Sweet Itch or Lice ?????????

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indi21

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Hi all Just looking for some advice i have a 15 month old cob and in the last week or so he has stated to rub his main on anything he can i have looked in his main to see if i can see anything, and all i can see is flaky skin. He is rubbing so much his main is starting to break and coming out, could this be lice or sweet itch and is there anything i can put on him to help stop the itching till i find out what it can be????????
 
We still have midges here - this warm weather is sending everything haywire! Benzyl benzoate will take the itch out if it is sweetitch - only if the skin isn't broken though.
 
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These rubs/hairless patches were caused be lice. The horse rubbed contantly and even rubbed out most of her tail. The owner eventually got the Vet out as she was red raw in places. She was treated with louse powder (as were all the horses on the yard). I think that she had to be treated three or four times to completely get rid of the lice.

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If it's lice you may be able to see some moving about amongst the scaly skin, I have an itchy horse and I use Chestfields Cut and Graze on every skin problem, it is natural so doesn't irritate and it seems to take the itch out straight away.
 
Sweet-ich is still a issue my mare is having steriod injection this week for her sweet-ich that is now worse than it was in the summer.

I would try and treat for lice and see if that helps.
 
Just incase the powder doesn't help....... We had some horses recently on the yard that were treated for lice with the powder but it didn't clear up so the vet was called for advice and gave some antiparasitic/ fungal injection, which apparently gets in the blood stream and kills the biting lice! Not very pleasant sounding but the vet reckoned the lice are getting resisitant to the powders!
 
My mare has gone most of the year almost itch free. I started to drop my guard a few weeks ago and moved them last week (to put them further away from a large fireqork display). Since I moved her, it's been a heartbreaking week. As it's November I left her BB, Neem Oil and sudocrem at the main yard. She's now got bald bits down her mane. Literally this has been since moving onto new grass, so if your youngster has just moved, try restricting grazing for a bit. The weather changed here as I moved them and I went from heating on every evening to having the windows open all night. I'm undecided whether to move them back on Saturday (the day after the display) or buy a second muzzle (so she can also have grass restriction like my LGL pony) and re-start topical treatment. I treat the mane and tail with a 1:3 Mix of Neem Oil:Benzyl Benzoate, daily if the condition is aggravated (but NOT on broken skin, use sudocrem for that!), then every other day to maintain. Don't forget to address diet, though. Chloe is fed Brewer's Yeast all year round, but it's a very low dose at the moment, as she's only getting a handful of feed. I normally give her 80mg/Kg.
 
Cover as much of him as you can possibly manage, but especially make sure that face to tail along the top of the mane and back is covered. There is an old saying - the lice cross their backs twice a day...

They are the devil to get rid of by the way...
 
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