Sweetitch - Rugs and Management...Any Tips please

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Step sons pony owned since last summer, sweet itch had already taken hold last summer before I got her;

Since brought her been researching and have now cut all processed sugar and alfa.

Being feed
500g Un-molassed Beet
500g Just Grass
100g Linseed
50g Brewers Yeast
+ Adlib hay - she is living in yard with few other looks amazing weight wise considering age.

Mane and tail pretty much grown back, her belly is very badly scared from years of rubbing same as a patch just above her tail but both are slowly growing coat again.

I have been liberally applying Carr and Day Killitch, I have not seen her itch or floor hump for months now.

I have just ordered some benzyl benzoate instead as seems to be key ingredient and cheaper, its 99% however so presume it needs diluting, what can I dilute with? I don't really want to use oils as will increase chance of sun burn won't it?

Fly Spray; Homemade
Cold tea, Cider Vinegar, Citronella, Tree Tree and Lavender - Been using it for years and its seems to be effective, anything else I could add to this?

Rugs, as much as I would like to buy a boett I just can't afford 1 at the moment, has anyone tried this one...

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Gallop-Al...hash=item258c8ec24b:m:m6YFOkQRJuYxdfxf6rQucWQ

Or any other cheaper good ones?

Sorry for essay and thank you
 
Have a pagony rug for ours. I would electrify the entire field and rug early. The rugs don't stand up to much rubbing so preventing the itch scratch cycle starting is a must. Also use I use phazer on the rug (and the pony). We aren't in a bad area and he has no symptoms at all with this regime despite suffering in previous home.
 
My little boy has had sweet itch since he was 1/2 years old, it's so bad he even gets a it on his face :( I've found rambo sweetitch hoodys the best rug, with the water proof liner to start as it's best to get the rugs on before first bite so late Feb early March some years. Also nettex itch stop salve is very good. I've used benzoyl before and itch stop salve is better for him. It also helps the hair grow back very quickly.

Fly masks with ears are also very useful for him too, ruggles is the best one I have tried.

My sheland has sweetitch to a lesser extent and wears a ruggles sweet itch rug and uses the salve too.

Sadly it's a case of trial and error to an extent as what works for one doesn't work for all. Snuggy hoods sweet itch rugs are also very good but my Shetland hates them so have found the ruggles rug is better for her :)

Managing turn out is also important. If possible either turn out in the day 9-5 or turn out after dark till early morning to a avoid dawn/dusk midge clouds :)
 
When I had my mare she had mild sweet itch I would start putting her hood and face cover on about mid march, I would wash her mane at least once a month and apply some wonder gel made by gold label, I did try to leave her rug free but her face would suffer the most so I ended up buying a made to measure sweet itch hood and face cover from cornerstone browband I think it was £45, as my mare only really rubbed her face and mane I just used a regular fly sheet on her body, but cornerstone do make the hood and body separate so you could buy one piece at a time you can spread the cost I think the whole thing works out about £90, I think for the money they are very well made and I really was pleased with mine, I think she also sells on ebay so might be worth having a look.
 
It's worth considering a year-round clip (and maybe a hog).SI horses are usually very scurfy, which adds to the itch - think how itchy dandruff can be. Mine was fully clipped at the end of January and will stay that way now until about October. Scurf comes out of his coat easily with a quick flick over with a brush.

We use the cheap fly sheets, I do my own repairs and replace them when they are more patch than rug. Anything white with a belly flap is ideal. I was distinctly underwhelmed by the Boett.
 
I use the Rambo SI hoody rug, or the Premier Equine ones are good. Had a Pagony and damn thing literally fell apart in no time.

I feed unmollassed stuff, and as supplements use Cider Vinegar, Linseed, Brewers Yeast & Clivers. Forget buying specially produced complex supplements and buy the simple ingredients and mix up your own; ditto fly/midge stuff basically.

For riding, I use a Ride-On fly rug, mine's a Horseware one - indespensible in the summer months.

Also consider stabling in the dawn/dusk period when the midges are most active, and consider turnout - best places for SI horses are high windy pastures away from standing water. Worst places are valleys with still air and streams/ponds, and forest or common land nearby.
 
Weatherbeeta Rip stop fly rug, the one that looks see through. Fly mask with ears. Neem. Bite Back Sweet Relief & NO SODDING GARLIC, whoever started this craze needs shooting.
 
MiJodsR2BlinkinTite said:
I use the Rambo SI hoody rug, or the Premier Equine ones are good. Had a Pagony and damn thing literally fell apart in no time.

I feed unmollassed stuff, and as supplements use Cider Vinegar, Linseed, Brewers Yeast & Clivers. Forget buying specially produced complex supplements and buy the simple ingredients and mix up your own; ditto fly/midge stuff basically.

For riding, I use a Ride-On fly rug, mine's a Horseware one - indespensible in the summer months.

Also consider stabling in the dawn/dusk period when the midges are most active, and consider turnout - best places for SI horses are high windy pastures away from standing water. Worst places are valleys with still air and streams/ponds, and forest or common land nearby.
Click to expand...

I'm on a river tributary network with my SI pony. It's a hoofing nightmare.
 
I've tried so many things, I do think my pony has other allergies in addition to sweet itch, I have found a multi pronged attack to be better than any one thing

Here are some of the good things I've tried

Electric fence paddock
rubber trough in paddock as he was scratching on the rigid trough
Keeping away from trees in height of summer
bringing in during the day
A curtain over the top of the stable door
keeping stable gutters clean and avoiding any standing water eg water butts outside stable are covered
keeping the stable very clean, no cobwebs, using aubiose bedding instead of straw
biteback products
nettex itch stop salve
Shapleys MTG oil, this is soooooo good
cream from the vet - aqueous cream mixed with betnovate and baytrill - ask your vet about this - cost about £25 and I use two lots a year
Deosect fly repellant sponged all over pony
regular baths even in winter, I use Coatex shampoo which has been excellent
Snuggy Hoods (headless hood and body - my pony wont wear anything over his face happily)
Premier Equine sweet itch rug
washing any rugs every four days - ALL rugs apart from turnout ones and all year round
rambo and Amigo fly rugs on low risk days
all rugs have tail flaps
clipping late winter (just been done)
Low sugar feeds
Brewers yeast - about 80g for my 11.2hh pony
salt in feed - this has made a big difference
Equifeast Fight Back supplement in the winter in to spring - lots of debate over whether you should boost the immune system or not but i find it helps
 
The Rambo sweet itch hoodie rugs are by far the best and toughest hard wearing I have come accross. As mentioned with the waterproof liner they are perfect for use when it rains. Always wash up well too. Use the Griffin Nuumed Nuuwash to clean them as its soap based and wont itch your horse's skin.
 
Nettex salve and piriton which I buy from the vet. its very cheap. Boett rug and Horsewear SIrug. wash rugs regulaly and manes and tails.
 
My old boy had (luckily fairly mild) sweet itch. On my vet's recommendation, I would bath him twice a week in Head and Shoulders and apply a homemade lotion made up on 50% calamine lotion, 40% benzyl benzoate and 10% methylated spirit. Cost a fraction of manufactured lotions and I'm sure it was the reason my boy's SI was only mild. This was in the days before sweet itch rugs and with this routine I managed to keep him out all summer.
 
Just to throw out another brand - BiteBack (http://www.bitebackproducts.co.uk/) does a benzyl benzoate containing lotion (Sweet Relief) that works well and is very reasonably priced compared to similar products. It's not particularly greasy, so IME leads to less gunking up (can get away with less frequent washing).
 
I do almost exactly the same. Every bit of the field is electrified. She wears a decent sweet itch rug, and use Kill Itch and Phaser fly spray. Her face gets a bit scabby so I put forever living aloe Vera cream on, and she has Brewers yeast in her feed. We almost kept an entire mane and tail last year but I couldn't take my eye off the ball for a minute !
 
Never personally owned a horse with sweet itch, but one I work with on the regular gets it very badly. So far, Flint's Yard 'Itching?' has been the most effective stuff we've found for both soothing the itchy bits and keeping further midges off (he wears fly rugs mid spring to late autumn, too), though it's certainly not the cheapest stuff out there.
 
Neem oil has made a big difference to my pony. A friend recommended it having tried it on her Shetland. We've both had really good results, I used it through out last year and my mare was a lot less itchy. It is, however, quite messy!
 
Notimetoride said:
.... but I couldn't take my eye off the ball for a minute !
Click to expand...

very good point, once the itching starts its a real battle, one year we had problems lambing the sheep and the ponies were rather neglected for two days, the itchy pony started to itch un-noticed and I never regained that lost ground all summer
 
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