sweet itch

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Layla77

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Hi guys

I'm looking to buy a horse that I have been told has an allergic reaction to a plant in the paddock, most likely buttercups and is on piriton, However I believe it's very bad sweet itch.

if I took this horse on can you give me any ideas on how to manage this please, will be getting rugs etc. But any lotions, potions or supplements that are good

thanks in advance

X
 
If it's sweet itch....

A good quality sweet itch rug and a good fly repellent and some electric fencing :)

Any protruding objects in the filed should be fenced off...ideally the whole field should be fenced off but that depends on your field.
Make sure the field is as exposed as possible and as far away from the muckheap as possible with no streams or similar in it or nearby.
A decent rug such as a Rambo Sweet Itch Hoody. I prefer this one as it is tough (1200 denier) unlike the Boett types which don't last long with my cob.
I use Coopers Fly Repellent Plus for his belly,sheath and face and /or Net Tex Stop Itch Salve. Both good :)
Get the rug on before the itching starts at the beginning of the year and keep up with that regime and looking after a sweet itch horse doesn't have to be stressful. It can be though so I would advise thinking really seriously about taking one on. If you don't have a suitable place to keep the horse it could turn out to be a lot of hard work and stress.
 
My appy has SI and we found that the Shires Sweet Itch hoody or the Premier Equine one work a treat! Premier Equine sell theirs dirt cheap but they also do daily sale promotions on their FB page (meaning if you keep an eye on it you can buy their products really, really cheap). I think I paid about £35 each for my two.

The trick is to put it on in jan or feb BEFORE the midges come out to prevent itching/rubbing. The midges are attracted to body heat rather than "ooh, look a horse let's go bite him", and they tend to attack at dusk and dawn. Therefore bringing your horse in during these times can make a HUGE difference. Try to keep horse away from still water ie ponds etc, turnout on high ground if poss where the winds are higher and thus prevent bugs from landing on him. Also, some find that feeding Brewers Yeast can put the bugs off biting - they don't like blood that tastes of Vit D.

Lastly, avoid Garlic like the plague.
 
Hi....my Dales gelding has severe sweet itch and I would never buy a horse again that suffers from this horrible condition. I manage it with rugs I have specially made that cover his body, neck and belly, adapt a snuggy hoods sheath cover to fit these rugs and go through around 6 customised face masks a year .
Rug is around 95.00 ... I have 1 made per year and keep 1 spare...sheath cover....30.00 ...I have 3 of these.....masks 12.00 that I have to customise to make sure everything is covered. I also use coopers fly repellent at 30.00 per bottle...probably used 6 this year.
Despite all this I have still had to give him 2 courses of steroids this year for the first time to break the itch/scratch cycle to get him back to a comfortable level.
If it is as severe as mine is then its costly as and very time consuming.
We are still in full sweet itch uniform and will be until the temp. drops right down. Then back in everything in about 3 months.
If I knew this when he was sold to me (and the sellers said it was mild!) I would have run a mile.
 
I've found that a barefoot diet with no sugar helps tremendously. A good rug, Net Tex Stop Itch is good. Eucalyptus fly spray. This horse was far worse before the sugar came out the diet about 7yrs ago, SI is almost non existant now.
 
jgmbng said:
If it is as severe as mine is then its costly as and very time consuming.
.
Click to expand...

I really feel for you...I was in the same situation 10 yrs ago with my cob. I was considering PTS for him as he was so miserable and I was reallly struggling to manage it.
That year we moved and so did the horses and he went from desperate to quite easily managed almost overnight.
Location is (almost) everything. :)
 
My highland has bad sweetitch, I brought him as a foal but if I had known he would have it I wouldn't of brought him.
I use
Rambo hoody
Itch stop
Diet ( no sugar) works wonders

I would never have another sweetitch pony ever
 
Hey i am in the middle of treating my cob for sweet itch we bought her off a riding school a few months ago who didn't have the time or the patience to treat her. So when we got her she had been hogged and her dock had next too no hairs on it. We use a product called BiteBack horse 'Sweet Relief' lotion that we got off ebay and it works a treat 2 months on and her dock is not visible under the hairs and everyone on my yard is always complimenting how well her tail has grown back
Hope this helps x
 
Ditto all advice given, also bear in mind where you're intending to keep the horse, as lowland pasture near standing water/woodland is just AWFUL for sweet itches, whereas a high-ground windy pasture on sandy/chalky soil is the best thing you could do!

I've known a horse with SI move a mile geographically, to a totally different field, and be much worse, also you could, bearing in mind your set-up, have a situation where the horse has say mild sweet itch, but is worse when you get it!!!

Personally - whilst I bought my horse knowing he had SI, I'd be hesitant to take on one with it, especially at this time of year when a lot of the symptoms will have decreased significantly. It CAN be the most horrendous condition to manage effectively, especially if you're say out at work all day and turn out the horse into a field where there's a lot of midges, OR its a midgey-weather day and you're not able to get back to put it in the stable. Also you may find it quite hard to find livery yards to take on a horse with SI. You will have the expense of rugs, proprietory treatments such as "Killitch", plus supplements (mine has cheap & cheerful Brewers Yeast, Clivers, and Linseed, and low-sugar diet).

BUT having said that, it IS manageable, but its a total management regime rather than one quick fix. You really do have to think about managing the condition from mid-February through to about now TBH. And you need to be prepared for that.

Sorry meant to add that IF you're serious about taking this horse on, then I think you should insist on a vetting where bloods are taken and you're given as accurate an idea as possible as at what the possible "allergen" is. Also whether (if it IS SI), what degree the severity of it is. Personally I wouldn't touch it with a barge pole unless you know precisely what you're taking on; and also I'd expect to haggle the price considerably if it DOES have SI.
 
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I have a horse with sweet itch that needed steroids to control. My Grandma recommended the BioEos capsule which worked wonders for her conny that was on the road for PTS as even steroids wouldn't control hers. The results have been amazing. Still need a fly rug but they don't shred it as they're not itchy! Only thing is it works better if started BEFORE the midges come out to play. Its 1 capsule once a week. Really really would recommend http://www.sweet-itch.co.uk/bioeoscapsules.html
 
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