Those of you with unridden sweet itch ponies...

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sonjafoers

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... are they ever naked for a time over winter?

I've taken on a shetland with sweet itch & am new to minis and new to sweet itch :eek: I was only planning on rugging him in a rain sheet over winter if it's wet but leaving him unrugged if it's dry and cold - however I am worried that he may get bitten if he's naked and it warms up a bit.

A friend told me over the weekend that her sweet itch horse is never unrugged but he is a riding horse so he's clipped over winter.

Any advice on this would be much appreciated - having never dealt with this before I wonder if I may be over worrying a bit!
 
Our retired pony has sweet itch and he is rugged all year round, but he has always been rugged in the winter, sorry don't have much experience with minis though.
 
Hi sisco, do you rug him because of the sweet itch or would you rug regardless?

I'm trying to work out if I should be putting mine in a full neck rainsheet as soon as his sweet itch rug comes off as a precaution, or whether he would be ok to be naked on cold dry days.

I'd just like him to feel free and unrugged when at all possible but I don't want to put him at risk.
 
I put mine out naked once it gets colder and the midges disappear but I rug her when it's wet and windy as she is getting older now
 
12 degrees is the magic number. Over that the midges bite, under they don't. keep an eye on the weather forecast and the rug at the ready. You can get warm days in Feb, but it depends exactly where you are in the country. A really windy field helps, a sheltered valley and a river makes it worse.

A shetland should be able to stay out all year anywhere in the UK without a rug of any sort - if not ill, old or otherwise compromised.
 
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Thanks surreydeb, that's good to hear as it was what I was originally planning. Do you use a full neck turnout though? I was planning to get him a lightweight rhino wug but I'm now a bit worried about any stray midges getting to him.
 
digger66 said:
12 degrees is the magic number. Over that the midges bite, under they don't. keep an eye on the weather forecast and the rug at the ready. You can get warm days in Feb, but it depends exactly where you are in the country. A really windy field helps, a sheltered valley and a river makes it worse.

A shetland should be able to stay out all year anywhere in the UK without a rug of any sort - if not ill, old or otherwise compromised.
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Digger66 thank you for that info, I've only had him a few days and am worrying constantly about him so that sort of thing is exactly what I need to know.

Unfortunately my livery is in a valley along a riverbank so we are quite midgey but if I have a temperature guideline like you've given I can be prepared.

I hear what you say about rugs but I would like him to have a lightweight for when it's really chucking it down :o
 
I use a lightweight without a neck and when weather gets really horrible a light fill full neck. My pony never rubs over winter but you have to be careful to get the SI rug back on before midges appear in the spring
 
sonjafoers said:
I hear what you say about rugs but I would like him to have a lightweight for when it's really chucking it down :o
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honestly if he is not ill, a shetland really doesnt need a rug in any weathers (apart from sweetitch rug). if he has a good winter coat i.e. overcoat and vest - mine has a long fur overcoat that sheds the rain and a finner fur underneath that acts as a thermal layer.
Putting a thin rug on them prevents the coat from fluffing out and trapping insulating air.
I worried when i first got him but have learnt that they are great at keeping themselves warm. last year when it got down to minus 15 and we had freezing rain (a freak weather event) i checked on the unrugged shettie and he was toastie warm even though he was covered in a layer of ice :eek::eek:

when it chucks it down the water never even gets into his fur it does that good a job....
 
My traddie cob's got sweet itch, and TBH I never really relax all year round!!! I'm lucky in that I keep him at home, so if I do notice the temperature rising (the magic 12 degrees!!) then I can bung on a rug, OR in the stable if necessary.

Its just about being vigilant, and aware. Last year I remember being out on Xmas day in party frock putting on a SI rug because there were loads of midges around!!!!

Personally I'd far rather stick on a SI hoody rather than take a chance and have my boy bitten, and get all itchy, raw & horrible.

Having said that, I do tend to tail-off supplements (Linseed, Brewers Yeast & Cleavers) round about the end of October (half term schools break); and relax a bit through the winter (but being vigilant in case it turns mild & midgey); then around the school half-term in mid-Feb I'll start midge alert again just in case, certainly I'd start feeding supplements again round about beginning of Feb.

Bear in mind that IF you're gonna put on SI hoody's, now is the best time to buy rather than wait till the Spring. Manufacturers don't seem to realise that people want to buy SI rugs in the Spring!!! Plus they'll be more expensive next year. Buy now if you see them in the sales etc.
 
i am quite new to all this. My pony has definitely improved but thinking that there were less midges around due to the cooler rainy weather i took his rug off and I noticed he is rubbing his mane and forelock lots but not his tail oddly. I cant work out whether its SI or winter coat coming through making him hot and itchy (he is very wooly already!) and I am not going to leave him out all night in rain in his Rambo SI hoody as the wet just soaks through, its gets really heavy and he is obviously cold. I have tried a light weight turnout on him but the theory about lw's flattening the coat seems true as he always feels colder with that on than without. He is far too hot with a lightly padded rug on.

Argghhh what to do????
 
digger66 said:
12 degrees is the magic number. Over that the midges bite, under they don't. keep an eye on the weather forecast and the rug at the ready. You can get warm days in Feb, but it depends exactly where you are in the country. A really windy field helps, a sheltered valley and a river makes it worse.

A shetland should be able to stay out all year anywhere in the UK without a rug of any sort - if not ill, old or otherwise compromised.
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not true im afraid i would not be leaving itch rugs off until it was routinely dropping below zero at night. and i would have rugs back on as soon as temps are staying above zero! sounds extreme i know but we have never had one bitten since we followed this rule. when we were leaving off until higher temps (about 8 degrees) we had horses bitten.
 
Jericho said:
i am quite new to all this. My pony has definitely improved but thinking that there were less midges around due to the cooler rainy weather i took his rug off and I noticed he is rubbing his mane and forelock lots but not his tail oddly. I cant work out whether its SI or winter coat coming through making him hot and itchy (he is very wooly already!) and I am not going to leave him out all night in rain in his Rambo SI hoody as the wet just soaks through, its gets really heavy and he is obviously cold. I have tried a light weight turnout on him but the theory about lw's flattening the coat seems true as he always feels colder with that on than without. He is far too hot with a lightly padded rug on.

Argghhh what to do????
Click to expand...

we put lightweight rain sheets on over the top of the sweet itch rugs. if its heavy rain and/or windy we would take the rug off but be sure to get it on before the wind drops. midges like the damp conditions the best so just before and just after the rain are the worst times
 
We have two sweet itch cobs that wear hoodies from March. I have just taken the rugs off as its very windy and cold so no pesky biters. The rugs will go back on though if the weather warms up or becomes still. I do spray them both with midge repellant around 7pm just to be safe.

Probably daft, but I love to see them unrugged and having a good nibble grooming each other when they are naked. they are both very hairy too so do not need winter rugs.
 
I leave mine unrugged from November to Feb. She is on restricted grazing, though, as this is part of her control regime. If she was out on lush grass or a new field for the winter, I may act differently.
 
Thank you everyone, it certainly seems best to keep him in his sweet itch kit until the REAL winter.

I've only had him about a week and he came to me in a real bad state but I was starting to feel quite good as by coating him in camrosa he's showing a definite improvement. However I took his rug off today for a good groom and noticed he has a couple of new sore patches so I'm very disheartened now and am praying for cold, wet & wind to help him!
 
I find with mine that if I rug early with a rambo bug rug ie march april and may that
I can then unrug for the rest of the year. There is a bit of rubbing but some benzyl benzoate sorts that. better than keeping the horse constantly in a rug i feel.
 
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