My 5 year old cob mare is really itchy and I'm struggling to get her itch free.
She reacts to bug bites and has sweet itch which she wears a bug rug 24-7 in the summer. She has had feather mites (she's lightly feathered) which have been treated with a dectomax shot and isn't really bad on her legs anymore - she goes mental when she's had them. We've tried a food allergy theory and she was on only grass and hay for 2 months and that didn't make any difference to how itchy she is. At the same time we stopped all use of mane and tail conditioner and such things which didn't make any difference. She's much worse in the summer but has a level of itching all year round. I use NAF D-Itch which is a herbal product designed to help reduce sweet itch and similar things which definitely helps as she obviously gets worse when off it (I tried taking her off it last winter as at that time we thought is was just a sweet itch). She's itchy all over, not just mane and tail, and when stabled or tied anywhere she will just stand and rub. She's chewed a hole in her shoulder when she got a horse fly bit before now. She does have a mane and tail and hasn't damaged her skin mainly because she's in a electric tape field and I do everything I can to stop her having access to somewhere to rub.
pets question and answers,www.5d2d.com I'm at a loss as to what is causing this itchiness and how to help her any more - she's itchy to some degree all year and I would love to work out what's going on or at least find a way to help her not be itchy . Any suggestions or how have you successfully managed an itchy horse?
I'm posting an excellent article on this for you to read. It doesn't sound to me like you've necessarily done the diagnostics that would be needed to rule out all potential causes You don't list what diagnostics have been done, but there may be more testing that can be done in order to get at the cause. The article I'm posting gives good guidelines on diagnosis by process of elimination, which may give you some ideas that will be helpful.
http ://www.thoroughbredtimes.com/horse-h ...
Maybe she has a bad allergy to flies? Usually I use MTG for everything including itches, bald spots, and so on. You can get a large bottle from tractor supply and I've had a lot of success with it in those areas.
Have you tried garlic in her food to repel the insects or apple cider vinegar. May sound mad, but marmite really helps with sweet itch. I think she would probably need 2 teaspoons a day.
Louise, I think you should have your mare evaluated by a vet for the possibility that she could have an autoimmune disorder. When I was in college, one of my best friends had a horse that was found to have a disorder that caused him to break out in huge welts, which he then would rub until they were raw and bleeding. I don't know what they called this condition, but I do know that it produced symptoms which were similar to those of ringworm or sarcoptic mange. (It might also be worth your while to have your mare checked for both of these conditions, because both can cause severe itchiness.) Otherwise, I am not sure what to suggest. Could your mare be allergic to something in the grain or hay? I know you've tried altering her diet, but perhaps it isn't a case of her being allergic to the feedstuffs but rather to something they contain. Steroid injections sometimes help with severe allergies - ask your vet about this.
My horse has sweet itch, and we just put a fly rug on her. its stops the flys actually biting her so then it doesn't make her itch. prevention is better than cure:) and if by chance she does become itchy give her a good scratch all over then put skin so soft moisturizer on her. it soothes the skin - makes it a bit greasy but the next day its fine:) but honestly a fly rug is the best thing i have ever bought saves so much hassle. and if your horse needs to scratch let her scratch, because everyone knows the feeling of not being able to get that itch - so irritating. so think of your horse cause its sweet itch is itchier than an itch.
pets question and answers,www.5d2d.com hope i helped - just ask if need to know more:)
You should have your vet take a blood test to rule out any auto-immune problems. Once that has been ruled out, you almost certainly have a bad case of sweet itch on your hands. This is an allergic reaction to insect bites.
You can start to help her by bathing her all over in head and shoulders. Avoid any areas she has made bleed though, just rinse those in cold water. Make sure you thoroughly rinse out the shampoo and dry her all over (if she will stand for the hair dryer, this is the best option, so you're not rubbing the skin with a towel).
Apply something like Conotrane cream to any bleeding/scabbed areas in a really thick layer. Then apply a thick layer of Avon Skin so Soft cream (pink bottle) to any areas she normally rubs but AREN'T bleeding (the baldy bits!) And her mane, tail and feathers, making sure you work it down to the skin.
