Sweet itch lotions

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xponyloverx

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Hello,
just wondered if anyone could recommend any sweet itch lotions/sprays, i am thinking of getting the rambo sweet itch hoody but it is expensive! He is badly affected but it can get worse if it is left untreated!
Thanks
 
Hi, I Use Killitch by 'Carr and day and martin' Which is great and stops them itching completly, but is 20 pounds for 500ml which is quite expensive!!!! Also...I Have heard Marmite is great! why not give it a go! good luck! Link To Order Killitch!
Killitch.jpg
 
i think the only solution is to cover-up.

i bought a pagony rug and hood for £70 and it is really good.last year we had no itching at all.
i could easily have spent that amount in a season on sprays/lotions etc.

i would also say that once the pony starts itching then it has already been bitten,you need to get covered up before the midges arrive.
 
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Is the 'Killitch' a spray or a shampoo?[ QUOTE ]


Killitch is a lotion - just plonk it on wearing gloves and wait for it to work its magic!!!!
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Marmite: Well i have tried it...I fed a dollop in their am feed each day! I think it helped?!
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xx
 
Benzyl Benzoate. Its actually the same product which goes into Killitch, but you can get a litre bottle for £10 from Hyperdrug. I dilute mine (about 50 /50 with olive oil which is fantastic for supporting skin) and a bottle lasts me nearly the summer so its really economical.

My mare is absolutely manic about midges and has had to be sedated twice in her life because she's gone completely mental with them - she shredded her Boett and over heated in it something shocking.

But I've been super successful with BB. If you don't want to use olive oil you can mix it with pig oil instead.

A couple of people have been concerned about adding oil thinking it will 'burn' the skin on a hot day. Never had a problem and if it is a concern its easily solved by adding some cheap sunscreen.
 
Benzyl benzoate is the best for sweet itch but be careful when riding as you may forget it's on the mane, get it on your hands and accidentally rub it into your eyes.

Other sweet itch remedies include liquid petroleum - messy and makes the horse sticky but midges don't like landing on it; Avon Skin So Soft dry oil spray - walkers and other outdoorsy type people have known about it's midge repelling properties for years, midges don't seem to like the smell and you can spray it on horses too.

Over the summer we don't need to give our happy hackers any extra feed so we used to put horse treats (the ones that look like hard biscuits, can't remember the name) in a tub of garlic powder and feed a few of those every day, as garlic coming out of the horse's skin is also said to repel midges. Alternatively just put the garlic straight into the feed if you need to feed through the summer.

I can't say if any of these (apart from the fantastic BB) were singularly effective, I was so desperate at the time to help my mare out that I tried everything together and that summer she managed to keep her mane but scrubbed out the top of her tail but not to the point where she made it bleed. So overall about an 85% success rate.
 
Think I've said this before but have heard that garlic should not be fed to ponies/horses with sweet itch. Garlic boosts the immune system and as sweet itch is an over active immune reaction to midge bites garlic may make this worse.
Brewers yeast is a good supplement to try, you can buy it in health food shops in powder form and is very inexpensive.
Have a pony with severe sweet itch and found that less grass really does help, limiting his grazing made a difference.
Finally, any barrier/ rug will help but you will still need lots of fly spray and lotions to repel those midges, apart from stabling at dawn and dusk.
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I make my own lotion using benzyl benzoate, paraffin oil, glycerine and iodine. I add a few natural oils to deter midges and other flies. Can give you the recipe if you wish.
 
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Benzyl Benzoate.

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My SJ (Blackjack) had severe sweetitch, and was allergic to Benzyl Benzoate - it didn't leave me many options!

I put some on his mane just before hacking him over to a SJ PC rally around the corner, and about 10 mins into the hack saw that his "scalp" was really red, blistering and raw. It was getting progressively worse as the ride went on, and he ended up shaking his head badly and trying to rub against walls and telegraph poles as I was on him!

I turned him straight round and gave him a bath at the yard and the skin went back to normal again in a few hours but we had to be very careful about which sweet itch lotions we bought him as the majority had Benzyl Benzoate in.
 
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