You'll probably think I'm mad but....

[Bossdog]

...we're going to take on a gorgeous little shettie gelding as a companion for the lonely cob and for my son to ride/groom/love.

I just can't resist him, he has a cracking temperment but horrendous sweet itch, he has almost no mane and he's scabby all down his back and round his ears, poor little mite. I have worked with horses that required preventative care but not one that's already in a state. He has had benzyl benzoate (sp?) on but as it's aready cracked and bleeding, I suspect it's just made it worse. He's getting a bit of a coat on him, do you think it would be easier to clip him out and keep him rugged in order to treat it and try and sort it out before next spring? Any tips would be much appreciated... I always used aloe vera with my mare but hers was quite mild, will it work on a more severe case?

I will post pics as soon as he arrives, I can't wait, he's such a sweet little man!!

Jules x

 

[JenHunt]

i think i would clip round it as best as possible and get it treated asap...

we fed our pony with NAF d-itch and kept him rugged with great success (but that was a few years ago now!)

there's no reason why aloe vera won't help him heal himself!!

 

[piebaldsparkle]

A friend of mine who had tried most sweetitch lotions and potions in addition to spending a fortune on holistic vets etc... Was recently given as remedy to aid sweetitch which is not expensive (although is slightly time consuming, but not that bad), but more to the point it has worked (for her horse anyway, who has quite bad sweetitch).

Here's what she sent me -
Get a bucket of warm water sponge and a capful of Dettol and wash your horse down everyday morning and evening plus most important after excersise replace rugs and ............ Nothing else that's it I was gobsmacked in the last few weeks his skin has settled the scratching and itching has stopped and the cycle of scratch itch has been broken to the extent all hair is growing really well and he isn't rubbing when in the stable Dettol only no cheap subsitute and it must be diluted one capful to a full bucket of water it also repels the flies and make the yard smell like hospital but you can use it all over and especially rubbed well into the mane and tail we have been using it before his rides and everything he enjoys his wash downs and we are enjoying at the moment having a sweetithc free horse, just as a precaution though if you are thinking about having a go we did a patch test area first to make sure he didn't react so I would recommend doing one on any horse you may think about using it on. Also for mud fever Dettol and baby oil in warm water around the fetlocks apparently stops the mud sticking and cleanses the area but this one I haven't used or will but may be worth it to someone out there

 

[lilpinkdonkey4]

fab ideas there christmas sparkle... may try the mud fever one.

id try and sort the shetland with treatments (such as ones above ) then just rug up... boett rugs are amazing. my horse never goes without a rug on with a neck, its a shame but shes happier than she wold be if she was all itchy!

 

[LankyDoodle]

My new boy has sweet itch, quite badly as well. It's becasue his current owner has so many horses that she hasn;t the time to put into keeping on top of it. Because he is so big, the fly rugs she uses do not cover his belly well and, as a consequence, under his belly is where he is scabby... oh and his ears because she can'ts keep a field mask with ears on him (there are ways and means, like looping through the rug/onto a fieldsafe headcollar).

It's coming out of sweet itch season now, so it should heal by itself slowly. I am going to bathe him regularly to try and keep his coat clean and stop any itching caused by that. He will remain in the sweet itch rug he has until the end of the season (he wears them 24/7, whether in or out).

In March I am going to put him in a snuggy hood body, with legs and tail guard, which is said to be as good or better than boett, because I strongly believe that only stopping that first bite will give you a chance of curbing the itching. The lotions and potions are good for soothing the reaction (itching) and therefore preventing the formation of scabs, but they are unlikely to prevent the midge biting and the horse having the allergic reaction to the midge. ONE bite sets off the allergic reaction, so the most important thing is to rug March to October (with a lightweight turnout over the top if needed).

The dettol idea sounds fab and I might try that. He has to be bathed at least once a week as it is because his coat gets greasy from the itch stop balm his current owner uses. This is meant to be very good (but again, will not stop the bites, just stop the itching), but I myself swear by killitch as it contains benzyl benzoate. Again, though, his current owner has let the bathing slip by the wayside so his coat and the inside of his rug gets covered in the cream and dirt/oil from his skin and it adds to the itch-scratch cycle. I honestly believe that if he was in a more appropriate rug that was kept clean and he himself was kept clean, it really would help the sweet itch.

On a final note, it does also depend on the area the horse is kept. I don't think this has been proven by research, but it's my opinion. George, my cob, gets sweet itch, and I manage to keep on top of it with a weatherbeeta combo fly rug, killitch and bathing with an insecticidal shampoo. Where we are is quite open with a small covering of trees and a stream (running water) at the bottom. His sweet itch was almost non-existant this year. However, when we went to Cornwall at the end of August (like we do very regularly - this is where my new horse currently lives as well), his sweet itch flared up and he was very itchy. They are in more of a sheltered, wooded, damp area, also with a stream at the bottom of the fields. I believe they have more midges around and so George's sweet itch is made so much harder to control.