Sweet Itch Rug Poll and Advice Please : )

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Forget_Me_Not

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Afternoon. I've suspected Jesse of Sweet Itch for a few weeks now but today I discovered broken skin/ scratching sores under his forelock. His mane was full and thick in the winter but now tufty. Although I've never actually seen him in action my livery thought she did. I would say it was pretty mild sweet itch however I want it catch it quick. Oh he also has sore, slightly redand swollen fly bothered eyes : (


I've been having a little look at the sweet itch rugs and wondered, I've got no experience of sweet itch, which you'd recommend? The snuggy hoods look nicer I think and are cheaper but are they as good? What about the Rambo one? Or is the boett best?

Any adivce on sizing too... He's 14/14.1HH but only three so should make 14.2HH. He's wearing a 5'6Ft Amigo currently. He is a New Forest but quite a althetic build. He has little ears so fly masks are striaght off!!

Any creams or supplements that aren't a waste of time and money? I'm using that lice stuff (can't remember or spell the name!) from the chemist which seems to pervent his tail from rubbing.

Any other advice too : )
 
Rambo Sweet Itch Hoodie has been best for mine, did have divoza pagony (boett style) but got fed up of pulling on and off and Bud got fed up too. Hoodie is easier to put on/off and comfier for Bud.
I also use Kill Itch on his mane and tail and plenty of fly spray and we have full mane and tail and minimum rubbing
 
I voted for the Snuggy Hoods. I recently bit the bullet and invested in hoods, bodies and sheath/udder covers for my two who have mild SI.

Chancer would rub his belly raw, and Farra got her belly and teats bitten and sore too.

I am very pleased - now have had them two weeks. I did take hoods off after one week, I am concerned at their manes being rubbed - I show Chancer as a traditional and to be honest, it is more their bums and bellies that suffer. I will put hoods on when the midges are bad though.

Stinky had almost stopped ground humping and his belly is no longer sore and growing hair back. Farra's belly looks great too so for me these bodies and udder/sheath covers have really done the trick.

Size - I got the 6'3 and 7 ' bodies - mines are in these size rugs. They come up generous - mine are just 5 so the rugs will give them some filling out space. I spoke to Snuggy about the hoods and went for the M/L for Chancer - just over 15 hands gypsy cob and the XL for Farra - 17 hand clyde and they are about right. Heads are snug fitting but this is so they don't move.

I now only spray their necks when hoods are off, the Snuggy bodies and extra covers do the rest. When hoods are on, I don't need any other sprays.

The hoods have a really good fly fringe as well built into them.

Hope that lot helps
 
Thanks thats really useful. What colour do you go for? I'm thinking light would get dirty but then I wondered if a black would get really hot?

I don't think I would get a Rambo, though they are the cheapest because they don't over the eyes and as I said Jesse has really sensitive eyes and takes masks off over his little ears.
 
Rafi has a snuggyhood which is great ,get one with a zip and shop around for a good price , just got one for £152 [ for my farrier] from horsingaround saddlery and they phoned me to ask exactly the size of the pony.
Rafi has a spare as well as I wash his every week . His mane is still really good and he wears it 24/7.
Good luck but make sure there is no wire for your horse to rip his rug on
 
Chocolate brown - hides most of the mud, poo and grass stains - though noticed that now Farra is obviously tree trunk brown, the birds seem to crap all over her.

No way was I having the pale colour - life is too short - hence all my horse rugs, cloths etc are good old fasioned navy or similar dark colours.

Here is the big lady showing off her new outfit

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Does make her look a bit like an overgrown donkey
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Final tip, if you go for the sheath cover - make sure the belly attachment is done up as forward as possible so the end of the sheath cover is in front of the willy or they can pee and fill the belly cover. You also need to take off the udder or sheath cover at least every other day and rinse it in a bucket with a dash of dettol in it - or they get rather smelly.
 
Snuggy Hoods definately the best for me. My horse trashes his ears so definately Snuggy. I had rambo last year and it was good but my boy needs covering completely.

I must say tho, you may still have problems with him this year whatever rug you put on him.

The best way to prevent the itching is to cover them up early in the year before the wee buggers appear. Once your horse has been bitten he will be quite itchy for the rest of the season.
 
I have the "fake" boett, called demeincampf or something, virtually identical for half the price.
It's been great, the only thing I would say is buy a size bigger than you would usually get otherwise they can get a bit hot in it.
 
hmmm- anyone got a cob with SI? nightmare trying to get a rug to fit, as short body and wide chest. any suggestions?
 
We use Nettex Itch stop and Advanced fly repellent putting them on alternately every 3 days. We also feed brewers yeast 25g for every 450k of horse every day of the year. This is most effective if fed throughout the winter prior to the sweet itch season. So far our cob has been sweet itch free for the first year ever. She has never worn a rug.
 
Hi

I use Naf DEET spray whenever I ride or any other time he doesn't have his rug on.
I use Avon Skin So Soft (the blue bottle) everyday - a couple of squirts every inch or so along his mane, as close to the base as possible and give it a quick rub as well.
I wash his mane and tail once a week using Dermoline medicated shampoo.

Fingers crossed, this seems to working so far
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Had amazing sucess just by rubbing vaseline under my mare's tummy. It stops the midges landing! Just smear it on and also around her teats, went from red and very sore to virtually nothing in a matter of days! I'd go with snuggy rug and a cheaper version fly sheet (got mine off ebay - complete with belly band) for about £30 when weather is really hot!!
 
another snuggy hoods fan.

The rambo is good if your horse only suffers mild sypmtoms however it does not offer the same degree of protection as the others.

Have tried boett, demulencamp (or whetever the correct name is ) also found the snuggy hoods a much better design as its head piece is totally separate to the rug so it stayed in place better and was easier to put on and off.

Also had the added bonus of only having to replace the head piece if the head piece gets torn ( the part that usually does due to biting and leaning over stable doors, gateways etc.) the other two the whole rug need replacing when the inevitable hapened with my thug horse!
 
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