Sweet Itch Nighmare

A

Araboo27

Well-Known Member
Joined
17 May 2013
Messages
350
Visit site
Friend has had her new horse (4 yo) for about 3 weeks. During the viewing she specifically asked about a history of sweet itch and was told there have never been any issues. Mane was short and was explained by a field mate chewing it off last summer. At the weekend she noticed that a patch about 5" long was missing, assumed that it had been chewed in the field. Horse was unrugged as fly rug and LW t/o still haven't been delivered. Got down to the yard this morning and the neck is raw, bleeding, bald...A few of us have had a look and we're pretty sure it's SI.

Where does she stand? She never would have viewed a horse with SI and really doesn't want that responsibility.

She's devastated.
 
She absolutely has comeback as sweet itch is classed as a vice - therefore it must be declared - what a shame.

I would get a Vet to confirm, along with pictures. Has she contacted the seller?
 
LJR said:
She absolutely has comeback as sweet itch is classed as a vice - therefore it must be declared - what a shame.

I would get a Vet to confirm, along with pictures. Has she contacted the seller?
Click to expand...

It's an awful situation for her. Vet is coming out tomorrow so will know more then. Worried that seller will claim SI had only just developed now but given the length of its mane it looks a bit suspicious. My friend is waiting until the vet has been before deciding how to proceed.
 
In the meantime you can help the horse by using a good sweet itch rug and Repellent.
I use Premier Equine sweet Itch buster with belly and Net Tex Itch Stop which soothes, heals and repels.
Look at moving the horse to a suitable field and using electric fencing to prevent him from really rubbing and destroying his rug and himself.
Good luck.....it's really sooooo irresponsible of them not to tell you. Poor horse.
As someone who has had a sweet itch horse for 19 yrs, I can tell you that once you get the management right, it really doesn't have to be a huge problem.
 
Am not excusing the seller in any way, but it just might be that moving the horse to a new location might have acted as a trigger, i.e. if the new location was one where midges are active, such as low-lying fields with water around. Also stress in moving can play a part.

Having said this, the seller should have declared the horse had the condition and one can only sympathise with the OP's friend. As an owner of a sweet-itchy horse I know what to look for - and as the sweet itch season is well under way now, one assumes that the buyer didn't know that a ragged/irregular mane meant that a lot of questions needed to be asked.

Hope this gets sorted. As previous poster says, sweet itch CAN be managed successfully, but if the condition was already established in the horse one would expect the price to reflect this.

Wonder if BHS Legal helpline would be able to offer any insight to OP's friend??
 
How irresponsible if the previous owner knew it had SI and didn't tell you.
My first pony had it, and whilst I wouldn't willingly buy one again, it is very unfair on the poor horse to not tell the new owner!

SI doesn't have to be a nightmare to deal with if you get the management and rug combo on top of, with my pony, you wouldn't know she had it. She had a full mane and tail, the only place she rubbed was her belly as there was no way of stopping her.
But with some soothing and repelling cream, she didn't do it too much.

I hope the new owner gets it sorted and if the horse is sent back, that the old owner does the responsible thing, by first taking it back, then being honest about it if they sell it on again.
 
We had a horse on loan that had not had sweet itch at the previous yard (I knew him there for 3 years), moved to ours and had sweet itch within weeks. He went back at the end of the loan, and has not had it since! I'm assuming the midges were different!
 
Mine developed mild sweet itch last year in his 4yo year for the first time. He had been imported from the Netherlands at rising 2 and has lived on the same yard ever since. I can only assume Hertfordshire midges are different from Dutch midges and it took a little while for him to become sensitised. Of course if the previous owner of your friend's horse did knowingly not declare it that's very bad behaviour, but there could be an innocent explanation. As others say, now she knows about it, it is quite manageable. With Cavalesse, sweet itch rugs and a bit of experimentation with all the many lotions and potions available, my boy is (touch wood) very nearly fine this year.
 
As said above you must declare sweet itch to buyers, it's classed as a vice

The environment plays a huge part in severity but given the horse had a short mane in the first place I think you'd have an excellent reason to reject the horse

If the new owner is very attached already then negotiate a part refund and use the money for some good rugs

Yes it can be got under control but it can be heartbreaking - my pony came to me with severe sweet itch (terribly midgy previous home) he cost me £150 and the cost to sort things out including buying rugs etc was well over four figures. I'm glad he is with us and happy and well but I'm not sure I would willingly have another with sweet itch!
 
MiJodsR2BlinkinTite said:
Am not excusing the seller in any way, but it just might be that moving the horse to a new location might have acted as a trigger, i.e. if the new location was one where midges are active, such as low-lying fields with water around. Also stress in moving can play a part.

Having said this, the seller should have declared the horse had the condition and one can only sympathise with the OP's friend. As an owner of a sweet-itchy horse I know what to look for - and as the sweet itch season is well under way now, one assumes that the buyer didn't know that a ragged/irregular mane meant that a lot of questions needed to be asked.

Hope this gets sorted. As previous poster says, sweet itch CAN be managed successfully, but if the condition was already established in the horse one would expect the price to reflect this.

Wonder if BHS Legal helpline would be able to offer any insight to OP's friend??
Click to expand...

^^^This ^^^

I have had my little lad for 10years, when I got him he had no signs of SI at all, not even a mere hint of it. I moved him to a new yard 5yrs ago and bam, massive SI issues, totally unexpected and a complete pain to manage, but it can be done. In fact I bought another one with SI last October, I'm more experienced in dealing with it now and her temperament is worth the effort. There is a thread from donkeys ago where I said it would be daft to knowingly buy a horse with SI, I totally take that back. With the right management it can be alright, obv every horse is different, but for me it's worth the effort.

It can unfortunately happen it develops unexpectedly.
 
Thanks for all your replies. I'm said 'friend', tried to make it anonymous but it's too much hassle and probably totally obvious anyway. Hope I don't look a total weirdo.

Vet has confirmed SI this morning, I'm beyond gutted. Pony is on antibiotics and a topical ointment, can't for the life of me remember the name but will post it later on. Treatment is very much trial and error and could end up requiring steroids.

I'm so torn about how to proceed. Pony was bought with the intention of showing and therefore needs a full mane and tail. Even if I get it under control, what if things go t*ts up one day, she rubs chunks of mane out and I'm screwed for the entire season?

She's a lovely looking pony and has potential once backed. I just keep going round in circles and changing my mind about what to do.
 
Araboo27 said:
Thanks for all your replies. I'm said 'friend', tried to make it anonymous but it's too much hassle and probably totally obvious anyway. Hope I don't look a total weirdo.

Vet has confirmed SI this morning, I'm beyond gutted. Pony is on antibiotics and a topical ointment, can't for the life of me remember the name but will post it later on. Treatment is very much trial and error and could end up requiring steroids.

I'm so torn about how to proceed. Pony was bought with the intention of showing and therefore needs a full mane and tail. Even if I get it under control, what if things go t*ts up one day, she rubs chunks of mane out and I'm screwed for the entire season?

She's a lovely looking pony and has potential once backed. I just keep going round in circles and changing my mind about what to do.
Click to expand...

Hi I thought i'd offer some advice as I have had a horse who suffers from horrendous sweet itch for 8 years now.

When I got him he was in such a sorry state. You've never seen a horse with such bad sweet itch. I've tried everything over the years including steroids. Steroids work out pretty expensive as not only do you have to buy the steroids which I was paying about £120 for 30 sachets. He was on 1 sachet a day. As well as that I had to have him blood tested every year to check that the steroids weren't damaging his liver and kidneys and after 3 years they found some damage so he had to come off of them.

Now he is on a good dose of piriton which you can buy over the counter pretty cheap if you ask for the chemists own brand. He is lathered in stinky stuff and he always wears a very good sweet itch rug both in and out of the stable. As well as that I give him a nice bath once a week in medicated shampoo as that seems to take the itch off. You genuinely cant tell he has sweet itch now .... apart from he fact that he is hogged but that is only because he damaged his mane so much when I first got him that his mane will not grow back no matter what I do.

It is seriously hard work because he has it so bad but I genuinely wouldn't change him for the world. We have achieved so much over the years and once I found the best and cheapest way to maintain it it genuinely isn't an issue. The key is to get it early. We compete all summer (granted not showing) but if he wasn't hogged you wouldn't know anything was wrong.

Sorry for rambling on! Hope the above helps.
 
Trakehner92 said:
Hi I thought i'd offer some advice as I have had a horse who suffers from horrendous sweet itch for 8 years now.

When I got him he was in such a sorry state. You've never seen a horse with such bad sweet itch. I've tried everything over the years including steroids. Steroids work out pretty expensive as not only do you have to buy the steroids which I was paying about £120 for 30 sachets. He was on 1 sachet a day. As well as that I had to have him blood tested every year to check that the steroids weren't damaging his liver and kidneys and after 3 years they found some damage so he had to come off of them.

Now he is on a good dose of piriton which you can buy over the counter pretty cheap if you ask for the chemists own brand. He is lathered in stinky stuff and he always wears a very good sweet itch rug both in and out of the stable. As well as that I give him a nice bath once a week in medicated shampoo as that seems to take the itch off. You genuinely cant tell he has sweet itch now .... apart from he fact that he is hogged but that is only because he damaged his mane so much when I first got him that his mane will not grow back no matter what I do.

It is seriously hard work because he has it so bad but I genuinely wouldn't change him for the world. We have achieved so much over the years and once I found the best and cheapest way to maintain it it genuinely isn't an issue. The key is to get it early. We compete all summer (granted not showing) but if he wasn't hogged you wouldn't know anything was wrong.

Sorry for rambling on! Hope the above helps.
Click to expand...

Thank you, it gives me hope! It transpires that pony has no history of SI so whilst I'm over the moon that she wasn't misold, I've now probably ruined my relationship with her breeder :(

I'm keeping my fingers crossed that she responds to treatment well and we can have the life together that I've dreamed about.
 
Araboo27 said:
Thank you, it gives me hope! It transpires that pony has no history of SI so whilst I'm over the moon that she wasn't misold, I've now probably ruined my relationship with her breeder :(

I'm keeping my fingers crossed that she responds to treatment well and we can have the life together that I've dreamed about.
Click to expand...

I'm sure you will do. I really hope you do!

I found that trial and error is the key. Just keep trying.. There are loads of treatments out there and once you find one it's pretty easy to doddle.

A couple of things I can certainly recommend after a long 8 years of trying ...

- a good sweet itch rug, premier equine, snuggy hoods and boetts I found to be the best. Well worth the money in the long run
- night time turnout or at least not 24/7 turnout. A bit of a break inside from the flies seems to help my lad (but I know some people say to leave out all the time)
-stinky stuff (still washes off really easy with a good scrub for competitions)
- coatex medicated shampoo (for dogs) you can buy online for Amazon and it seems to soothe my itchy lad
-piriton
- and if you do end up with a sore if you don't have any cream from the vets sudocrem works wonders on my lad. Also if it is very inflamed aloe vera gel seems to soothe!

All the best!
 
Hi one of my horses has sweet itch and after a couple of years of covering with various rugs etc (which seemed a shame as Vitamin D important too) I happened upon Ruggles Stopitall Oil. Its a bit smelly (its neem and smells like strong garlic). But just put in mane and tail about once week, a bit more when its bad for him which is normally September and that's it. Doesn't itch at all. Amazing stuff and seems to heal the damaged skin if you don't put it on in time too. Can make reins a bit slippy, but a small price to pay :-)
 
Have a look at where she was kept before and where you have her now and see if you can find what is different about it. Also look at her grazing and feed.
My horse has had sweet Itch for 19 yrs...at one point I was ready to PTS as he was so miserable but with a location change, and a good regime, it's actually quite easy to manage and you'd never know he had it.
My must have are a good SWEET ITCH rug...Premier Equine are the best value for money.
Electric fencing to protect the rug (and the horse) from damage and a good Repellent. I find Net Tex Itch Stop the best.
Avoid steroids of you can...they carry a risk of laminitis.
Emergency treatment would consist of an electric fenced off paddock. A wash in a gentle shampoo...well rinsed in cool water, rug and Repellent.
It can take about two weeks for the Itch to calm down once all this is in place but once it's under control it's just a case of avoiding a breakout.
 
As well as location, have a look at feed, we had a WelshDxTb who developed SI, she was also cereal and sugar intolerant. We took her diet back to absolute basics (grass and hay) and she improved dramatically. We later moved her to the top of a hill and we never had any recurrance of the SI, so it is possible that the original owner was telling you the truth.
 
Araboo27 said:
Thank you, it gives me hope! It transpires that pony has no history of SI so whilst I'm over the moon that she wasn't misold, I've now probably ruined my relationship with her breeder.
Click to expand...

If I hadn't known my horse as a youngster before I bought him, I would have been equally cynical. I'm sure the breeder understands.

It's a bit of a faff but I am sure you will get on top of it. There are much worse "surprises" you can get with a new horse than a bit of sweet itch.

While this year might well be a bit of a lost cause from a mane point of view, you will be on it next year and it won't be so bad x
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top