Yet another SI post - sorry!

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sonjafoers

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I've posted a few times about SI as at the end of last summer I took on a mini who suffers so this is my first full year. It's been a steep learning curve and he's still testing me so I'm hoping for some advice.

He is in a boett rug and mask which I leave on all the time as he's unridden. I check him and move all the seams etc daily and I change & wash the rug weekly.I feed him EquidermisPlus which is mainly linseed, brewers yeast & some herbs.

When I took him on last year he was in a real mess and had rubbed himself completely raw. I though I was doing really well this year because I hadn't seen him itching much but in the last month or so he's been itching himself a lot and apart from ripping his rugs he has rubbed out a lot of his mane through the rug.

I've taken his rug off today & the base of his mane area feels quite thick and swollen which I haven't noticed before. When I got him he had damaged his ears really badly & they were completely swollen and thickened so I'm wondering if this 'thickening' along the base of his mane is a reaction.

I have some KillItch which I bought when he ripped the ear off his mask and got bitten there one day, so should I apply this along his neck or do you think this isn't related?

Should I consider swapping the Equidermis supplement for Cavalesse? I thought about just trying plain brewers yeast but as it's already in his supplement it may not be worth it.

All ideas gratefully received.
 
Hi there!

So sorry you've got a real problem with SI.

Sounds like you're doing the right thing as regards rugging him up; but I'm just wondering where exactly you're grazing him? Coz the best place (if you can) for a SI is as high up as poss so you get the breeze. The very worst place would be beside standing water/stream/pond, low-down, and/or with trees or common land nearby as this sort of area attracks the midges like a magnet. So it might be you need to think about perhaps changing where yours is grazing? Not easy, I know, but often a change of location for a SI will improve the situation vastly. So what I'm saying is that you might need to look at the thing radically and even think about changing yards so yours gets some different pasture. Sorry!

Re. diet. You don't say what hard food yours is having. But one thing you'll need to eliminate as far as poss is sugar/mollasses - you'd be surprised how much of proprietory food brands have it in. If you can find something like a mollasses-free chaff-mix that would be ideal. Mine has Honeychop Herbal (the blue coloured sack) which has sage and other minerals in it, that's working for him at the mo.

Also, you could economise by not feeding a brand-name supplement: they're always desperately expensive and IME you can source the raw essentials and feed that - ever so much cheaper! Mine has brewers yeast (one scoop), linseed (half a scoop), and cider vinegar (tablespoon), plus a scooop of Clivers (sticky stuff, in hedges, can also add to haynet when growing in early summer). He has two X feeds per day and this combination goes in every feed. I start round about mid-February to build up his immunity, and don't stop till mid-October. That's another important thing with supplements, you need to start feeding them well BEFORE the SI season starts to build it up in their system. Think "Cavalesse" is basically the same stuff as in Brewers Yeast, but with a more expensive price-tag!! But no doubt others on here will swear by it:)

Killitch is a good topical application; however if you source Benzyl Benzoate on line you'll find it much cheaper! If your vet will prescribe a shampoo called Melaseb (thing I've spelt that right - may be Malasab??) you might find it helps to clear scurfy bits from his coat. Alternatively you can buy similar stuff without prescription if you shop around on line.

Have a look at the National Sweet Itch Centre website: there IS a supplement called "BioEos" - like tablets, which you can give to the horse. There are mixed results concerning this however, and its not exactly cheap, but if you're totally desperate might be worth a try?? A bit late for this year tho' - you'd need to start in the spring for next year, and see how it goes. I don't use these so can't recommend. Maybe others on here can.

Also take a peek in the archives on here. But DO take care with applying pig oil & sulphur - a lot of people use it for SI and will heartily recommend it on HHO but it can cause terrible reactions (mine reacted very badly to it). So always patch test it first and use with great care.
 
As you know I have had a similar journey to you but think I have more or less got it cracked for now.....

I do believe (possibly without foundation) that if the mane roots arent aired it makes the mane prone to being itched out so on breezy days I always remove the hood or even swap to a normal fly rug so the mane gets some air

I've found oils to be good (if skin is unbroken) and use Supreme Mane and Tail rebuilder oil on my pony's mane, firstly it eases the itching, secondly mites find it hard to bite through it and thirdly it makes the rug/hood slide over the hair rather than damaging it - this year my pony hasnt lost any mane and only a tiny bit of tail

I also use the oil on the ears and forelock if the pony is wearing a normal fly rug (not on the ears if its very sunny)

I am now using Global Herbs FlyFree supplement, it seems to contain a lot of things the more expensive but well regarded Scratch supplement contains. I also feed brewers yeast

If the skin is damaged ask your vet if they will prescribe some aqueous cream mixed with baytril and Betnovate, this is awesome stuff and stops flare ups in their tracks

I looked in to Cavalesse but it seems to contain much of the benefits of brewers yeast so I didnt get any, brewers yeast on its own is cheap and I have fed up to 50g a day no problems. I did find that the brewers yeast on its own helped for most of this season but the FlyFree has been a godsend in the very hot humid weather
 
Thank you guys for your informative replies.

MiJods I have recently moved yards - he wasn't the sole reason for the move but he played a large part in making my decision. He's gone from damp lowland with a river to higher land on a slope so much more breeze. To be honest it doesn't seem to have made any difference.

He only has one feed a day and has a tiny ( and I meany tiny, just a few shreds ) of speedibeet to mix his supplement in and a mug of Blue Chip LamiLight which is cereal & molasses free. He is in off the grass & away from the flies for a large part of the day too although this won't help with the midges I guess as he's in at the wrong time. I might not restock the BC once this bag is finished & look at the items you've mentioned instead. I did start the Equidermis Plus supplement as soon as I got him last year so he had it all through the winter, and I chose this over the "BioEos" as they did seem to have mixed results from what I read.

WelshD I think you've made a good point about air getting to the mane, I don't normally take his rug off whilst he's in the stable but I have today and maybe I should do this daily whilst he's in. I've also thought about putting him out naked when it's really windy but I haven't braved it yet.

My main concern is that his mane/neck is still so itchy even with his boett on. I thought the rug would stop the bites & therefore stop the itchiness but it seems he's itching without being bitten. Is this normal?
 
perfectly normal - the rugs can prevent a lot but in a serious case I don't think they are a cure all.

How good is the grazing you have for the pony? Does he have fences he can scratch on?

My SI pony is on poor grazing with electric fencing on all sides, it certainly helps to stop tearing rugs and to stop the worse of the itching
 
Where they itch and where they are bitten arent necessarily the same places, a bite on any exposed skin can start itching elsewhere on the body - I use the Aqueous cream around my pony's sheath and on the inside of his legs where the rug does not cover to form an unpleasant barrier to the midges

Best to take off the rug while they are out on a breezy day as there is less stuff to itch on than there is in a stable. i do take off my pony's hood when he is in but I do keep a close eye on him so do that on days when I know I can make several checks and I leave the main part of the rug on as stable walls are tempting to scratch bums on (or so my pony tells me...)
 
I would cut out all supplements. Alternate the boett with a different type of rug eg Rambo sweetitch hoodie. Leave rug and hood off when its windy. wash mane and tail in a very very mild shampoo weekly. Apply a barrier cream eg Nettex stop itch to the crest and dock. This works for my SI horse.
 
A REALLY good point about washing, I forgot to mention that, my pony gets bathed (even if partially) weekly and I honestly think thats half the battle
 
Ditto aqueous cream. I used to care for a mare with SI (in days before fly rugs), & when she came to me parts of her hide (where she had rubbed for years) were like rhino hide. I used aq cream on them to soften the sking, as a nurse where I worked said if you can get the sking plump & hydrated, it is less prone to feeling itchy & being plump the insect bites don't get down to the deeper skin layers. I worked on it & saw huge improvement. Horse also less itchy, so much improved in her disposition. Not alternative for rugs, just an addition. Keep worst parts moisturised, it does help them.
 
I have a mini with SI. Have tried BioEos tablets- no help, boett blankets don't last long(!) after many years having the best year yet: tri tec 14 sprayed on every other day, Sudacrem as a barrier cream if needed and my newest find is Aloe Vera Vet spray massaged into mane and tail daily. This seems to take away the itch and soothes and softens everything. Seems to work for her although very labour intensive!
 
I will try the aqueous cream on him & take the rug off on breezy days, I've really wanted to do that but I'm just worried about doing it, I'll try the aloe spray too. I don't bathe him that often so I'll also do that - in fact I'll do anything to help him!

My main concern was the itching and thickening of the base of the mane even with his rug on but if that's reasonably normal I'll try and stop worrying.

Does anyone want him? He's free to anyone who'll take him :p
 
WelshD said:
Well I was kind of hoping you'd take mine..........
Click to expand...

My initial response when I read that is too rude to post - I'd get barred for use of bad language!!!

No more WelshD, no more. This one is half the size of my others and more than twice the trouble and he's not actually any use for anything. Why do we do it??
 
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