Sweet itch

[nikanita]

Looks like my mare is suffering this year. Not had it before. Scratched her face red raw last night whilst I was tacking up. Has been trying to scratch her bum whenever possible over the last few days.

Luckily there are no posts or trees in the field, so she struggles to scratch against anything and is turned out 24/7, but is an absolute pain when she is brought in and won't stop scratching.

One of the girls at the yard said she was rubbing her back legs together this afternoon. Will be going down shortly and hopefully she hasn't done any damage.

Has anyone any suggestions of the best way to treat it and what works. Thanks

 

[carthorse]

A sweetitch rug is the best thing and will need to be on 24/7 except when riding.Feed yeast extract/ marmite.

 

[JillA]

If she has only just started to rub, then it's possible it's an allergy to something other than insects. In which case a rug won't help - and in any case it's important to get a rug on BEFORE the itching starts. Ditto yeast extract/marmite - might repel insects, if fed in large enough quantities, but only works IF the allergy is to midges. My horse has worn a rug since mid March and started scratching his dock this month (normally starts in June), so it can't be midges.
Benzyl benzoate soothes it, also a cream I have found made by a local firm caled Furlongs - I'll see if they have a web site.
It may be an idea to talk to your vet and ask about skin testing, and something like Piriton, some people have used that effectively but it works out expensive because you have to give quite a number each day. I think there may also be newly developed anti histamines other than Piriton.
Basically its trial and error to see what works.
Good luck, it is a really difficult condition to get to grips with.

 

[JillA]

Just found Furlongs website http://www.furlongs.uk.com/index.html.

 

[MagicMelon]

Nothing works IMO. One of mine has sweet itch which is slowly getting worse every year. Its awful seeing him so desperate to rub all the time. He's rubbed the lower half of his mane out and also been rubbing patches off his face. He's had a Boett on for the first time this year which I put on in early March but it hasnt helped. He's also been on brewers yeast for months but again Ive noticed no difference.

My last option now is just to deal with it in the mean time until I see the results from the sweet itch vacc trials. If they worked then Ill put him on that once available.

 

[CentrestageSHS]

I have found that if I give my horse a regular bath all over with medicated or strong shampoo it really helps him. The smell helps to keep the flies away for a little while and the tee tree cools his skin down. I keep him out of any heat and he's in when the flies are at their worst. He is covered in fly spray and has a full body rug on, i also used moisturising cream on any dry or cracked skin where he has been rubbing. I have tried all the lotions and potions and nothing has worked but this. Last year he kept his whole tail by me bathing him and only slightly rubbed his mane through his rug. This year I was a little late and came up to find he had rubbed all the top of his tail out. But he has a beautiful mane this year and now the "regime" has started again, his tail is growing back nicely.
So try and see if it helps your horse, lots of bathing, make sure you get rid off all the shampoo. I use the cheapo stuff from supermarkets, its just called medicated shampoo with added tea tree and aloe vera. Its always in a big green bottle, its dead cheap and it smells like old people!

 

[JillA]

That's interesting - someone did tell me they had had good results with Head and Shoulders. I also use Maggot Oil - it's what sheep farmers use to stop bloat, and it is a) oil which biting insects don't like and b) smells of fly repellant. Has worked well with a cob whose boett mask has been rubbing her so had to come off. I wouldn't want to use it on the whole horse though.
MagicMelon, my horse was on the vaccine trial and it did nothing for him - as I understand it the results are very patchy. If it works great, but it isn't cheap so you need to know it's going to work before you do it.

 

[2muddy]

Someone at my yard is using Switch, a pour on remedy, with fantastic results. Permanent itching to happy happy scratch-free pony in just 2 days. She gets it from the vet but I'm sure it'd be available on line. I think it contains benzyl benzoate which JillA mentioned.

 

[scaremcclare]

my welsh d has sweet itch but its managed, by using (cant spell!) benzoyl benzoate, which u can get from ure chemist . i apply it most days and its really good. although dont touch ure eyes after u use it.....ouch! and it melts ure nail varnish! i use to use a boett blanket which are quite expensive but work 100%, although my mums horse ripped it up. hope this helps u.