Sweet itch?????

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bumblelion

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Noticed my ID had been rubbing the top of his tail whilst in field today, he can get quite itchy here but not normally this bad. It's not raw but he's rubbed his tail hair quite short. Do you think he could have sweet itch? Never had a horse with sweet itch so not sure of the early signs! Any advice would be great! He's due to be worked also! Many thanks
 
Could well be sweet itch. I have an itcher and she tends to be worse after it has been wet and the air is damp.
Mine is so bad she wears a rug most of the time now but we have also removed everything from the field that she can rub on to try and help and we keep her covered in fly spray. i also tend to use sudocream to treat it with or cam rosa if its really bad
Hope that helps
 
Langley 11- he gets a handful of happy hoof and a scoop naff vit and min supp. He's been on this every summer for past 3 years with no probs so not sure! Maybe it's the grass?

Happyhacking:) - I can't stop him from rubbing as he's doing it on the trees and there's no way I can keep him away from them. Got post and rail with tape on top but he's quite a big chap and can't rub on it! Was thinking about getting him a fly rug, don't know if it will help but I can't go for the hoodys as he's a rug trasher and the material wouldn't last more than an hour! I need something like a Rambo protector (my tb wears one) as much tougher! Also he sweats up so easily, so difficult!
 
Could you not put some electric tape around the trees thats what we have done.
the key with rugging is to break the itch cycle. so we put it on before she gets bitten. as shes not bitten she doesnt get itchy and therefore doesnt start rubbing so the rugs hold up ok.
 
also
the midgies are at there worst at sun rise and sunset so avoid having him out at these times and you may find he doesnt get bitten so much. keeping the field well poo picked also helps.
personally i would smother him in sudocream to try and take some of the irritation out of it before he goes out and hopefully reducing him itching.
My mare is also on garlic to help with the flys but this takes a couple of weeks before it has much impact.
cant think of much elso off the top of my head
 
No I can't put fencing up around the trees as I wouldn't be able to electrify it and he'll just stand on it and rip the tape up into a million pieces! I found this out when there was a fault on my main fencing and it stopped working for a day!!! He's a bit of a thug!!

Rug wise, he shreds any that he wears with his teeth (including my tbs! The only one that seems to survive is the tbs rambo protector!)! That's why I don't want to get a boett etc as he'll rip it within hours and I'v looked and he'll need the biggest size they do at about £220!

As for bringing him in, I can't as my tb is in outdoor mode now it's summer and if he's in (unnecessarily in his eyes) he gets really stressed and I can't bring one in without the other as they both then get very stressed! It's so difficult!!

I need to get some avon skin so soft as I'v actually run out and I think the weather lately has really contributed! There seemed to be loads of flies/midges about today after all the rain last night!

I'm pretty sure brewers yeast is good also, so will get some tomorrow. They do get a slice of marmite on toast every other day but I think something stronger is needed! Will see what rugs they have too. I'm hoping that a fly rug will help, the mesh type(tougher) although I know they're holey so the midges could probably pass through but it's surely got to be better than being naked!?

Also which I know isn't helping is that their paddocks, (2 of them, opened up to make 1) is next to a rape field! I have another one on the other side separated by hedges but it's enclosed by trees so there's not much wind which makes it worse!

All a bit difficult really!!! He was fine last year, though the field next to his paddock was corn, so whether this is why?
 
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Sounds like sweetitch.
You wont be able to do much this year other than lotion and potion and rug up.
But next year you can prevent it. Rug up from valentines day to bonfire night. - thats what I do with mine and he has a beautiful mane and tail - no sign of itching at all.
You have to break the cycle
 
I have been amazingly successful (so far at any rate) this year having started my mare on Brewers Yeast during the winter, and gradually increasing the dose. She is out naked (has a foal this year so not much choice really) and it has really made a difference. Yes she likes a quick scratch but she is not frantically rubbing herself bald like she has done in previous years.
There is a school of thought that believes sweet itch is caused by a vitamin B deficiency, and basically that is the active ingredient in the Cavalesse you can get from the vet for SI.

Would totally second the idea of a sweet itch rug going on to stop it getting any worse for the rest of this season.
 
Ditto all posts above ,Masta and Equi-Theme do a Boett look-a-like for under £100 and I understand the Marmite/brewers yeast thing works ( I thought at first you rubbed it on !!!!! DOH ! ) .
 
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