Those of you who own horses with sweetitch...

[tasteofchristmaschaos]

When are you planning to put their sweetitch rugs on?
Obviously it will depend on where you are and how badly your horse is affected, but now it is starting to warm up a bit I'm just thinking about when to put Fella's rug on.
Thankies

 

[_HP_]

Anytime from now onwards really. I have to play it by ear but I have seen plenty of midges already this year so am on alert.
Luckily my lad is on the side of a valley which is usually the last place to get midges so will probably be a few weeks yet but if he were at home he'd already have it on.
I have my fly recipe on stanby too

Am dreading it already...poor boy only gets a couple of months rug free a year

 

[brightmount]

It would normally be around March, though she's not a severe case.

 

[Daisy11]

mine is going on know
as ive left it a bit to late last year

 

[SonnysHumanSlave]

mine are living out 24/7 but snowflake has really really bad sweet itch, but i dont want to fly rug him yet as he has a new zealand on, BUT i have seen midges near the ditch in the field so was wondering if he should have it on under his new zealand, or fly rug on during day, new zealand at night naybe.

 

[_HP_]

If there are midges about I would get it on...under a turnout would be fine

 

[duggan]

Am going to try the marmite method this year, but the rug is going on as well as he can rub his mane out in a couple of hours if you miss him!
The last few months have been great, he has a glossy black mane and i'm gutted to realise it'll all change soon

 

[Boxers]

[ QUOTE ]
Am going to try the marmite method this year, but the rug is going on as well as he can rub his mane out in a couple of hours if you miss him!
The last few months have been great, he has a glossy black mane and i'm gutted to realise it'll all change soon

[/ QUOTE ]

What's the marmite method?

 

[duggan]

Theory is a marmite sarnie every day helps keep the midges away..... hope Reg likes marmite!

 

[_HP_]

A marmite sarnie a day keeps the midges at bay

Some people use a sarnie, some mix a blob of marmite in some warm water and add to feed. Brewers yeast added to the feed is much the same thing...I'll be trying that this year.

 

[tasteofchristmaschaos]

I feed a marmite sandwich everyday with brewers yeast in, and then up the quantity of both for the summer period.
It does deffo help Fella.

 

[Suzie86]

while bailey is quite a bad case it doesnt normally kick in for him til about may, so i will be digging the rug out (or replacing actually as he trashes 1 at least each year!) around the start of april. saying that though he's at a new yard so no idea what the midgies will be like. Hmmmm will try marmite, wonder if horses love it or hate it!??!

 

[GypsyGirl]

Heloo .. My mare suffers from sweet itch too! (bugger!!) And this may sound silly but are horses allowed to have bread? Just because ive been told that the marmite sandwhices are really good but never tried it .. but then I got told that horses cant have bread? :S This is probably really stubpid but if they can im deffo going to try the marmite sandwhiches and hopefully she'l grow her mane without pulling it out haha!! xx

 

[tasteofchristmaschaos]

I know a few horses with sweetitch and they all have marmite sandwiches with no problems so far. I do always feed brown bread (only thing we have in the house), but I don't know if the colour of bread makes a difference.

 

[Donkeymad]

As sson as his winter turnout rug is off.

 

[Echo Bravo]

Mine as soon as they say it may get a little warmer and I might try the marmite in warm water this year as I really would love to ride her again

 

[ibot]

my yard owner said no to bread but i might try the hot water one. how much marmite? i teaspoon per feed or more or less??
we are ditch per feed. ive seen no midges as yet.
i hate summer he has such a nice mane and tail at the moe. fingers crossed this year is not so bad.........

 

[tasteofchristmaschaos]

ibot - I feed one tablespoon per day

 

[Toffee44]

My girly has it on from mid-late march till about october bless her. We have two Rambo sweet itch hoodys so I have a back up when she rips it

 

[Toffee44]

Just to add I have already started fly repellent on her neck mane and tail as this is her main areas.

Anyone with mares do you notice that sweet itch seems to get worse when shes in season or is it just me?

 

[Kallibear]

It's the vitamin B's in marmite that repel the midges. Apparently makes the blood taste horrible to them!

Try feeding Vit B in a supplement form - Equimms (i think it is) does a Vit B supplement.

My boy was bothered by the midges last (wasn't the year before but he's only rising 3) and will be wearing a very fetching fly rug from about march onwards this year.

 

[blond1]

My cob has one teaspoon of marmite once a day added to his bucket of feed from about March onwards. He has benzyl benzoate (really hard to find in the shops now!) applied to his mane and tail and he lives in his boett rug. The boett rug will go on once he's out of his full neck turnout. Last year the farrier suggested mug of green tea to add to his feed instead of marmite but didn't seem to work as well as the marmite.

 

[ibot]

marmite here is come. i have to say i am of the loving it brigade hehehehe.

so 1 a day i can do that.

 

[Echo Bravo]

Benzyl benzoate you can get from chemist, although a bit embrassing last time I went for some they thought is was for crabs???, Tried telling them it was for sweet-itch one my horse