I think my horse has sweet itch?

Question

i think my horse has sweet itch. so what do i do? i know that it is some kind of allergic reaction to insects. (right?)

should i just put fly spray on him? how long will it last?

Answer 1

Well if you're willing to try anything, here's a decades old remedy for it... Motor oil (New or used). Simply paint your horse/pony with it and it will kill the fungus. Leave it on at least a month and within 2 weeks of painting it on, you'll see new hair growing in hairless spots.  I should state that you SHOULD either WASH your horse/pony with dawn or something else that will take the oil off IF you HAVE to ride before you put any tack on it.  IF you don't you WILL stain your tack and boots (I actually heard somebody did ride with it on their horse and it stained all their tack and their black boots turned brown...  Thought that would be a no brainer.

Answer 2

I have tried fly sprays, salves on my horses belly, fly sheets - anything I could think of to help my horse.  The only thing that worked was boosting her immune system with an herbal product.  She suffered for 4 years until I found the solution.  I am using an immune builder from Blueridge.  It is not something you keep your horse on forever. It is meant to be used for a short time and it works!

Answer 3

Yes, sweet itch is an allergic reaction to midge bites.

Your horse will literally be trying to scrape his skin off on anything he can get near enough to.

Simple fly spray won't do it. You need a sweet itch lotion and possibly some kind of feed additive as well. Plus the fly spray.

What makes you think it's sweet itch ? - it's late in the year to suddenly develop it, so I'm wondering if it could be something else. I'll check back later.

Answer 4

If your horse is very allergic, you might have to put him on some antihistimines to control the reactions as well as fly sprays to prevent bites.

Answer 5

Rosi has already suggested similar but something that really works is a mineral oil called 'Pig oil' or 'cob oil'.

This is a natural oil that pig farmers use to apply onto their pigs skin to avoid irritation from flies, midges, etc

If your horse has already damaged his/ her skin to the point where its cut or weeping you can also add sulphur to it to assist with the healing.

It can be quite hard to find but there is a guy in the UK who sells it on ebay.  If you arent in the UK any garage who buys motor oil from a specialised dealer should be able to get hold of some for you.  It's pretty cheap too - around £34 for a 25 litre drum.

It's got loads of uses for skin irritations etc and more info can be found on this link here....

http://www.newrider.com/forum/archive/in...

I've bought some and one of my stable buddies has been using it on his horse and this year he has a full mane and tail.  Last year he was bald and scabby with rubbing so bad.  It's been like some miracle cure - I really cant recommend it enough.

Another recommendation is Skin-So-Soft from Avon.  The midges hate this product as it has a distinct smell thats quite nice to us but they hate.  It's a form of oil too so does wonders for shine for shows on their mane, tail and probably does have some origins from the pig oil stuff too.

Just a word of warning tho - make sure it soaks in before you turn out or that the sun is going down as it is oil based and so could end up in your neddy being sun burnt.

Hope this helps you as much as I've seen it help my friend.

Answer 6

Bathe him weekly with betadine to kill any skin fungus he may have going on, then make sure to fly spray him once or twice daily. Be sure to do his legs and belly well, and rub some on his face with your hands. If he's in a stall, turn a fan on him to help keep buggies away.

A couple of ours have allergic reactions and we add an herbal supplement to their feed that works really well. There isn't one made for horses, but look for human products, such as Goji Juice or Tunguska Blast. They have antioxidants and all that good stuff. People think I'm crazy til I give it to their horses and their skin clears up :)