What do you find is the most effective to soothe sweet itch?

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Phoebe_ann

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My pony has recently started to show signs of sweet itch, she is in a paddock where there is no where for her to scratch so shes unable to rub herself raw but she is super itchy still , i have no expirience with sweet itch, and i hate to see my gorgeous girly so itchy, ive tried suppliments and washing her, but shes still just as itchy, what sort of products do you use to help soothe the itching and will cutting her paddock size down reduce the itchying aswell, she isnt on a massive patch as it is but the grass is quite rich , so im wondering wether doing this will help her, thanks! :)
 
1. Sweet itch rug from March onwards
2. Feed Brewer's Yeast
2. Dermoline lotion.

That's what I'm doing this year, and my boy has a mane and (most of) a tail for the first time in 5 years :-)
 
Lush grass won't be helping, I keep my SI pony on pretty much bare ground and supplement with hay year round.

A good sweet itch rug and a mask on the bad days if the poll or face is effected

There are many lotions and potions on the market, different ones seem to work for different horses so that might be a little trial and error :)

Most important is covering up, you can do this now and it will help but in future years you should start rugging from march onwards or even Feb if it's warm.
 
I find the most effective treatment is a mix of benzyl benzoate and paraffin, can't remember the exact ratio but I think it's half and half. Apply to the itchy areas twice a day. You can buy the ingredients from a site called easivet
 
For me, definitely Neem oil. He's been wearing a sweet itch rug year after year, and this year I decided to try this- well he's not worn his rug yet. Nor has he shown a single sign of itchiness. He does however pong!!

I rub it into his mane and tail, sponge it onto his face and sheath area and spray it mix with pig oil everywhere else.
He goes through phases of having it worse some years than others. And he rarely has a tail by the middle of summer. This year all fully there!

I also feed garlic (I know there are lots of opinions on garlic/sweet itch, his gums are still a lovely pinky colour and vet says he's healthy) which may also have helped, but in all honest I have no way to back that up!

Ax

PS- I still have 2 rugs on standby just in case!!
 
Benzyl benzoate, I got a lotion from biteback products that contains it among other nice soothing things and isn't too expensive. My mare gets it around her teats mostly so I put this on and then cover the area in udder grease or even better I find the Lincoln antibacterial green gel is best. Obviously not so much on visible areas as it is very sticky and green (it also contains deet) but that's why it works, it creates a barrier, or sudocreme does the job too. Basically a barrier of either fly rug or something greasy is the best way.
 
We used to put aloe Vera gel (human aftersun version) on our sweet itch ponies, and it seemed to soothe the itch quickly. But you. Really need to prevent them getting to the itching stage rather than put something on it afterwards, so a good sweet itch rug is vital (Rambo were best IMO).
 
After two years I have just discovered gold label Itchgon lotion which has proved excellent so far

I have to say though that what works for some doesn't work for others
 
Honey08 said:
But you. Really need to prevent them getting to the itching stage rather than put something on it afterwards, so a good sweet itch rug is vital (Rambo were best IMO).
Click to expand...

I was just going to write the same thing! I rugged mine from around March to September in a Rambo Sweetitch hoody, it really worked wonders for him. No creams/lotions/potions even came close with him, he ended up covered in bald sore patches with no mane or tail. I always kept him mane and tail really clean (bath once a week atleast) I found it soothed any bites and also if he was less greasy then he itched less.
 
Ours have rugs on and I used to use Nettex itch-stop on the bits sticking out of the rugs but this year we're using neem and finding it the best thing we've used.
 
Some good advice on here: also do a search on HHO and you'll find a host of wisdom.

My cob has SI and here's my "rules":

1. Rug up with a sweet itch hoody rug, Boett or whatever, according to your personal preference. Do your research beforehand thoroughly. I use Rambo Sweet Itch Hoody, best on the market IMO, second is Premier Equine SI rugs. Forget the "cheap and cheerfuls", they won't last two minutes.

2. Keep your horse rugged with a sweet itch rug AT ALL TIMES, if inside, then put on a light (cheapie) rug as there's always midges around even in a stable.

3. Put up electric fencing so your horse can't itch ANYWHERE.

4. Stable from dawn to dusk in a severe case or where the midges are particularly bad, i.e. on still balmy evenings (like we've been having lately).

5. Apply a good topical lotion like "Killitch" (benzyl benzoate) to affected parts. Sudocrem is good for rubs on face.

6. Think about supplements: my cob has Brewers Yeast, Linseed & Cider Vinegar, plus Clivers (sticky, grows in hedgerows). Personally I avoid the expensive "fix" supplements as many of them contain garlic, which as it stimulates the immune system isn't a good thing to feed for a sweet itch.

7. Think about your turnout: best is on the side of a windy hill, worst is low lying areas near standing water and/or woodland in valleys.

8. Avoid sugar as much as possible in the diet, look at feedbags as many of the ones that are supposed to be "mollasses free" are STILL very high in sugar:(

9. If riding, use a ride-on fly rug.

But if you don't do anything else, then the first thing you MUST do is COVER THE HORSE UP.





3.
 
Most decent companies pay for adverts.

Aloe products are good for itching, but you can find them much cheaper than the above person's products.
 
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