Sweet itch??? maybe not??

[ibot]

hello

well i have now owned my boy for about 9 weeks and he has settled into life really nicely

.
Now my main concern is what i thought was sweet itch but now i am not so sure so thought i would look for some vibes on here.

his tail is looking much better but his mane is still being rubbed that it now looks like it is in segments if that makes sense as there are patches inbetween with no hair from where i guess he is still rubbing.

Now to combat the sweet itch he is on d-itch twice a day in both feeds and has been since i got him. when the flies were around he had a fly rug on and spray. but now he is in every other day (winter field managment) and i have not seen a fly around so i am starting to wonder if maybe something else could be bothering him

i have heard that sweet itch is something to do with the skin so i was thinking that for humans you would you like a hydrocortosine (sp) type cream oh i don't know please advise as i just want to help him have contacted the sweet itch website and they tried to sell me a fly rug

hmmm.

thank you.
N

 

[teddyt]

Check for lice too.

It could still be sweet itch though, it can take a while to get better and midges were still around here a week or so ago. Nettex itch stop is very good and linseed in the feed helps the skin and has anti-inflammatory fatty acids

Make sure you dont feed garlic, that will make it worse because it boosts the immune system and it is already working overtime.

 

[Guinness]

Anything with benzly benzoate will help with the itching. Although the weather has changed now, the past few weeks have been unseasonally warm so it could well be sweetitch, but I would check for lice/mites too seeing as hes new

 

[cptrayes]

Just buy pure benzyl benzoate. It's dead cheap, available on eBay. Water it down with a litre of water to 500mls bottle, and spray on every day. (you can do neat stuff every three days but it's more difficult to remember!) It wil get rid of lice too, it's what they used to use to treat headlice in children.

 

[Ellies_mum2]

BB is also used to treat scabies which is a burrowing 'bug' so would work on lice etc too and is very soothing (guess who had scabies

)

Hope you get it sorted for the poor boy

 

[ibot]

thank you all for your replies. its amazing how well his tail is looking compared to when i first got him. i have him on soya oil in both feeds to help his coat.

 

[*hic*]

Is he rugged, if so since when has he been rugged and what type of rug?

 

[PennyJ]

Sweet itch is an allergic reaction to midge bites. The best way of stopping the midges biting in the first place and setting off the chain of events is to buy a special fly rug for sweet itch sufferers. Believe me it works. Along with electric fencing reducing the horses opportunities to rub themseves raw when one of the dam critters manages to bite them.

It varies in severity from horse to horse and where you keep them, our mare suffers on her mane and tail, we don't need to use the belly piece on her. Without the rug, she would rub herself bald and raw. I would heartily recommend one, they are worth every penny which you will save in not needing to buy various potions to put on the horse to alleviate the itching.