Sweet Itch - How do you manage yours?

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Joyous70

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My boy has devloped sweet itch this summer, which was totally unexpected, after having him for four years.

I have him rugged, and have tried D-Itch and Benzyl Benzoate but he's allergic to it i treid th the Nettex shampoo and cream last night but he's reacted badly to that also

The only way i can stop him from rubbing is to leave him out in the field 24/7 rugged up as the fencing is electric, therefore he cannot rub, if i bring him into the stable he throws himself around and slips, and im worried he's going to fall.

So what do you do with your itchy ponies, i have ordered some brewers yeast to try, but have now been told to try Echinacea and have also seen some other products on the market such as Global Herbs Skratch Plus and am now really really confused as to what to try next, i don't mind spending the money but im getting a bit fed up of spending money on things that don't seem to work

Choccy if you got this far :D
 
I'm having the same problem. I've tried a lot, now on avon skin so soft, bug rug, and lots of electric fencing!! We have just got some tablets from equss health (sp) and am waiting to see how they do. I was in the process of getting the brewers yeast wehn the person I share with found these.

I know it's frustrating spending the money, but what works for one doesn't necessarily work for the next, so I will happily gone on trying new things til I find something that works for the poor little lad :)
 
Once it's established, it is difficult to manage so this yr may be a wipe out for you, however now you know you can be prepared for next yr. I rug mine continually 24/7, she has literally a few nights a yr without a rug of some description, it's heartbreaking but far better than her scratching the life out of her poor body. She comes out of her turnouts and straight into her Sweetitch Hoody around Mar/Apr time and stays in that 24/7 until Oct/Nov then goes straight into a turnout again.

Its the itch/scratch cycle you have to break unfortunately and once it starts they sadly can't stop, so frustrating for them.

I don't use lotions and potions that much to be honest, her hoody plus a full face mask does the trick, the only bits that suffer are her udder area, her armpits and this yr for some reason her face but i do believe she has shown a reaction to my wash powder which has kicked off the face. I do like Ruggles Stop it All for soothing and healing the raw patches, stinks like hell but really does work. That and Vaseline for her udders as the midges don't like anything greasy.

Unfortunately the more potions and lotions tried can actually make the problem worse so a full bath frequently to remove any residue and a clean rug every week really does help, i am in such a routine now of wash and change that it really doesn't take long at all and i have a happy nearly itch free mare. I also wash her face and udders every day at least once and all the bits that get sweaty as midges love body fluids of any description so the cleaner she is the more they leave her alone.
 
My mare developed sweet itch this year - it only started a month ago. She has been itchy all summer but not excessively, about 4 weeks ago I went to check her in the morning and she had rubbed loads of her long mane off. I have bought a demeulenkamp rug and put lots of Netex Itch Stop cream on to try and relieve the itchiness. Seems to be working so far.
Next year will put demeulenkamp rug on in March and leave it on so hopefully she won't get bitten.
 
I have tried alsorts of lotions and potions and find deosect is a good fly deterent. But at the moment mine is on a trial for a new product and it is brilliant. He is getting days now without having to have his fly rug on and not going balistic rubbing himself in his stable. :-)
 
Boett rug, electric fencing, inside stable a rug hung up where she itchs too so no damage to her or rug. Bath every week with baby shampoo, garlic in feed everyday. Fly spray when ridden alongside a fly rug to ride in (can also ride in boett as well if want to). Boett gets washed once a week. Fly boots on inside the field.

None of the creams work for her at all so dont waste money on them anymore. This year is the first year she has coped living out spent last 2 in at night as on parts boett didnt cover she got infections.

My other one who only has mild sweetitch just has a bath every week and a cheap fly rug and works for her.
 
my haflinger suffers with SI and lives out 24/7. she currently has a Rambo SI hoody rug on and this works really well (dont bother with the Snuggy Hoods SI rug as they are useless - she ripped hers within days and that was just getting up and down in the field!) although she cant rub on anything in her field due to elevtric fencing she now scratches her face with her feet! shes shocking and made a mess of it but i use the Equimins biting midge cream to stop her rubbing and it works really well.
ive tried most potions and supplements to no avail but this combination works really well for her
 
abigail621 inside stable a rug hung up where she itchs too so no damage to her or rug - im too scared to put him in his stable anymore as he rubs the rugs off the walls and chooses somewhere else to rub, and now the whole stable wall moves from side to side so i worry for his safety :eek:

He has a few fly rugs and i am intending getting him a Rambo Sweet Itch Hoody

_daisy_ what are the ingredients in the cream you use? im really cautious especially after last night of using anything!!! it seems to be that anything with chemicals in it his skin doesn't like. He seems to have very sensitive skin so far the only fly spray is the 2in1 with neem oil in it that doesn't seem to make him itch more! :confused:
 
hi i find a change of diet worked very well

this yr i made sure that my old boy, (who has to fenced of anything he is able to itch on, and will continue scratching so he bleeds) has no feed with molasses in and i removed the garlic.

i now have a none itchy horse

he is on marmite/brewers yeast as well, no lotions to speak but i did use avon so soft with extras, citronella, geranium oil, clove oil, spruce, lavender oil and a couple of others which i took from a herbel fly spray. only 4 drops of each oil in 500ml of water with 20% avon so soft. only sprayed this on once a day when the flys where out
 
I think I agree with everything boysy said! Is exactly how I manage my s/i mare! She is an itchy sensitive thing anyway so I steer away from lotions and potions - I just use a non-deet fly spray round her udders and midline, the rest of her is covered by her rambo sweetitch hoody and mask 24/7 march - oct. So far I'm pleased to say we have had a pretty much itch free year, with a full mane and tail to prove it! I don't wash her too often as her skin is sensitive (she has a good groom every couple of days), but her rug is washed every week with a non-bio wash and run through an extra rinse. I have a spare on-hand so she always has a clean one on. It is expensive initially to get the rug, but it is lasting really well and there just aren't any supplements or lotions that even come close to helping. Don't supplement with garlic as it makes sweetitch sufferers worse. I have heard brewers yeast is good to, but just nothing will help it like prevention. I'd also second hollyandivy123 on the sugar thing - I would try and exclude molasses (and 'low sugar' molasses!) from his feed too. I'd get him rugged now to at least prevent more of an allergic response, then start early next year.
 
:eek:I didn't know garlic made them worse! ive upped the amount he gets thinking it was for the best :eek:

My brewers yeast has just arrived so i'll try adding that gradually to his feed, and think i'd better check on his feed bag for molasses although its a feed designed for good doers, so shouldn't be too nasty.

Glosgirl he is rugged at present, i rugged him as soon as a realised there was a problem, which obviously was too late, however i'll be better prepared for next summer. He is a very sensitive boy, apparently his colouring doesn't help hes an appy X and the majority of his skin is pink. Wierd isn't it i have a 23 year old Cremello who has never had any skin problems, which i would have expected with his colouring. :o
 
Garlic is tricky as it is supposed to be good for flys, but it isn't good if they have sweet itch. I would scrap it out of his feed asap. I do use brewers yeast, takes a little time to increase the dose so they get used to the taste. I'm not sure if it helps, but I don't think it does any harm either! Feed is so akward, so many have sugar added to them. My girl is barefoot so I have become v v careful to avoid any added sugar feed so I don't accidentaly make her footy - it has the advantage that less sugar is helpful for her sweet itch too. If he is still itchy, then I would give a very gentle wash in dilute baby shampoo and rinse extremely well. Then it is just a case of trying to keep him away from anything to itch on while the allergic response calms down. I would expect within a week you will start to see an improvement. It is so hard when you see them being uncomfortable, but you are doing the best thing by putting a rug on, so just a case of waiting now! If he is really bad can you call your vet and get some anti-histimanes to help calm the itch?
 
I think the Skratch plus helped alot at the beginning when I was using it, takes time to get into the system and get horses used to the horrid smell in their feed! But like someone else has said, when they've started the itching cycle then its difficult to break. I would rug yours up from march/april next year.
I like rambo sweetitch hoodies alot, but they dont fit my mare v.well so hoping to get a snuggy hood for next year! They have much better coverage, incl the face and other add-ons... and on sale at derby house at the moment :D (so are rambos!)
 
Thanks Stargirl88 just ordered me a Rambo on special offer :D

I shall stop feeding the garlic as of today

_daisy_ thanks for that i'll have a look :D
 
Might be slightly off topic, but have you considered having him allergy tested? I ask because my friends horse had what we all described as sweet itch for about 4 years, he wore a Boett all through the summer, and still used to scratch himself to bits. She decided to have him tested the year before last and it came back as an allergy to grass, so he had to have desensitisation injections every week, then every couple of weeks, then monthly, and he was much less itchy.
Not saying that this is the case for every supposed case of sweet itch, it's just that if it's come on suddenly, it might be something to investigate.
 
Feed Brewers Yeast all winter prior to the Midge season next year and start whatever you are using i.e. rug , cream before the midges start to bite.
 
Botanica Cleansing Wash and Sweet itch cream everyday for a week at the start of the "sweet itch season." Then for the next week every second day. After that you are not meant to need it again, although I put it on once a week after that! No need for rugs or anything! Its great!!!
 
Well, mine is on the BioEos trial - got tablets from the National Sweet Itch Centre website, so am seeing how that goes at the mo. Initial results seem encouraging, all I can say for now.

Also its about catching it before the midge season starts - I normally start being vigilant around the half term break in the February!!! then start rugging him with sweet itch hoody. The Pessoa Sweet Itch hoody is brill if you can get one; fantastic. Don't bother with the Pagony which is supposed to be a cheap substitute for the Boett - naff quality and not worth the money.

I stable mine at night and he's out during the day, tho' if its hot I bring him in from say 10 am - 2pm just to avoid the hot sun (he's piebald so gets sunburnt on his white bits!); I find this works as you then avoid the "dusk and dawn" times when the midges bite.

As its been quite windy here in the SW I've been able to turn him out without his fly mask - tho' I do dab some Avon Skin So Soft over his face & ears just to be sure, plus wash him with Lavender Wash stuff which he adores! (Lavendar is supposed to be anti-insect apparently).

If I'm hacking out, I'll put some Skin So Soft on a sponge and smoothe over him to guard against midges too.

I guess there'll be quite a few posts about the Bio Eos trial in due course - something to watch out for I think. Mine changed location in the middle of the summer so its difficiult to say at the mo.
 
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