Tongue chewing horse /itchy when wet/hot ??

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delly&zo

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I've recently taken on a rescued welsh d mare 15yrs. Was very highly strung at first but is settling down nicely now. As well as coming to me with mud fever ( almost gone now woo hoo ) she also goes nuts when brought in at tea time if she's hot ( normally has a hoolie down the field for tea) or has got wet (normally has a hoolie down the water logged field for tea ) She kicks her legs up towards her belly mainly though she's trying to get an itch she cant reach , i'm sure it's her belly ,teat area as well as top of the back legs. She'll also rub her neck on the door frame quite frantically, and shaking her head too. All in all it's quite dangerous to be in there when she's having an episode . Has anyone got any ideas, i was told she suffers with sweet itch too. ? Have quizzed the vet but he couldn't see anything wrong, could be a habit. She also chews her tongue out the side of her mouth, when anxious or tea time never seen anything like it before ! Had teeth done x
 
There are lots of shampoos on the market for sweet itch and what you shouldnt feed, if she was mine i would clip her out, shampoo her, the tongue chewing is boredom and stress possibly related to being itchy, poor thing.
 
One of mine tongue chews when he's waiting for dinner, it's the only time he ever does it.

Interestingly my welsh D throws himself against haynets & rushes round the box rubbing on the walls if he's brought in wet or comes back from a ride wet or sweaty. Luckily a growl reminds him it isn't nice to do it when people are with him. A quick rub with a towel seems to relieve the urge in his case.
 
the tongue chewing and itchy problem are two separate issues, i'm not to worried about the first but i don't like seeing her uncomfortable with the itching. Not sure how she would react to the clippers , she's a bit sensitive. She took her door chain clean off on the third day we had her because i had to raise my voice to the naughty mare next door ! I think she would benefit from a good bath as from what i gather she's been pretty much left in a field for over a year. Then 4 weeks at the rescue centre who are to be honest pushed to the limit, then she came home with me, so we're still getting to know each other.
 
Lice maybe? Allergy?
It does sound like she needs a good scrub down. It must be awful for her to be so itchy. Is there anywhere reasonably close that has a hot shower and heat lamps available to hire?
I hope she is itch free really soon. :)
 
My Welsh D has a very interesting "dinner face" and throws his head about, lolling his tongue out of his mouth and chewing it! He is 15 and has done it all for all the ten years I've owned him!

I've heard of other Welsh cobs who do this, so wonder if it's been passed down a certain bloodline.
 
Tongue cheewing is part of the 'stereotypical' behaviour spectrum. Used to be called a vice (although this wouldn't technically be a vice) but it is all part and parcel of the same behaviour.

In a human it would be considered something along the lines of obessive complusive disorder. We don't know if the horse is 'obessive' (there's no way of measuring this) but it is most likely to be compulsive behaviour associated with anxiety. They can do it at any time which they consider anxiety provoking - could be even simply taking a headcollar off it's peg [as they know this signifys taking another horse away which is anxiety provoking for them.]

You could try to modify it with positive reinforcement. However, it does become more difficult to get rid of when the horse is older and the behaviour is 'engrained'. I would simply ignore it and hope that it decreases the more settled she becomes.

The itching sounds akin to a hypersensitive reaction produced by an over active immune response which is what sweetitch is [to the natt fly thingy.]

There are several lotions and potions which help. My son's pony is driven nearly psychotic in the summer with his sweetitch and will push down any fencing that provides a good scratching post. He is covered from head to foot with a sweetitch rug, (cant remember what it's called now.) and then treated with anti itch stuff (can't remember the name of that either, ha, ha.)

The winter does provide some relief for him so you would imagine that if it was sweetitch your mare wouldn't show symptoms. However, if she's recently moved this may have reduced her immune response and therefore, she may be more sensitive.
 
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I've just found this old thread. It's interesting as a youngster we have chews his tongue quite a lot. It is aggravating and seem s to occur for no apparent reason, he can just be standing in the stable.
Apparently his dam also did it, which is worrying if he learned it from her.
 
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