Sweet Itch

[shelterwood]

Hi everyone.

I am fairly new on this site, but love the help and support everyone gives to each other. My dilemma is trying to help my 3 year old mini/shetland grade?? pony that I rescued last year with her younger sister. When I got them they came from a horrendous situation where they were living in cramped, dirty quarters on a dairy farm, in-breeding (because the farmer didn't know he a stud!!), being fed dusty cow grain and moldy hay, all had respiratory issues, none had ever so much had a vet, farrier, or deworming any where near them. When I got them home, I began the process of making them healthy, which I have now basically done. They are chubby (not foundered, don't worry ) and happy, and up to date on all.

I am training them to drive with great success, and have been posting on the driving site, but I would love to hear from anyone in the mini or shetland worlds if they have been plagued by sweet itch. I have owned big horses my whole life up until a few years ago and never had even heard of this affliction. I thought my mares had lice or some other parasitic or infectious process the first spring I had them, and the vet and I treated them in every way we could. Once the cool weather came, both mares cleared up and stopped itching, and skin healed well over the winter.

This year, my younger mare, who is two, has no issues at all. Either I boosted her immune system enough that she is not having the allergy anymore, or she outgrew it (this from my vet). However, my three year old, and full sister (it seems maybe to have a genetic link??), is still having classic sweet itch symptoms. Vet was out this spring and confirmed by ruling out other skin problems via skin scrapings. I live in a part of New York State that is known for its black fly and no-see-um populations.

I bought a not so inexpensive Boett blanket from the UK, but it seems it irritates my mare more because it rubs on her itchy skin, and it seems cruel to cover her from head to toe when it is 85 degrees out. Has anyone else used one of these blankets? The reviews on the sites that sell them seem like they are miracle blankets, but I'm not convinced.

I am also using a combination of Calm Coat and MTG on her trouble spots, ridge of mane, dock of tail, belly, and face (oh her poor face!!). The vet said she was one of the best looking cases of sweet itch because she is not raw and bloody and missing her mane and tail, but she still has scraped much skin off her face, and her coat becomes what I call "scurffy" or dandruffy, all part of the condition. I have recently discovered the Eqyss line of products and have been shampooing her twice a month with their Pro-Tek shampoo. Seems to help a bit. Any other thoughts??

Any one with any suggestions out there? Has anyone used the spot-on fly stuff that has recently been introduced? I checked it out at the store the other day and it had a lot of warnings and is expensive. I also use a flax seed supplement top dressed on their smidgen of grain AM and PM, and a vitamin mineral supplement. My husband suggested she would do better in a place with less bug issues than the Adirondack Mountains, but could not bear to part with her and worry she would go somewhere where no one would care.

 

[lucky seven]

Where are you located in the Adirondacks? We may be close enough to be neighbors. I am south of Lake George.

 

[shelterwood]

Hello!!

I am in Vermontville, near Saranac Lake and Lake Placid. Not quite neighbors in the immediate sense, but pretty darn close in relative terms. It's great to meet you. Are you a driver?

Katie

 

[Little Hooves]

Sweet Itch - I know all too well what you're talking about. I have a mare who suffers every spring through summer and finally in the fall and winter, her coat grows back in and she recovers.

Sweet Itch, as I am sure you know, is a histamine reaction (allergies) to the bite of a midge fly (or as I call them, gnats).

I went through everything I could - fly spray, which helped a little, tea tree oil shampoos, which helped a little, full body sleezies, which she just tore apart when she would scratch herself anyway. Really, what it comes down to is controlling the environment, which promotes the growth of flies. My solution was fortuitous; we moved to a dry climate - and what do you know - the problem is pretty much solved! Although, moving is something not everyone has the option of doing, and I just was lucky enough to have the opportunity, which my mare benefited from.

If you live by a stream or body of water, defeating sweet itch will be nearly impossible. I would say if you can't control the environment by removing fly breeding grounds: manure, wet grass and shrubs, removing marshes/swamps, puddles of water, or places where water pools, then the next option is to rehome the horse - or just keep fighting it. Ways to improve the environment: spray insecticide, fill in areas where water pools with dirt, feed horses supplement fly control to prevent flies from laying eggs in manure, drain any standing water or puddles. Keep the horse in a closed-off, dry barn in the morning and evening when flies are most active.

Unfortunately, antihistamines do not work well for horses. You can also try itch-relieving remedies like tea tree or witch hazel. Another trick is to sprinkle their coat with diatomaceous earth - focusing on the tail head and main where the flies like to bite most (use food-grade so your horse won't be affected if it is ingested).

Best of Luck! Let me know what you decide to do. Sweet itch is horrible

I hate seeing my horse suffer, so I am glad we moved to an area where midge flies are more rare.

 

[Riverrose28]

I have a black mare like the one you are discribing. The first year she showed any symptoms was her yearling year, after being clipped for showing. My vet recommended spraying her twice daily against flies, only put her our after dark, and bring her in during the day. She also gave me a prescription drug for alergies that I gave by syringe during the spring and summer, after two years she has developed an immunity to what ever bugs she was alergic to. Said it was something to do with her being over sensitive to the bug bites, see if your vet can give you some meds, sorry I can't remember the name of the medication, but it worked. Good luck with your mare.

 

[Eagle]

Does any one know if it can be passed on to off spring? My new stallion seems to suffer from sweet itch and I was wondering if it likely that his off spring will suffer?

 

[Little Hooves]

I think it may be genetic, much like allergies in people are genetically linked. But it doesn't necessarily mean that it will get passed down in the same way. The horse could just have a minor skin condition, and not full blown sweet itch.

 

[lucky seven]

Good luck with the sweet itch, you certainly are in the no-see-um area. You probably have lots of trees and water near by. I have one mini, he is my first and he is 4 yo. Totally untrained to do anything. I would love to have him trained to pull a cart. I guess that I will be doing it by myself so right now I am reading everything I can and watching videos that I bought. It sure has been hot here lately. We moved to a part of Argyle that doesn't have any shade

so just work with my boy a little in the evenings when it is alittle cooler. Email me if you want, would love to hear from you and how you trained your girls.

 

[Marty]

I've seen this often in Florida and it is horrible. One barn I know of added screens besides of course box fans. I think the key is to keep the horse as bug free as possible and away from any kind of moisture. By the way adding screens is a great idea but it does cut off some oxygen so be sure if you do that to double up on your fans.

Also call Lisa at mini tack dot com . She had some seriously nice mesh turn out sheets with matching masks.

Here is one of many articles on this. Good luck to you.

http://www.equisearch.com/horses_care/health/illnesses_injuries/eqsweetitc378/

 

[shelterwood]

Wow! Thanks for all the information everyone. My property is basically dry, no creeks or ponds etc, but we had a VERY wet spring, so that didn't help. My vet feels that the best way to beat sweet itch is to boost immunity, so that is the route we are traveling right now. I do use quality fly spray, fly masks, barn fans, and keep all manure promptly picked up, in addition to all the measures I stated in my original post. It is no small horsekeeping feat to keep up with her grooming needs. At least twice a day I am brushing, spraying, and massaging something into her coat. She gleams! Last year my reaction was to bathe bathe bathe. After research this year once I knew what this was, I have turned toward "the greasier the better", and use MTG with the Calm Coat. The midges cannot penetrate or hold on to the oil, and it conditions the coat for less "scurf" and encourages hair regrowth. She is 90% better this year, I will have to post pics from both years so you can see. Her face is what remains the biggest problem, and it is not because the flies bite her there, it is just where the itchiness comes out. I'm hoping the flax supplement, Omega Horseshine, which I started just this spring after the fly season began, will take effect over this next year and make a difference for next year. My vet says she thinks this is the best shot.

I would like to think that she might outgrow it like her younger sister did. As far as it being genetic, I think there is a strong link. What's interesting in my basic research is that English Thoroughbreds do not get it, at all. It is really common in Icelandic horses when they leave Iceland, apparently there are no "midges" as the Brits call them in Iceland and therefore no natural immunity to the midge saliva, which is what causes the reaction. So I do think it has a breed or genetic disposition. If I knew my girls backgrounds I would know more, but I have no clue, only that it wasn't good.

What about apple cider vinegar? Or garlic? Anyone have good results with either of these? I didn't want to add too many things to their diet at once, but both of those have good reviews for pest control. Because of where I live, feed through fly control would be a waste I think. It is not stable flies I'm having trouble with, it is endemic black flies and gnats, or what we call no see-ums, that are the culprits for sweet itch horses, and they would be here whether I fed them fly control or not, I think.

 

[shelterwood]

I have a black mare like the one you are discribing. The first year she showed any symptoms was her yearling year, after being clipped for showing. My vet recommended spraying her twice daily against flies, only put her our after dark, and bring her in during the day. She also gave me a prescription drug for alergies that I gave by syringe during the spring and summer, after two years she has developed an immunity to what ever bugs she was alergic to. Said it was something to do with her being over sensitive to the bug bites, see if your vet can give you some meds, sorry I can't remember the name of the medication, but it worked. Good luck with your mare.

Was it an anti-histamine? My vet basically thinks that this is a waste of money as they usually don't work on horses. She would try steroids, but we are very worried about founder, as my girls look at food and get fat. If you can remember what it is let me know, I would be interested.

 

[Marty]

Ooh Ooh Ooh!!!!!! I totally forgot about this: Get this horse also on a product by Farnum called Super 14. This stuff is amazing. Its for hair coats but let me tell you that any horse that suffers from any skin condition can do very well on this. I have seen this product make a new hair coat like you cannot believe. I used to use it all the time on my Quarter Horse string when showing. Its an old product, been around for probably over 30 years but this works. You put it in the feed, its like powder and smells great and they love it.

I only gave you one link, but please take the time to google equine sweet itch and read a lot more about it. Good luck.

 

[shelterwood]

Marty,

I had the girls on Super 14 last year, and switched to Omega Horseshine this year as my vet stressed the importance of flax and Omega 369 oils. I didn't see a lot of improvement on the Super 14, but they were only on it one season. Thanks for the support! Trust me, I have exhausted google's search engine for sweet itch!! That's why I turned to the forum here, hoping someone would have something I haven't learned yet. Thank you Thank you Thank you!!

 

[Riverrose28]

Was it an anti-histamine? My vet basically thinks that this is a waste of money as they usually don't work on horses. She would try steroids, but we are very worried about founder, as my girls look at food and get fat. If you can remember what it is let me know, I would be interested.

It was an anti-histimine, sorry I can't remember the name, it was several years ago. I don't remember it being very expensive. I did have to also put antibiotic ointment in her eyes, because they would also get goobers, no steriods.

 

[shelterwood]

Hello all!

I came back to this post because I think I have discovered something that actually works for sweet itch, a little. I talked at length to my small animal vet, who used to be a large animal vet before she says she got "too old" for the big guys, and she said that I should try this combination:

Mix equal parts: bag balm and swat

Add: several generous drops of tea tree oil (real deal oil, not imitation)

Mix in: Gold Bond Medicated Powder

It makes a goopy, thick, rich cream that heals skin, fights infection and inflammation, and stops itch. The lanolin in the bag balm is like butter for the skin, and it seems to really absorb and not be all that greasy (in comparison to other things I've tried). I have used this mix on her face, which was rubbed raw in several spots, and it looks great! She still itches a bit, but nothing like the obsessive stuff she was doing. And I smear it on her belly midline and armpits too, her problem spots.

Thought I'd post this for everyone, it does seem to help. Twice monthly shampoos with Microtek shampoo help too.

Katie

 

[Genie]

Long time favorite that has successfully healed wounds in the most difficult places, including places where proud flesh may be an issue.

 

Schreiner's Herbal Solution is a simple, safe and effective healing topical herbal application, endorsed and used successfully nationwide by veterinarians. The restorative formula promotes healing in open wounds, post-surgical sites, cuts, fungi and other skin disorders. By repelling pesky insects and eliminating proud flesh, Schreiner's Herbal Solution makes healing time a shorter and more comfortable process. Recommended by vets for over 20 years.

 

 

4 oz bottle - A little bit goes a long way with this stuff

This is a product we have on hand all the time. I haven't used it for itch but used it for a terrible wound on the flank of a yearling

stallion and it was a miracle. The place where we purchased it showed a testimonial from a horse owner that had a bear attack his horse and the before and after of horrific wounds.

 

[Mareish Mom]

As far as antihistamines go I have found that benadryl does work on horses and is safe to use. Maybe she could be on it during the worst times? You can just buy the generic and give one tablet or capsule per 100 pounds of body weight. My other thought is that since your are going the immune system boosting route (good for you!) you might want to look into homeopathic allergy remedies. The concept being to build up an immunity to whatever it is you (or in this case your horse) are allergic to. P.S. it would not have to be a product made for horses in order to work. I use one (can't remember what it's called right now) for my arabian whenever he gets all bumpy itchy with bug bites I can feed him 10 pellets and the bumps go away right away. The first summer he lived with me I gave them to him every day and now he is pretty much immune, much thicker skinned now! I have one little container left somewhere around here (probably the trailer tack room) that I can hunt down, if you are interested just message me.

 

[JAX]

If your wanting to go natural, I have heard from several horse owners that they have had great luck with spirulina. it comes in wafers and I think its also in powder form. Ive heard it works well with allergies and also seems to help with COPD. Ive been thinking about trying it on my quarter horse who gets hives every summer. Luckily my girl doesnt itch because of it but it sure looks funny to see her all shiney but covered in what looks like hundreds of big mosquito bites!! Good Luck.