and remove anything from the field he can rub on or electrify it off. i personally didnt rate the pagony but the demukfort is just as good if not better than the boet.
http://www.solva-icelandics.co.UK/sweet1.htm

ps you can only get the gold ointment from the sweet itch association, they give good free advise as well, give them a call
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Debs x
 
Killitch is the best thing i've found by far. well worth the money, does a much better job than Benzyl Benzoate or anything else.
I bought a Rambo Sweetitch Hoody for my mare with SI and have not looked back, it is absolutely fantastic, she's worn it for months and it is as new, she's now wearing it under a lightweight amigo as there are still some midges about.
i'd smother his tail in something now though, asap, you don't want him scrubbing it any more, poor lad.
 
Blimey, where to start....the pony has very bad sweetitch, along with being allergic to tea tree oil, citronella, deet etc so his routine is pretty much as follows....

Every morning and evening - pink Naff off fly spray
Sudocrem any sore bits in morning - acts as a barrier apart from anything else
Effol Skin cream on his face morning and night
Ruggle oil on his mane and tail, daily to start with, now every 3rd day
Bath in insecticidal shampoo once per week (gold shampoo?? can't remember)
Dectomax injections for leg mites each year
Mud fever cream (vet's recipe) on sore bits on legs
Snuggy hoods sweetitch hoody - loads better than the boett - but get the one with the zip.

...erm, think that covers it. Oh and never every stop - even though our season down here is early March to end October - apart from the hoody, I do everything all year round. Never let the b*ggers get a grip on him!
 
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