Treating mild sweet itch

[Caol Ila]

Hermosa probably has mild sweet itch. Blah.

She gets a very itchy crest and dock, and I've done experiments with her this summer where I haven't put her on a fly rug on days where it doesn't look that buggy (to me). She's much worse when she's brought in after a rugless night. I felt like I was winning when she wasn't scratching at all for the last couple weeks of warm weather, and she was wearing a fly rug every night because the heat wave made it the bugs come out. Then over the weekend, it got chiillier and less buggy, so I turned her out naked. She was quite itchy.

Not ideal for a horse who is impossible to rug shop for, because 95% of rugs manufactured on this planet don't fit her. Oh, well.

I put topical stuff on her (various products).

I put her on Dodson and Horrell anti-itch, which is bourdock, chamomile, garlic, nettles, and something else.

I have read linseed oil can be useful, but I'm heading that suggestion off now. Last time I tried that, she had the most serious meltdown she has ever had in her ridden career. Very out of character. I don't know if the linseed was the cause, but I cut it just in case and am not keen to try again.

Any other products, topical or feed, that people like?

 

[MNMyShiningStars]

I think the few things that have made my shetland most comfortable are the boett rug (I was lucky and one came up second hand) and feeding black salt and the nicotinamide tablets. He does also have brewers yeast and seaweed.

 

[Mustard]

We found a mixture of Brewers yeast, salt and linseed (not oil) allowed our horse to live happily without fly rugs.

 

[Peglo]

I put mine on linseed but I’ve noticed she’s better still with oily herbs this summer. She’s gotten a bit itchier now at the end of summer but much better than she was the last few years.
Mine also doesn’t fit rugs very well so prefer her not to have to wear one unless needed.

 

[Caol Ila]

Oh, yeah. Forgot to add that Hermosa gives me two fingers (if she had them) when I put oily herbs in her feed.

 

[saddlesore]

I’ve found using a boett blanket the best defence by far and use it all the time. For areas not covered I use biteback spray

 

[oldjumper]

Hermosa probably has mild sweet itch. Blah.

She gets a very itchy crest and dock, and I've done experiments with her this summer where I haven't put her on a fly rug on days where it doesn't look that buggy (to me). She's much worse when she's brought in after a rugless night. I felt like I was winning when she wasn't scratching at all for the last couple weeks of warm weather, and she was wearing a fly rug every night because the heat wave made it the bugs come out. Then over the weekend, it got chiillier and less buggy, so I turned her out naked. She was quite itchy.

Not ideal for a horse who is impossible to rug shop for, because 95% of rugs manufactured on this planet don't fit her. Oh, well.

I put topical stuff on her (various products).

I put her on Dodson and Horrell anti-itch, which is bourdock, chamomile, garlic, nettles, and something else.

I have read linseed oil can be useful, but I'm heading that suggestion off now. Last time I tried that, she had the most serious meltdown she has ever had in her ridden career. Very out of character. I don't know if the linseed was the cause, but I cut it just in case and am not keen to try again.

Any other products, topical or feed, that people like?

Very sorry to hear this. One of tricky things with SI is that all sufferers respond differently to treatments. (Apart from obvious one of avoiding midges as much as possible via rugs/drier and windier turnout.) The other thing to bear in mind is that SI horses are often sensitive or allergic to other things - which can lead to negative reaction to topical treatments. It really is a case of trial and error. For what it’s worth we found Boett rug much of the year, washing with Dead Sea magic shampoo, soothing with aloe Vera gel and when very bad piriton tablets in significant quantities. Good luck.

 

[benz]

I have one with similar symptoms to yours, I have found applying bite back spray to the mane and tail every other day works well. I have also added global herbs skratch to his feed for the last couple of months not sure if that has done much as he was a bit itchy when I got back from a weeks holiday and hadn’t had the bite back applied while I was away, although he hadn’t itched himself raw or anything just wanted lots of scritchies so maybe it did? I’m continuing with it anyway. I also spray liberally with ‘hot horse fly spray’, not sure it matters which fly spray really but this one is working for us as well as any other.

I’ve tried rugs before which is undoubtedly best defence but he gets so hot he takes them off! Best of luck finding a solution it is very much trial and error.

 

[MereChristmas]

I think there are as many ways to ease the discomfort as there are horses with the problem.

The solution for my SI mare was BiteBack products plus covering every part of her. This meant she wore a rug with belly, a head and neck cover plus an udder cover plus a home made chest cover that went between her legs and attached to the front of the belly cover and hung between her front legs. I tried leg wraps but they rubbed her.

I hope you can find something that works

 

[maya2008]

A decent rug, is basically the thing. We have liked the Rambo one, but the shires one is cheaper and does the same job, and I tried the Weatherbeeta one this summer as it was on offer and that was fine too. Needs to be brand name (not a Boett copy with ineffective material) and actual sweet itch design.

Beyond that, fly spray - for any bits the rug won’t cover e.g ears.

We’ve had three sweet itchy ponies, one arriving in a bit of a state, and a decent rug, on 24/7, has worked well for all.

 

[Britestar]

Keep the rug on longer than you think you need to.

This time of year is when you're mostly likely to get caught out. The bug rug is still firmly on (and I'm much further north than you).
It literally doesn't come off until you need to put something warm on.

We also find religious use of fly spray, even on dull days is necessary.

 

[Surbie]

I use Killitch on mine, feed oily herbs (I had to build those up from tiny amounts as he similarly presented 2 fingers) and keep rugged in Snuggy rugs till there have been frosts, unless it's a really windy day.

Until this summer I've also kept him out of fields with trees in.

 

[Ladybird L]

My vet told me not to feed linseed oil. He says it goes bad VERY quickly and 95% is already rancid by the time it gets to you. Instead he recommended toasted linseeds, which I have tried to great success. My elderly pony was getting very stiff, 3 days on them, she could’ve been 2! No experience with sweet itch though.

I ran out a while ago this thread has reminded me to get more

 

[EventingMum]

I would ditch anything with garlic in it as it stimulates the immune system which can increase the sweet itch. A couple of my liveries swear by Herdleader supplement.

 

[PinkvSantaboots]

I would ditch anything with garlic in it as it stimulates the immune system which can increase the sweet itch. A couple of my liveries swear by Herdleader supplement.

I've used herdleader it worked for mine but it is basically niacinamide and water so you can buy the powder form and just add the water it works out cheaper.

 

[Chippers1]

Buzz has mild sweet itch and I manage it with rugs. Every supplement/topical solution that others swear by never seems to work for him! So he's rugged basically from Feb to Oct with a Shires Sweet itch rug and fly mask (as he rubs his face as well).
He actually hasn't got his rug on today as it's so windy and rainy there's no chance he'll be bitten by anything but it will be back on tomorrow.

 

[ElleSkywalkingintheair]

Best thing I've found is Switch, a topical treatment available via your vets. This year it's worked exceptionally well for my shetland, who is so sweet itchy she even has open sores on her bum usually, but this year has none and a full name and tail. It's worked a little less well than usual for my other sweet itchy horse, he has itched both mane and tail later in the summer but not to the point of oozey scabby sores so am still confident it's the best thing for him.

The other option is just turning out in the day, to avoid dawn and dusk, but that's not a suitable option for everyone (indeed I won't stable my itchy big horse at all as he has hock arthritis so staying in is not an option)

 

[NinjaPony]

The only thing that works is covering them up. My Connie wore a fly rug and mask March-October, including under rugs if needed and in the stable, and as it got worse he also had mesh leg wrap for the field. I hacked him in a ride on fly rug and mask as he got upset if the midges swarmed when we were out and about. Benzoyl Benzoate rubbed onto his mane and tail worked reasonably well too.

 

[santas_spotty_pony]

Biteback Products fly spray is the best I’ve found - keeps the flies away. Also, a sweet itch rug and full fly mask with ears on 24/7 will help. My mare gets itchy wherever there is gaps so it has to be a combo rug with her. Also, this year she had the sweetitch vaccine - first one in february and second dose a month later and that seemed to help. I don’t feed anything specific but she suffers quite badly and these things all keep it at bay.

 

[cornbrodolly]

I truly believe products are a waste of money. A good sweetitch rug is a must. Plus a mask- in fact this years mask, with a extra nose cover bit , has worked really well. I dont think they ever fit particularly well, but I expect mine to last a season [ this year s is now sewn in many places , as we have wire and overhanging trees to snag it] and keep last season s for emergencies. My horse wears the sweetitch rug from Feb to November . She also has Insol injections - and this year has no rubbed mane or tail for the first time.

 

[paddy555]

biteback cream on the mane and tail twice a day works pretty well for mine.

 

[Fransurrey]

My go-to has always been neem oil mixed into benzyl benzoate 20:80 (where the BB is a 20% emulsion). I also restrict access to lush grass, which exacerbates it in my mare's case.

 

[teddy_]

My mare has mild sweet itch and as other posters have suggested, I cannot recommend BiteBack products enough. I have also found the HerdLeader Summer Itch Relief supplement to make a noticeable difference to how much she itches.

ETA: Insol has also worked well plus mask and rug 24/7 between March and October / November dependant on weather.

 

[Caol Ila]

Which Biteback products do people like? I used their flyspray all summer but realised it either ran out, or spilled into my grooming kit, because bottle is empty.

 

[fredflop]

Some premixed benzoyl benzoate from eBay sorted my horse out, along with a sweet itch rug

 

[Britestar]

FYI need sends out SI horse into orbit!

 

[tda]

I use Biteback Products,Sweet relief lotion, midge barrier and skin support and Quick silver spray, defends, soothes and supports skin
I do sometimes but Benzyl benzoate neat and dilute it at home
if I keep up with these products, quick spray every day she is much happier