Sweet itch horse

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saz2

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Would you buy a horse with sweet itch? If so how much would you expect the price to be reduced by? Horse is starting to rub mane. Tail hair very short as growing back from last summer. Skin thickened and ridgy under mane. Any advice greatfully recieved x
 
Not unless he was totally incomparable in every other way. Sweetitch is a nightmare to manage, ponies can get away with a boett but at 16.1hh every time I wanted to get it off or on over his head he became a giraffe. He can't be in his stable in the season or he would push the door frame and walls down in his quest to itch, and there are as many ways of managing as there are horses affected. There is a group on FB which will give you an idea of all the different things people try. Have the vendors owned up to it and offered any advice on how they manage it?
 
Depends what yard you're going to be keeping horse at. A big windy hill then I'd consider it, but a small flat field in a valley next to a lake, no way (midges can't fly in strong wind and they breed in water). Some horses are more severely affected than others and you won't necessarily know how bad until after you've bought. It is something that needs dealing with daily, unless you're lucky and some sort of fly rug is enough. Whatever you use, it's still another expense though. The rugs also have to be kept in good repair because holes will be rubbed in them and a rug with a hole letting midges in is useless. The extra work isn't a big deal if you've time, but it does make a difference to time spent at the yard having to bring in, brush/shampoo as appropriate, put creams/sprays/rugs on and turn out again. Instead of just going to the field with a bucket of feed and bringing to the other side of the gate to eat/check over. Less severely affected horses I've found better stabled nights all year, turned out well after dawn and brought in again well before dusk (so aprox 8-5 summer and 9-3 autumn/spring). You only get around 3mths of the year when the midges aren't biting and need to start treating just before the season starts as a preventative.
 
I have two with sweetitch. It is a nightmare, for both horses and owners and very, very distressing as there is really little that can be done to help. I will continue to do the best for both of mine, but would never knowingly buy a horse with sweetitch.
 
I've had my sweet itch horse for 20 yrs now. There are plenty of things you can do to help such as location, rugs and sprays compared to years ago but it is a vice and as such, shoukd impact on price...significantly in my opinion.
If the horse has ridgy skin then it's not under control.
 
No -there is no horse that woul dmake it worth that. I have one and it sucks the fun out of it in the summer
 
We have two with bad sweetitch here, mine's had it for over 20 years so we are set up to deal with it. It's a nuisance but I'd get another with it if it was the right pony otherwise simply because we are used to managing it. I'd expect a big discount though unless it was very mild, probably 50%.
 
sweet itch is manageable providing you are prepared to put the effort in. the midges are particularly bad at the moment - my boy is rubbing even though it is still cold - this is something that I wouldn't expect him to do this early in a normal year. I recommend washing regularly - during the summer he has a bath at least once a week - it helps prevent the itching. I also recommend "kilitch" it works really well but must be used everyday - I wash my boy and then put some on straight away. I also us flypor which is a cattle fly - treatment = it isn't licenced for horses but I have used it for years and it does help. he has a very good quality horseware fly rug - I tend to use that all year round under rugs and he is in every night of the year, no matter what the weather - my boy is rugged up to the nines (unlike most) but it suits him. sweet itch is generally manageable but you really need to be on top of it and watch what is going on - they can rub a bald patch is seconds if you aren't careful
 
I would expect a significant reduction in price as it is a vice which must be declared.

Yes, you can manage the condition, but working out how best to manage it, what works for your horse and what doesn't, will take time and money. You'll be forever restricted as to what yards you can use if you're on livery. Hacking in summer can be miserable. Turnout requires endless electric fencing as they will scratch on anything.

And then there's always the chance that nothing will work. It's an allergy - every horse will react differently to both treatment and triggers.

If you've ever been in a stable with a sweetitch horse when the condition is either untreated, or the treatment isn't working, it's very distressing and borderline terrifying. As someone said above, if his skin is ridged, it's probably pretty bad.

I have a sweetitch horse and we do manage, but I don't know if I'd knowingly have another.
 
C1airey said:
I would expect a significant reduction in price as it is a vice which must be declared.
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It's not a vice, it's a disease. And like all ordinary diseases, it doesn't have to be declared unless the buyer asks.

Some auctions require vices and some sweet itch to be declared, but I believe none of those declarations is legally required for a normal sale and definitely not sweet itch.

Lots of people get caught out by buying horses with sweet itch in winter, and unless they asked whether the horse had any known health problems at the time they bought, then there is nothing they can do about it.
 
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Having owned one with sweetitch for a number of years and knowing the amount of extra care needed and the distress it can cause them I would never knowingly buy another with sweetitch for any price. That said I love mine to bits and wouldnt change her for the world. I brought her in winter without knowing about the sweetitch and although it's hard work sometimes she's taught me so much over the years.
 
claret09 said:
sweet itch is manageable providing you are prepared to put the effort in. the midges are particularly bad at the moment - my boy is rubbing even though it is still cold - this is something that I wouldn't expect him to do this early in a normal year. I recommend washing regularly - during the summer he has a bath at least once a week - it helps prevent the itching. I also recommend "kilitch" it works really well but must be used everyday - I wash my boy and then put some on straight away. I also us flypor which is a cattle fly - treatment = it isn't licenced for horses but I have used it for years and it does help. he has a very good quality horseware fly rug - I tend to use that all year round under rugs and he is in every night of the year, no matter what the weather - my boy is rugged up to the nines (unlike most) but it suits him. sweet itch is generally manageable but you really need to be on top of it and watch what is going on - they can rub a bald patch is seconds if you aren't careful
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This l've had our NF pony since she was 9 months old, she developed sweet itch three years ago after an allergic reaction to horsefly bites when l moved placed and didn't realise there was a pond until the summer came (she's 13 now).
The first year was a nightmare but last year she wasn't too bad apart from ripping 2 rugs (1 was expensive that she'd caught whilst attempting to scratch) you have to bath regularly & wash the rugs. l spray deosect daily at my vets recommendation & l also find neem oil fantastic.
When buying fly rugs get one without cross surcingles the ones with the bellystraps are better & always have a spare. A sweet itch sufferer will look for anything to scratch on so you may need to used electric fencing if you have trees or anything else as a potential scratching post. l have resorted to putting a fly rug on with a turnout rug on top as fly rugs aren't as tough as other rugs but l take it off in really hot weather. It's your decision at the end of the day it's a condition that can be managed it can be hard work & expensive to treat when considering the cost for sprays, rugs etc so things add up. But like others have said l couldn't swap my mare l didn't buy her with the condition but l don't think l'd personally want to buy a horse in the future with sweet itch.
 
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