Sweetitch boffins please

[poiuytrewq]

It’s mid January and won’t be long before it’s spring.
I’ve seen so many tips to help sweetitch sufferers, all need starting before the season starts
So tell me what you do, use, feed and from what date (roughly)
I’ve just started adding a handful of linseed.
Heard about some tea from Aldi!
Brewers yeast (though he’s not at all keen so an alternative maybe?)
Antihistamines, Cavalesse (tried that but not sure if I got in there early enough)
Rugs on early-when from? Really keen to try and lessen symptoms this year.

 

[Red-1]

Rugs now, as I have already seen some flies that were fairly midge like.

It hasn't been cold enough to stop them coming out.

I found the rugging was the top thing, before they got bitten.

I had special sweetitch rugs when outside and fly rugs when inside. Fly mask at all times.

Once it was fly season proper, he would be in during the day and only out at night.

I found that more important than any fly spray or feed.

 

[Celtic Fringe]

I'd agree with Red-1. Rug early - now if possible with sweetitch rug under a turnout if needed at this time of year - I have seen insects out on some warmer days. I also found that sponging on Deosect, diluted as per instructions on the bottle, every two weeks worked well. Old cob did not tolerate any type of spray but oddly didn't mind the smell of Deosect although he was very suspicious of most potions and was happy for me to sponge it on. Fly spray was not effective and trying different feeds didn't seem to have any impact. My old cob hated being in and would just use the walls and door as itching posts so we tried to keep him in a field that was exposed to the north/west in summer so it caught the breeze.

 

[Muddy unicorn]

We’re trying the ringworm injection - our vet says they’ve had good results with quite a few sweet itch horses but it has to be given before the allergic reaction takes hold. I’m keeping my fingers tightly crossed that our boy is one of the success stories..

 

[Aperchristmas]

In addition to the advice above, we feed ours vitamin b3 (I think it's that one at least) and it has improved his skin.

 

[MereChristmas]

As above rug early.
My horse was bitten between the front legs and on the brisket. I made an attachment to a hood which went between the front legs and attached by velcro to the front of the belly wrap on a Shire SI rug. It had pieces that hung between the legs and was already high enough to cover the brisket too. It worked really well.
i used a snuggy head and udder cover too.
The picture is from before the front addition.

 

[pistolpete]

I’ve not had a SI pony but my friends highland suffered and she said apart from rugging religiously from early spring onwards she swore by using a lot of bite back midge spray. She slightly diluted it but made sure inner thigh area and chest area well sprayed. She said as soon as he got bitten anywhere on his body he’d rub his mane out! It didn’t matter if the mane hadn’t been exposed. Others may have similar experience. Spraying especially dawn and dusk too ideally. Don’t think I’d go there if one was offered to me even for free. They do suffer bless them!

 

[Gloi]

Rug early with a good rug and a hood like the Boett one that fastens to the rug, never a fly mask . Keep your electric fencing in tip top condition,electric fence everywhere and make sure there are no sneaky branches, water troughs or anything else they can find to rub on. I coated the legs and sheath with something like Nettex cream , neem, or one of the other greasy fly/sweet itch creams once the weather was warm enough for midges.
No feed changes or additions made a noticeable difference to ours, money is better spent on good rugs and fencing

 

[Britestar]

Rug early.
We use NAF D-itch supplement, which "might" help, you can never be sure but once started to way to take him off it.

Copious amounts of Goodbye flys. Using it everyday seems to help too, and we find Phaser also effective for this horse. Keeping him clipped and cool also helps.

Strangely enough we usually manage the summer ok, and early autumn, but its that bit between autumn and winter he's often the worst.

 

[pistolpete]

I think autumn is the worst as the fluctuations in temperature are greater then. The midges seem to like that! I did hear of one poor animal having electric fence on the inside of its stable! Surely that’s cruel! My highland rubbed his mane out one year not SI but made a job of it. So horrible for them to be itchy. He is lucky it was just one spring.

 

[claret09]

my boy has sweetitch although most people have no idea. the year before i bought him i had him on loan and when i first had him he had rubbed himself raw on barbed wire fencing. i was recommended to use kilitch and i have used it ever since. it is the most amazing product. i use it before the midges come out, everyday. it is important to deal with sweetitch before it is a problem. in the summer i also use a rambo fly rug and an amigo aussie rug in tandom - that might be too much for many horses - he is ok with it unless it gets very warm - at which point he just has the aussie rug on - they are great. the other thing i really recommend is washing regularly - two or three times a week at least - i use horse shampoo (bought in 5 litre bottles - so much more economical). washing regularly helps keep down any itching. my boy is also always in at night - avoid dawn and dusk turnout - midges are horrific. i hope this helps - message me if you want any more advice

 

[poiuytrewq]

Ohh thank you all so much! Lots of replies.
Hes retired and we don’t seem to have midges much at home so that helped last summer, when he was in work hacking different areas really set him off. I am now even at this time of year regularly hacking my other horses through swarms of the bloody horrible things.
I need to crack on and repair his rugs actually, I bought 2 shires last summer and they took bit of a battering.
There’s no where to rub in the field, currently in at night but will switch to day as soon as the ground dries up a bit.
He actually has a pen and shelter rather than stable but think I’ll swap him to a stable for summer?
I’ll have some deosect which I used last year, he’s not keen, he’s not keen on having anything applied any more since this started
No other feed suggestions other than the Naff stuff?

 

[Highmileagecob]

Not sure if this will be any help, but I struggled for years to clear a cob of leg mites - they feed on skin scales, which start to build up in direct response to the irritation. Selsun 2.5% shampoo used every five days for a month has cleared the problem completely.
Friend once had a SI horse......which built up an alarming amount of skin scale, which appeared to attract the midges. I wonder which comes first, heavy dandruff or midge bites? And presumably there is some allergy to the bites involved. You have my sympathy, it is a very stressful condition to deal with.

 

[tatty_v]

I’m really interested in these replies too as our new boy seemed to have sweet itch or something similar over the summer - he had a very isolated patch at the base of his mane that he rubbed raw. It’s clearly been a longstanding problem with his previous owner as he came with no mane in that patch..

I fluffed up as I didn’t realise the problem so I left him uncovered - mistake! Lesson learned. Any recommendations for what to put them in in the stable? Do you carry on with the sweet itch rug or swap to a fly rug or something else?

I did have really good results with shampooing the sore patch with malaseb and then soothing the area with a mousse my OH (vet) asked me to try called Cutasol. That seemed to be very effective in removing the itching. It wouldn’t be cost effective for a large area but for our isolated patch it was a game changer.

 

[smolmaus]

O
No other feed suggestions other than the Naff stuff?

This will be my first spring with an SI pony and I am doing as much reading as possible and there is no consensus anywhere on feeds or supplements.
Brewers yeast, linseed, red bush tea, camomile, vitamin B, nicotinamide (vit B3), aloe vera, tumer-itch, antihistimines, the bio-plus capsules all have anecdotal reports of helping miraculously for different horses.

I have deosect on recommendation from the vet, she was on the Bio-plus capsules at the rescue and had no bad itching but still rubbed out her mane. I am reluctant to use brewers yeast or linseed as she is already chunky and lami would be worse than itching when she goes out to grass. I have a shires SI rug and currently panicking about what other one to buy as a backup.

 

[pistolpete]

I really like the Aussie rugs for summer shame they don’t have a belly cover. Rugs are essential. The boett rugs look awful to put on but seem well tolerated. Just remembered my friend used to use a bit of talc under her boys rugs too. Imperial leather talc has benzyl Benzoate in it!

 

[Surbie]

He actually has a pen and shelter rather than stable but think I’ll swap him to a stable for summer?
I’ll have some deosect which I used last year, he’s not keen, he’s not keen on having anything applied any more since this started
No other feed suggestions other than the Naff stuff?

I found the micronised linseed helped a bit, but otherwise tried to feed as low sugar a diet as possible. The teas made no difference at all to mine and he thinks brewers yeast is disgusting.

The very best thing I found was to keep him rugged, and to keep the skin on his tail and mane clean, soothed and moisturised. I go through a lot of aqueous cream and add teatree/lavender/citronella.

I couldn't rug last year as he was out with rippers on both yards I was at (ripper at current yard has now left). He has a bog brush tail and missing lumps of forelock now, though I did largely manage to save his mane.

Any recommendations for what to put them in in the stable? Do you carry on with the sweet itch rug or swap to a fly rug or something else?

I did have really good results with shampooing the sore patch with malaseb and then soothing the area with a mousse my OH (vet) asked me to try called Cutasol. That seemed to be very effective in removing the itching. It wouldn’t be cost effective for a large area but for our isolated patch it was a game changer.

Is Cutasol prescription?

I keep mine in a sweetitch rug, but have enough tatty, mended sets to change them over - when they are moulting the trapped, shed hair also makes mine very itchy under the rugs, so I brush/shake them out each night.

I will have to put something smooth up on the walls too, as he has brieze blocks one end and that does awful damage to a tail overnight.

Just typing this steels my resolve not to have another with sweetitch, and my horse's symptoms are mild!

 

[tatty_v]

Not as far as I’m aware, I think a rep dropped it off as a sample so he asked me to try it and we were both really impressed with the results.

I’ve managed to find it on Google here:

https://www.petdrugsonline.co.uk/derbymed-cutasol-for-horse-skin-care

It’s not cheap but as it’s a mousse, a little goes a really long way.

I’m finding all these tips really helpful so thank you everyone. Seriously hoping I can stay ahead of the midges this year ?

 

[babymare]

My lass livid in her sweetitch rug from around mid Jan to November (longer if mild). My vet said it’s the first bite that triggers it. Worked great

 

[smolmaus]

There seems to be no company in existence that has had the bright idea to make a sweet itch rug with a waterproof top panel. Fly rugs yes, sweet itch no.

 

[Chianti]

my boy has sweetitch although most people have no idea. the year before i bought him i had him on loan and when i first had him he had rubbed himself raw on barbed wire fencing. i was recommended to use kilitch and i have used it ever since. it is the most amazing product. i use it before the midges come out, everyday. it is important to deal with sweetitch before it is a problem. in the summer i also use a rambo fly rug and an amigo aussie rug in tandom - that might be too much for many horses - he is ok with it unless it gets very warm - at which point he just has the aussie rug on - they are great. the other thing i really recommend is washing regularly - two or three times a week at least - i use horse shampoo (bought in 5 litre bottles - so much more economical). washing regularly helps keep down any itching. my boy is also always in at night - avoid dawn and dusk turnout - midges are horrific. i hope this helps - message me if you want any more advice

I've had my SI pony for five years. I've tried a lot of 'natural' products- which don't seem to stop the rubbing. This year I'm inclined to try Killitch. I'm interested to see that you think it's a good choice.

 

[poiuytrewq]

There seems to be no company in existence that has had the bright idea to make a sweet itch rug with a waterproof top panel. Fly rugs yes, sweet itch no.

Yes! I posted on the sweetitch page asking that and the only suggestions were all just fly sheets. It’s surely a big hole in the market.