Those of you with Sweet Itch ponies

[Stenners]

What do you all feed your sweet itch pones? I have recently got a pony for my daughter who suffers from sweet itch and I've never had a pony with sweet itch before and realized I have to fence of any rubbing post in my field!! When do you take off the sweet itch rugs for winter? She's still quite itchy now and we must be coming to the end of it soon. Im guessing the first frost?

Do you feed supplements? Recommend any creams?

 

[Hormonal Filly]

Congratulations on the new pony

When do you take off the sweet itch rugs for winter

Can’t help with this one.. first year my mare has worn one, I’m guessing once the weather changes like you said. Be interesting what other members say. She’s been in a light turnout the last few days with the rain.

Product wise, Biteback products are amazing! Their sweet relief cream is brilliant, just ordered another pot.

In terms of feeding, some say alfalfa makes it worse but it doesn’t seem to make any difference with mine. She gets a handful of Dengie healthy tummy chaff with a small cup of micronised linseed plus powdered balancer, vitamin E and joint sup.

 

[Stenners]

Thank you!
She's currently fed a sprinkle of hifi lite once a day with brewers yeast and turmeric and has a sweet itch steroid cream to put on any bits that she's rubbed. That's what she's always been on. She's not awful with it as constantly in a rug but i will have to put a turnout on with all this rain forecast but worried she will sweat with 2 rugs on as she's a Dartmoor!

 

[PinkvSantaboots]

I feed mine niacinamide which really helps the itching but you have to start it early like march until about October, I buy mine on ebay and mix with water but you can buy it as a ready made supplement from Herd leader it's oral itch solution.

I don't know if my horse has true sweet itch but he rubs his mane he has a shires bug rug and I don't use it all the time as his is not severe, his definitely better since feeding the niacinamide.

I find weekly washing with a medicated shampoo helps and I use bite back repellant and the relief cream, I also use wonder gel it soothes and helps hair growth.

 

[Hormonal Filly]

I don't know if my horse has true sweet itch

I don’t either, that’s the thing with mildly effected ones. I’d say she’s itching her tail far far less since wearing a sweet itch rug all summer but still itches her mane the same (mid to top of mane) with or without the SI rug so a bit baffled by that because surely midges can’t get in. Ears are also a very itchy although she wears a full fly mask.

 

[Stenners]

I feed mine niacinamide which really helps the itching but you have to start it early like march until about October, I buy mine on ebay and mix with water but you can buy it as a ready made supplement from Herd leader it's oral itch solution.

I don't know if my horse has true sweet itch but he rubs his mane he has a shires bug rug and I don't use it all the time as his is not severe, his definitely better since feeding the niacinamide.

I find weekly washing with a medicated shampoo helps and I use bite back repellant and the relief cream, I also use wonder gel it soothes and helps hair growth.

Ah yes I have the Biteback spray and relief cream! I may look at the Wondergel - that sounds great.

 

[Hormonal Filly]

she will sweat with 2 rugs on as she's a Dartmoor!

I would probably clip her if she were mine. More comfortable heat wise, suppose to warm up again next week. I find mine easier to manage clipped and she seems to itch less when she’s cooler.

 

[PinkvSantaboots]

Ah yes I have the Biteback spray and relief cream! I may look at the Wondergel - that sounds great.

I use wonder gel on everything

 

[Stenners]

I would probably clip her if she were mine. More comfortable heat wise, suppose to warm up again next week. I find mine easier to manage clipped and she seems to itch less when she’s cooler.

Ooh I hadn't thought of this! A full clip? She's on loan so I will speak with her owners (they are on the same yard).

I did actually consider clipping her neck and belly.

 

[Stenners]

I use wonder gel on everything

I'm off to order it right now! My mare often cuts herself and the hair never grows back the same - would this help?

 

[PinkvSantaboots]

I would probably clip her if she were mine. More comfortable heat wise, suppose to warm up again next week. I find mine easier to manage clipped and she seems to itch less when she’s cooler.

I have to clip Louis all year round as he gets too hot and it aggravates the itching, his got cushings so his coat isn't as fine as it used to be despite being on prascend.

 

[PinkvSantaboots]

I'm off to order it right now! My mare often cuts herself and the hair never grows back the same - would this help?

I use it for most skin problems especially any rubs where there is hair loss, my friends mare rubbed her tail and body raw a few months back vet said it was a sugar intolerance, I told her to use wonder gel and she said she couldn't believe how quick the hair grew back, I think it can stop mild rubbing I use it daily on Arabi as he is allergic to alot of things but his fine with this and I think it stops him rubbing his tail.

 

[Stenners]

I use it for most skin problems especially any rubs where there is hair loss, my friends mare rubbed her tail and body raw a few months back vet said it was a sugar intolerance, I told her to use wonder gel and she said she couldn't believe how quick the hair grew back, I think it can stop mild rubbing I use it daily on Arabi as he is allergic to alot of things but his fine with this and I think it stops him rubbing his tail.

That's fab - just ordered some so will pop some on her as soon as it arrives!

 

[Hormonal Filly]

Ooh I hadn't thought of this! A full clip? She's on loan so I will speak with her owners (they are on the same yard).

I did actually consider clipping her neck and belly.

Yeah, full clip. That’s what I do with mine

 

[Hollychops]

I have a little pony who has substantial scaring from sweet itch and is in a rug and fly mask from early March to whenever i dont see him itching or flicking his tail, stamping his feet at the vampire flies.

He has a handful of grass pellets, brewers yeast, 6 piriton (on the recommendation of the vet) twice daily. He also has a brew made up of Red bush tbags and chammomile flowers to dappen his feed down. Not convinced this has worked but who knows.

I swear by bite back products to help soothe the skin when he does its.

There is a facebook group called: Sweet Itch Support that really helped me get a grip on how to make his life more comfy

 

[SantaVera]

i thought my part bred welsh cob had sweet itch as he was showing typical symptoms. the vet did a blood test. it was negative. turned out to be something he does when the grass is quite sugary. i feed him hay in summer now and the itchingf is gone. you just cant tell if its SI or not without a blood test.

 

[Gloi]

What do you all feed your sweet itch pones? I have recently got a pony for my daughter who suffers from sweet itch and I've never had a pony with sweet itch before and realized I have to fence of any rubbing post in my field!! When do you take off the sweet itch rugs for winter? She's still quite itchy now and we must be coming to the end of it soon. Im guessing the first frost?

Do you feed supplements? Recommend any creams?

I had one with bad sweet itch for many years.
Once the wet and windy autumn weather started the sweet itch rug was swapped for a full neck rainsheet which also gave some protection, though the sweet it rug went back on if the temperature rose. The only naked time was dry frosty days.
I had no joy with any supplements and feed made no difference.
I liked neem, the Biteback creams and the nettex sweet itch cream.

 

[Chianti]

Ah yes I have the Biteback spray and relief cream! I may look at the Wondergel - that sounds great.

Mix the Wondergel with some neem oil. The neem deters the midges and the Wondergel helps the skin to heal.

 

[santas_spotty_pony]

It’s my first year with a sweet itch horse too. The best thing I’ve found is keeping her sweet itch rug on all of the time and her fly mask(mask is actually off tonight for the first time in ages as it’s blowing a gale here but her sweetitch rug is still on. She will be wearing it until the weather is really cold. I pop a lightweight turnout rug on over the top of it rains. I also use Naf Ditch the Itch spray and I’ve got the Lincoln SOS Itchy Switchy lotion to put on any sore areas. I also wash mane and tail regularly - although haven’t had to wash them as much since I got the proper sweet itch rug.

 

[ILuvCowparsely]

What do you all feed your sweet itch pones? I have recently got a pony for my daughter who suffers from sweet itch and I've never had a pony with sweet itch before and realized I have to fence of any rubbing post in my field!! When do you take off the sweet itch rugs for winter? She's still quite itchy now and we must be coming to the end of it soon. Im guessing the first frost?

Do you feed supplements? Recommend any creams?

Not diagnosed with sweet itch but treating as such as she is mega itchy, one thing I removed is alfalfa

 

[Melody Grey]

i thought my part bred welsh cob had sweet itch as he was showing typical symptoms. the vet did a blood test. it was negative. turned out to be something he does when the grass is quite sugary. i feed him hay in summer now and the itchingf is gone. you just cant tell if its SI or not without a blood test.

This is interesting and not something I’ve heard before. It would potentially explain how, with the continual wet and warm weather this summer, two of mine who have never previously had sweet itch, do appear to have

ETA: I’d figured that the weather had made midges particularly bad and that was the reason.

 

[Surbie]

What do you all feed your sweet itch pones? I have recently got a pony for my daughter who suffers from sweet itch and I've never had a pony with sweet itch before and realized I have to fence of any rubbing post in my field!! When do you take off the sweet itch rugs for winter? She's still quite itchy now and we must be coming to the end of it soon. Im guessing the first frost?

Do you feed supplements? Recommend any creams?

Congratulations on the pony!

I can recommend the stuff I use, and there is a lot of choice out there on products, lotions and potions, but what you will probably realise fairly quickly is what works for one might not work for another - apart from proper rugging! I rug from early spring to whenever the b*stard midges die out unless it's a very windy day. I replace the netting ears on fly masks with material the midges can't crawl through.

My horse's has got milder as he ages, or I've just found a routine that works for us. I feed low starch and sugar (<10% combined) with zero garlic and semi-soak his hay. I add in Forageplus vitamins & minerals and salt. I moved to a yard with big open fields and no water nearby.

I use Killitch on itchy areas with unbroken skin. I use salt water washes and udder cream/filtabac on anything where skin is broken. I hot cloth him regularly but don't use any harsh shampoos that strip the oil from skin.

Things that didn't work for me: brewer's yeast, redbush or chamomile tea, tumeric, wondergel, biteback products (more from a bank balamce point of view!), micronised linseed. Your list might end up different, but good luck with it!

You can try the injection next year before the season begins, but again, it doesn't work for every horse.

 

[Dave's Mam]

I think the first thing is to find out if it's Sweet Itch or an allergy or pinworm.

 

[Stenners]

At the moment it tends to be her face, her mane and tail doesn't appear to get rubbed although saying that part of her mane is alot shorter than the rest so she must be rubbing under her rug!

It's around her eyes and her muzzle mainly that she seems to be suffering.

 

[Gloi]

At the moment it tends to be her face, her mane and tail doesn't appear to get rubbed although saying that part of her mane is alot shorter than the rest so she must be rubbing under her rug!

It's around her eyes and her muzzle mainly that she seems to be suffering.

Boett hoods are really good

 

[tda]

I feed mine niacinamide which really helps the itching but you have to start it early like march until about October, I buy mine on ebay and mix with water but you can buy it as a ready made supplement from Herd leader it's oral itch solution.

I finally purchased some Niacinamide, but not sure how much to use, what dilultion and is it better as a topical solution or via food
I've got 250g powder

 

[PinkvSantaboots]

I used to feed herdleader which has 10mg of niacinamide as a daily dose and its mixed with water and you feed 20mls a day, I did work it out and basically measured the powder and filled up the bottle with water and fed it the bottle is 500mls. I can't remember how I did it now I will try and work it out later

 

[tda]

I used to feed herdleader which has 10mg of niacinamide as a daily dose and its mixed with water and you feed 20mls a day, I did work it out and basically measured the powder and filled up the bottle with water and fed it the bottle is 500mls. I can't remember how I did it now I will try and work it out later

I get confused with g/mg/ml
Would prefer to feed it as we have a routine with benzyl benzoate spray

 

[PinkvSantaboots]

I get confused with g/mg/ml
Would prefer to feed it as we have a routine with benzyl benzoate spray

I did work it all out last year but can't for the life of me remember, I bought a 250g pouch and just tipped it all in the bottle I had this year because I couldn't remember

I did work it out just by googling it.

 

[PinkvSantaboots]

I got that wrong its 10mg per 100g of body weight