Very mild sweet itch?

bryngelenponies

bryngelenponies

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www.biopharm-leeches.com
I went to see my boy today who's out on loan. I was told that the vet had taken a skin sample and had concluded that he had very mild sweet itch. This is the first time he's ever had it. He has only rubbed his mane slightly- not his tale, his skin isn't scabby or sore and he doesn't rub violently until he bleeds either. Basically I don't really know what to do etc because I've never had a horse with sweet itch before. The vet advised that the loanee put cream on him only when he starts to itch (I thought that this was sort of 'closing the door after the horse has bolted?') and the vet also advised against a rug in case it irritated him (every horse I've seen with sweet itch has had a rug- I thought if it irritated then they wouldn't use it?) Basically any advise/experience with this would be really greatly appreciated because as I said I've never had a horse with sweet itch before so have no real clue about it and am a bit upset atm really :(.
 
My first pony had very severe sweet itch and we used to put bay leaves in his feed, they are very good. We also put aloe vera on his itchy bits and we washed him once a week in special shampoo. He also always had a boet blanket on.

My current horse has abit of mild sweet itch and he always has either a fly rug on or a waterproof on he's never rugless unless no flies. I wash him once a month in aloe vera shampoo I also put aloe vera on his itchy bits.

Hope this helps and it clears up :)
 
Don't worry too much - it's not too much of a bother if it's mild. Make sure he has a fly rug with a neck on it and a tail flap. Make sure if he is out then he is either wearing that or a turnout (to suit the weather).

You could bathe him weekly in a solution of hibiscrub - but as he has only just started to show signs, then I suspect it is very mild and this may not be necessary.

You could buy some Camrosa ointment and shampoo. They are both very good - have a look at their website.

Ideally (and if it were more severe perhaps) he should be stables from 4am to 10am and 4pm to 10pm - not very practical unless you like setting your alarm for 4am!

I used to keep my pony in from about 5.30pm until 7.30am and he was out in a fly rug during the day and was absolutely fine - he never had any problems for the 2 years I owned him or for the 3 years with the previous owner.

Good luck - and don't worry too much.
 
My horse has sweet itch - I bought him just over 3 years ago in May - he rubbed his mane off that year as he wasn't rugged in his previous home.

I now rugg up in February till November when he is in and out.

He now has a lovely long mane with no sign of itching at all.

it is manageable without potions and lotions if you are careful and use some sort of sweet itch rug.

Mine has a rambo sweetitch rug - the one which goes over his years.

Just put plenty of fly spray on when out riding
 
Ehmm, sorry but I think you need to get another vet to be honest!!! Firstly, I've never ever heard of sweet itch being diagnosed by taking a "skin sample" - also, to advise you not to be putting on a rug "in case it irritates" is not the way to tackle sweet itch!!! although I can see perhaps where they're coming from. But you'll never ever stop the itching until you stop the cause, i.e. midges biting, so you've got to put on a rug BEFORE the problem starts.

There are various tests for sweet itch. One is just the simple blood test where they test for general allergens. This test is fairly accurate, but there's another one which is far more accurate (and correspondingly expensive!) where they can pinpoint it more directly. However, and this is the big "if", if my memory serves me right, with the second (more accurate) test there is a risk of inducing laminitis, which believe me you do not want (having had my old boy with it). But I've never heard of any vet diagnosing sweet itch by taking a skin sample. It is possible to look at the condition of the coat and thus diagnose, with some certainty, sweet itch, but yo need the blood tests to be sure.

Then its about proactive treatment - putting on a sweet itch rug (plenty of choice - you pays your money and takes your chance!). Personally there's some good advise on the "national sweet itch" website (sorry don't know the link but feed in the phrase and your search engine will find it OK. They recommend the Boett. I've not used that, I tried a Pagony which I wouldn't recommend. They also give details of a trial of a new treatment they're trialling called "Bio Eos". Mine's on this at the mo but difficult to tell for this year coz he's moved yards during the summer.

Once you've had your horse's blood tested, it should give you an idea of whether its "mild to moderate", or whatever, and you are thus armed with the information you need to make decisions. Its not a single "fix", its more a matter of management from the very first - I tend to start putting on sweet itch rugs in the February half term week coz you can be so easily caught out. My boy's in at night to cover the dusk to dawn period when the cullicoides midges are most active.

But anyway, personally I'd ask around and perhaps think about another vet?
 
Ron gets a reaction to something (possibly midges) during the summer. The vet says it is most likely to be mild sweet itch - he only rubs his belly and nothing else.

he does wear a fly rug, but I use Nettex Stop Itch ointment on his belly and that seems to do the trick!
 
We have two with mild sweet itch. Its very easily managed, so don't be worried.

We use an aloe vera gel (human aftersun) which stops the itching.

We use a rug from March- Oct - we find sweet itch hoodies the best.

We sometimes give piriton in their feeds on very midgy days - especially if they've been at shows/ long rides without rugs on..

We use an anti midge cream on their crests and tops of their tails.

Personally I've never used camrosa, but heard of lots of horses that have nasty reactions to it, so only use a bit to test initially if you do try that.

With the above measures they can live in or out, however if they're out I'd have tw rugs so you can dry one off on wet days...
 
Thank you very much for all of your replies- I do feel slightly more positive about this now. I agree that he needs a new vet, I'd like to point out that I did not pick his vet (loanee uses the same vet that she uses with her other horse and her dogs and cats.) In fact he is not a vet that I would ever hire but that was not my decision. As far as diagnosing sweet itch with a skin sample, is that really not the case? I admit that I am totally clueless about this condition and didn't know that it couldn't be diagnosed this way- this was what the loanee told me.
I'm glad to hear that others whose horses suffer with this are able to manage well. Now that I know how I can manage sweet itch I feel more confident. I'm not sure whether loanee will buy him a rug because her vet told her that it would probably 'aggravate his more,' so I think I'll invest in one and give it to him for xmas in preparation for next spring. How any hours do you put sweet itch rugs on per day?
 
bryngelenponies said:
. How any hours do you put sweet itch rugs on per day?
Click to expand...

All day - well all the time the horse is out of it's stable. And with my pony he wore a summer sheet in the stable, just to stop him rubbing the top of his tail against the wall.

If your horse is out on loan and the lady has been advised not to put a rug on him, then you will have to TELL her that YOU WANT the horse to wear the rug that you have bought it. It's YOUR horse and even though she has him on loan, she should adhere to your wishes with regards his care.

Perhaps you could ask her to read this thread and point her in the direction of any sweet itch websites available.

Above all - don't worry - it's easily managed
 
Yes would echo comments above. If yours has got sweet itch, he will need to wear a rug whenever midges are active. I play safe with mine and bung on a rug to be sure very early (February some years!). You need to make sure you've got enough rugs in case one gets torn though - its a real nightmare getting hold of a sweet itch hoody once the "season" has begun (WHY can't retail outlets supply winter rugs in errrr, winter, and sweet-itch rugs in summer???? Daft innit!).

Mine wears his hoody plus a fly-mask (including ears - important!) all the time he's turned out. His loanee will need to make sure its not rubbing him, ditto with the rug, but he'll be a lot better for wearing it.

I play safe and keep him rugged up in his hoody even when he's inside; coz midges will get inside the stable. It only takes a day or two of not being vigilant before you notice they start rubbing. Its been quite windy here recently so he has been able to go out a few times without his hoody on - bliss!!

Sweet itch IS manageable. It just needs planning, and a "total" approach rather than waiting till you've got the problem and the horse is rubbing itself raw. Emmm, if the person who's got him on loan can't/won't be bothered to put rugs on and work towards total management of his condition, then (am being blunt here) perhaps there's someone else who will???
 
Perhaps they meant that it was worth starting with rugs this year as he's already itchy?

Also you may find that he doesn't have sweet itch when he comes back to where you live - there may be more midges there which area causing it...

To be fair, it doesn't sound like the loanee is refusing to put rugs on - just reporting what the vet said, and if the mane and tail aren't too bad I wouldn't panic. Just say you'd like the horse to be rugged with a sweet tich rug before it starts itching next year.
 
I think that the loanee would be prepared to but a rug on him as long as I asked her and supplied her with the rug, which is something I'm quite willing to do in order to make my boy more comfortable. I'm not quite sure what the vet meant although I am inclined to assume the worst with this particular vet as I wouldn't use him with any of my animals. Sorry to ask another question but this is all very new to me- is his sweet itch likely to become more severe as each summer goes on? (sort of dreading the answer :( ) again apologies for my questions but I'm a huge worrier when it comes to my animals, especially when it's something I know very little about.
 
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