Sweet Itch Remedies

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peanut

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My little native is looking fabulous at the moment with a long thick mane and tail, but before too long the sweet itch will strike.

She simply hates rugs and shreds them anyway she can. I've tried garlic but she won't eat it. Daily fly spray helps only a bit. I've heard of Avon Skin So Soft but having looked at the website, am not sure which one?

Can anyone recommend an inexpensive remedy?
 
No garlic - it affects the immune system of the sweet itch horse and makes it so much worse.
feeding brewers yeast is said to help, though start feeding a little at first and then build up as fussy sorts can turn their nose up initially. (google natural horse supplies for a good value place to get it - I get mine from here and they are always fab).
def rug - start rugging before the midges start biting (ie now!), if you rug after the horse already feels itchy then you will get through rugs at an alarming rate! I use the rambo sweetitch hoody and really rate it. It is washed weekly in a non-bio sensitive washing liquid and my mare has weekly dermoline baths - as long as her and her rug are clean then it really helps her be less itchy.
netex itch stop on her midline and teats too - the fly rug just leaves a little uncovered.
The most important thing though is to get a rug on before the midges start the reaction/itch cycle again.
 
I have to agree with The Pony, regarding garlic. People seem to be obsessed with feeding it. But the benefits are very questionable - and any thing that has an alergic reaction or immune system problem should not be fed it in any shape at all.
 
I have to admit to being completely in the dark about sweet itch having never had an animal (touch wood) that suffers.

However, I was doing some internet research the other day on home made fly repellant and it is worth while having a google about Catnip Oil. It is supposedly the best ever thing as a fly repellant and is miles better than DEET!!

No idea whether this will help with sweet itch but might be worth an investigation.

Good luck to all the itchy ponies out there this year!
 
My mare started to get sweet itch last year. I would recommend Netex Itch Stop cream. This year I am going to try Sweet Relief spray. As others have suggested try putting a rug on before your horse gets itchy so maybe she will tolerate it. My horse has her rug on now as there were a lot of midges out when we went for a hack at the weekend. Although the rugs can be expensive over a year they are probably cheaper than buying loads of lotions and potions.
I have also started to feed brewer's yeast and have cut out any molassed feeds.
 
LOL - mind you, just had a thought - not sure what all the stable cats across the country are going to think about it. Might find you are walking out to the field and finding a whole load of cats hanging off your horse's fly sheets by their claws!!
 
Hi, help please...
I recently got given the mark todd fly rug for my boy, I have a few questions 1, how tight should it be? 2, would it be warm enough for him to wear now (i,m in essex). 3, what happens if it rains are they waterproof?

also he,s been itchy all through the winter across his back... keeps getting little scabby bumps... i,ve tried everything from the anti itch injection to lotions and potions. as well as the supplements in his feed nothing seems to of worked.

at the moment i am giving him a good groom most days, and using a soother. once the weather picks up i will also wash him regularly.


thanks x
 
Could you describe your boy a little better ie how old, is he clipped, what type is he, does he feel the cold???

As I said before, I am certainly no expert but I would have thought that you could put it on underneath any turnout you may be using.

We are in Bucks and it is very difficult at the moment re. rugs. It is due to be very warm today but as my mare is hunter clipped she is still wearing a LW turnout and lycra hood. All of the unclipped horses and ponies are naked.

Pretty sure most of those fly rugs are quick shower proof but certainly no more but as they are so light they would dry off very quickly.
 
I would also recommend Netex Itch Stop cream, best thing ive found and last ages as you don't have to apply it everyday!
 
He,s a piebald cob.. 15'3" he had a full clip at about 4months ago... its just beginning to come through again. and he does feel the heat. rugging him is a nitemare, at the moment he,s in medium weight but i,m beginning to think thats too much for him.
i was looking forward to no rug,s but i think he needs the fly sheet. in the summer he attacks his tail...
 
my welsh d gets bad sweet itch and has been covered in lumps from midgie bites... this has already started this year... :(

ive strarted giving him brewers yeast and marmite (which luckily he loves!!!!) and covering him in home made fly spray - and weve had no reactions for a week now! :)
 
martha said:
My little native is looking fabulous at the moment with a long thick mane and tail, but before too long the sweet itch will strike.

She simply hates rugs and shreds them anyway she can. I've tried garlic but she won't eat it. Daily fly spray helps only a bit. I've heard of Avon Skin So Soft but having looked at the website, am not sure which one?

Can anyone recommend an inexpensive remedy?
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Re the Avon skin so soft: its the green one. They occasionally change its name, when I used it years ago it was called woodland fresh. I used the dry oil body spray on my sweet itchy horse to great effect. My homemade fly repellant was vegetable oil with lavender, tea tree and citronella essential oils in it - less of the citronella than the other two. I used sudocrem on sore bits, which also kept the flies off. There was a barrier cream sold by the Boett rug people which was a godsend to slather on unrugged areas, and it literally formed a barrier which the midges couldn't land on.

Best thing I did for my horse was put him in a boett. Have a think about the reasons why and exactly how she destroys rugs - is she destroying them because of her itching? If so putting a boett or equivalent - must be sweet itch not ordinary fly - rug on and keeping her stables for 24-48 hours may be the answer, as that'll give time for the existing bites to calm down and stop itching.

There is a research programme which evaluated a sweet itch vaccine which you could look into, and many people report success treating their sweet itchy horses with homeopathy. Have a google, you could try the remedies yourself or find a homeopathically trained vet if your area is lucky enough to have them. This is the route I would try first if I had a SI horse again.

diet2ride said:
Hi, help please...
I recently got given the mark todd fly rug for my boy, I have a few questions 1, how tight should it be? 2, would it be warm enough for him to wear now (i,m in essex). 3, what happens if it rains are they waterproof?

also he,s been itchy all through the winter across his back... keeps getting little scabby bumps... i,ve tried everything from the anti itch injection to lotions and potions. as well as the supplements in his feed nothing seems to of worked.

at the moment i am giving him a good groom most days, and using a soother. once the weather picks up i will also wash him regularly.


thanks x
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I can't speak for mark todd rug specifically, but unless its a specific sweet itch rug it won't stop midges :( However it will be better than nothing, and I would fit it as per any other rug, not as closely as the sweet itch ones are designed to do.

These fly rugs don't offer anything in the way of warmth or waterproof, so I'd class a horse wearing one as "naked", but you can use another rug over the top of them, so just rug as you would do normally but with that underneath. The earlier you start using it in the year the better :) Don't leave it off for odd days during the summer - you can bet your bottom dollar just because you think there aren't any midges out you'll find the odd few always find your horse, and ruin all your hard work. When its warm enough its fine to have them turned out with a fly rug when its raining - it just dries with their body heat in the same way their coat does.

Only thing that bothers me is that you say he's been itchy all winter - has your vet diagnosed your horse with an allergy to midges, as usually its mainly a seasonal problem? If not then the fly rug stuff etc will be a waste of time, and he might have a skin condition which can be treated using different methods - ask your vet.
 
martha said:
Recipe please! They all seem to differ a bit.
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I give Sam one tablespoon of powdered brewers yeast and 1 tablespoon of marmite too.

Then I spray him with fly spray, all over, put his lightweight on - and then spray the rug too - when the drier weather comes he will live in his fly rug.

(mixed in a 1 litre spray bottle):
citronella - about 50ml
white wine vinegar - about 250ml
avon skin so soft - about 150ml
topped up with water

It needs to be shaken well before each use, as the skin so soft seperates from the fly mixture when its left standing/
 
Another vote for Avon's Skin So Soft, my little welshie will be getting a good bath this weekend and then will be slathered in the stuff, tried a lot of fancy remedies and she wrecked two Boett's last year so can't afford to keep buying rugs. She also goes mad itching in the stable. Skin So Soft meant that she could stay out comfortably and it's pretty cheap, usually on offer which means you can use it liberally.
 
Definitely Brewers Yeast 25g a day for every 450kg of horse. It is the vitamin B3 which is the main ingredient. Marmite works because it is made from Brewers Yeast.(no need to feed both unless your horse just likes marmite.) Nettex Itch Stop applied to all previously affected areas about twice a week or affected areas if the Itching has started. This can be applied safely to broken skin. We feed Brewers Yeast all year to all our horses Sweet Itch or not. There are loads of benefits.
 
Martha: Love the quote in your signature! :D

Cobbysmum said:
Another vote for Avon's Skin So Soft, my little welshie will be getting a good bath this weekend and then will be slathered in the stuff, tried a lot of fancy remedies and she wrecked two Boett's last year so can't afford to keep buying rugs. She also goes mad itching in the stable. Skin So Soft meant that she could stay out comfortably and it's pretty cheap, usually on offer which means you can use it liberally.
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The boetts themselves aren't the toughest of SI rugs, there are much more durable ones around now, but may I ask is your field free of things the rug could be caught on? If not I'd strongly recommend investing in electric fencing and try rugging again :)
 
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