Mari
Well-Known Member
My mare has a touch of sweet itch only at the top of her tail. I have used Biteback products & antihistamine to alleviate the itching / rubbing but is there anything I can add to her feed that would help?
Sweet itch
- Thread starter Mari
- Start date
Gloi
Too little time, too much to read.
Truthfully I tried everything over the years I had ones with sweet itch and no feeding regimes or supplements helped.
If it is sweet itch it isn't just at the top of the tail. The allergic reaction is throughout the body, that is just the part she is currently rubbing.
If it is happening now in January I'd try a pour on like Switch or Deosect to make sure she has nothing living on her. If it's in midge season get a good rug on her.
If it's always just the tail check her for pinworms.
Last edited:
AE94
Member
Duraglow or OmegaPro
Mari
Well-Known Member
Thank you. I have checked for pinworms. Negative. It is just the top of her tail, absolutely nowhere else. I’ll try to remember to take a photo tomorrow.
Gloi
Too little time, too much to read.
Have you tried using benzoyl benzoate on her tail if that's the only part she rubs.
claret09
Well-Known Member
kilitch and washing regularly
Peglo
Well-Known Member
I started feeding my itchy (no sweet itch diagnosis) pony linseed and noticed a little bit of an improvement but when I added oily herbs it really did help a bit. Not completely gone but noticeably better.
Mustard
Well-Known Member
We fed our horse with sweet itch a mixture of linseed, brewers yeast and salt. He grew a full mane for the first time in years.
ZigZagTap
New User
How did you feed this? What were the amounts?
MiJodsR2BlinkinTite
Well-Known Member
I would check your feed - my vet contra-advised anything with either garlic or mollasses in it for my old sweet-itchy lad. Both can cause itching.
I'm a little unsure TBH whether you are dealing with actual sweet itch from what you say however......... if there IS sweet itch, I'd expect to see rubbing on the mane as well as the tail, and the rubbing on the tail wouldn't be just the top of it, they will literally rub it down to bare skin - once you've seen it happen it is absolutely unmistakeable that you've got a sweet itchy horse.
When exactly did the itching start? And were there any changes in management prior to this? i.e. change of feed/turnout?
OK so you've checked for pinworms.... can I ask, sorry but are you absolutely sure??
I'm a little unsure TBH whether you are dealing with actual sweet itch from what you say however......... if there IS sweet itch, I'd expect to see rubbing on the mane as well as the tail, and the rubbing on the tail wouldn't be just the top of it, they will literally rub it down to bare skin - once you've seen it happen it is absolutely unmistakeable that you've got a sweet itchy horse.
When exactly did the itching start? And were there any changes in management prior to this? i.e. change of feed/turnout?
OK so you've checked for pinworms.... can I ask, sorry but are you absolutely sure??
Mari
Well-Known Member
Absolutely sure about pinworm, the vet checked. Vet has confirmed it is an allergy & possibly the itching has become habit as she rubs her bum throughout the year but moreso March - October. She has had it since I got her 8 yrs ago however she came to me in March & had been stabled since the previous owner bought her in October of the previous year. I did ask if she’d suffered from sweetitch as i have previously had a pony with bad sweetitch, was told no.
She is only fed Lo Cal Balancer + soaked meadow hay, no garlic or molasses. She eats for England & is a prime candidate for excess weight & laminitis (which she has never had as I’m very careful with her diet) I have her on antihistamine + Biteback products, Sweet Relief cream helps. Recently i discovered Red Bush tea & started her on that too. She is definitely less itchy. It is only the sides of the very top of her tail that show the classic sweetitch symptoms, lumpy swellings & hair rubbed off. The “front” of her tail is smooth skin & has hair. I’ve tried to take a photo but it doesn’t really show the swellings.
Mustard
Well-Known Member
We added it to his feed twice a day. I can't remember the amounts exactly - the salt was a couple of tablespoons a day, and the linseed and brewers yeast were about a cupful - I think it was a Topspec measuring cup about the size of a small mug. He was a big horse.