Sweet Itch!

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Havannah

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Hi All. Have found a lovely little Welsh Section A lead rein who is perfect in every way aside from the fact that she has sweet itch. It's not a severe case (at the moment), but of course it can vary hugely season to season, year-on-year depending upon the climate.

My head says walk away from this one but if any of you have any positive sweet itch stories to share I'd be really interested to hear about them. Particularly interested to see if any of you have used the Bio Plus Equine capsules from BioEos Ltd.

Thanks in advance.
 
I recently bought a Welsh A with a top class family tree. He had a nasty bout of sweetitch but has responded well to treatment and looks fine now

Hopefully we will catch it early enough next year and are if course vigilant all the time

I can see how it would put some people off but if the pony was good enough and priced with the SI in mind it wouldn't put me off personally

I am hoping my little chap will moe go on to fulfill his showing potential, a future I would have thought impossible when faced with a very sore and scabby pony 11 weeks ago!
 
Havannah said:
Hi All. Have found a lovely little Welsh Section A lead rein who is perfect in every way aside from the fact that she has sweet itch. It's not a severe case (at the moment), but of course it can vary hugely season to season, year-on-year depending upon the climate.

My head says walk away from this one but if any of you have any positive sweet itch stories to share I'd be really interested to hear about them. Particularly interested to see if any of you have used the Bio Plus Equine capsules from BioEos Ltd.

Thanks in advance.
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This question has come up sporadically on HHO so worth feeding "sweet itch" into the search archives if you want the low-down on SI.

Have not tried the BioEos capsules (National Sweet Itch Centre) - but have heard of them. My vet has never heard of them!!!! All sorts of potions will claim to alleviate SI but TBH you pays your money and takes your chance.

My boy's got SI and I bought him knowing he had it. Its about a total management rather than one single "fix" and once you've got your head around it, is possible. My boy's got a lovely full mane and tail.

In the summer months if its midgey he'll probably need to come in to cover the dusk/dawn period - which can be a hassle. And if he's out in the field, at all times he has to be wearing a sweet itch hoody rug. If indoors and its above 12 Degrees (where midges can live) he also needs to wear a protective rug. So you need to think about whether you're prepared to go to these lengths - usually midges aren't around in the winter months BUT last Christmas day I was out putting on SI rugs! So you can never really relax TBH! Then come February you need to be thinking about rugging up plus feeding supplements. Mine has Brewers Yeast plus Linseed.

You have to ask yourself whether you're prepared to go through the whole progress. It can be time consuming, and hassle; it may affect the horse/pony's ability to be ridden and/or taken to shows during the summer months.

Also you need to be aware of the fact that SI won't be very much in evidence at this time of year; what you don't want to happen is next Spring you get an unpleasant surprise with a pony red and itching and you wished you hadn't bought it!!! There are bloods that can be taken to establish the degree of severity/allergic reaction and it might be worth getting this done if you are seriously thinking of purchasing.
 
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