Insanely Itchy

[impressive_gunner92]

My boy is insanely itchy and he won’t stop rubbing against the inside of his stall. He’s chewed a hole in his shoulder but he doesn’t seem to care, it just doesn’t stop. His itchy on his neck, chest, shoulders, and belly. So far I’ve tried to give him a bath in vinegar which helped a little. He’s gotten skin so soft and gold bond powder, and he’s been given just a rinse with cold water. This has happened before around the same time, but never this intensely.

There are no hives or bumps on him anywhere.

He was being so dangerous that he got turned out tonight on full grass to distract him, and to limit what he can itch himself on.

Any help would be greatly appreciated

[PrincessPonies]

I recommend calling the vet. Mine was doing the same thing and it turns out she’s allergic to something out this time of year. If it happened last year too I would guess it’s a seasonal allergy just like with people. My pony had no hives or bumps just rubbing herself raw. Got her on an antihistamine per vet and all the itching has stop. I waited over two months to call, partly because I was trying to see if it was just the flies bugging her and mostly because o was out of town for the majority of the time, and I wish I’d gotten it done before she rubbed herself till bleeding because then I had to deal with that too.

[impressive_gunner92]

I called my vet and he said without hives an antihistamine won’t do any good, but I can call again to see if I can get him to try it. If not I can call a different vet in the area. Any idea what the vet proscribed to your horse?

[fjordmom]

I have one with sweet itch and he would rub or bite himself raw and bloody, as you describe. He’s with me now for the 3rd summer and greatly improved. I think a number of factors contributed to the improvement. I’ve just tried things, one at a time, over time and each increment has been better than the last. Here are some things I have done over the last 3 years.

• Fly sheet with belly band, boots,and face mask when turned out.Put him on MSM to quiet the inflammation.
• Keep him inside during dawn and dust when gnats are most active.
• Added ground flax to his diet.
• Keep him super clean. He likes to sleep in his wet spot every night (ugh, I know). I ended up putting a breathable rain sheet on him in the stall overnight and that helped immensely. The flies are not nearly as drawn to him anymore. (Sweet itch is an allergy to gnats, but once that flares up he seems more susceptible to other fly bites as well.) Of everything I've doen, I think this has made the biggest difference.
• Treat the itchy spots/fly bites with aloe gel, vitamin E oil, or zinc oxide at first appearance. All of these have helped and also seem to act as a bit of a temporary barrier to flies irritating the already sore areas.
• During the summer fly season, he also gets spirulina. I usually start feeding that a month or tow before the start of fly season (so March/April).
• It has been part of my management long before I got him to keep my barn and pastures very clean, no excess standing water, use fly predators, and take what ever measures I need to to keep the fly population as low as possible. If this is not being done, I doubt the other measures will be of much help.

Benadryl, as recommended by my vet has been quite effective in breaking the itch cycle and slowing/stopping the rubbing. Ask your vet to recommend an appropriate dose. My horse has never shown any hives, just the oozing and crusting of the very itchy bites. Knock wood, so far this summer I have not had to use Benadryl at all. He is doing amazingly well compared to how he was when I first got him.

Also, have you had him checked for insulin resistance and low thyroid level? My other horse itched (and sweat) incessantly one summer. The vet wrote it off to unusually hot weather we had that year. When he continued to itch and sweat into the winter, I was sure something was amiss. I insisted we do some testing. Sure enough; he is IR and had low thyroid levels. Now that we’ve taken measures to manage that (Thyro-L and Heiro supplement), he is doing very well - only sweating or itching at times and in ways that I would consider “normal.”

[Bedina]

We gave a horse very prone to sweet itch a generic antihistamine (we used CostCo, and I believe it was the generic Zyrtec - Aller-Tec), crushed into his feed. It made a significant difference - he would rub himself raw without it.

I also really liked Calm Coat as a topical spray.

[mmeqcenter]

I’m going to have to disagree with your vet; I’ve used antihistamines on many occasions without hives being present, including for a very itchy horse (sweet itch) with much success. Hives are not the only indication of allergic reaction.

[impressive_gunner92]

@fjordmom

I have one with sweet itch and he would rub or bite himself raw and bloody, as you describe. He’s with me now for the 3rd summer and greatly improved. I think a number of factors contributed to the improvement. I’ve just tried things, one at a time, over time and each increment has been better than the last. Here are some things I have done over the last 3 years.

• Fly sheet with belly band, boots,and face mask when turned out.Put him on MSM to quiet the inflammation.
• Keep him inside during dawn and dust when gnats are most active.
• Added ground flax to his diet.
• Keep him super clean. He likes to sleep in his wet spot every night (ugh, I know). I ended up putting a breathable rain sheet on him in the stall overnight and that helped immensely. The flies are not nearly as drawn to him anymore. (Sweet itch is an allergy to gnats, but once that flares up he seems more susceptible to other fly bites as well.) Of everything I've doen, I think this has made the biggest difference.
• Treat the itchy spots/fly bites with aloe gel, vitamin E oil, or zinc oxide at first appearance. All of these have helped and also seem to act as a bit of a temporary barrier to flies irritating the already sore areas.
• During the summer fly season, he also gets spirulina. I usually start feeding that a month or tow before the start of fly season (so March/April).
• It has been part of my management long before I got him to keep my barn and pastures very clean, no excess standing water, use fly predators, and take what ever measures I need to to keep the fly population as low as possible. If this is not being done, I doubt the other measures will be of much help.

Benadryl, as recommended by my vet has been quite effective in breaking the itch cycle and slowing/stopping the rubbing. Ask your vet to recommend an appropriate dose. My horse has never shown any hives, just the oozing and crusting of the very itchy bites. Knock wood, so far this summer I have not had to use Benadryl at all. He is doing amazingly well compared to how he was when I first got him.

Also, have you had him checked for insulin resistance and low thyroid level? My other horse itched (and sweat) incessantly one summer. The vet wrote it off to unusually hot weather we had that year. When he continued to itch and sweat into the winter, I was sure something was amiss. I insisted we do some testing. Sure enough; he is IR and had low thyroid levels. Now that we’ve taken measures to manage that (Thyro-L and Heiro supplement), he is doing very well - only sweating or itching at times and in ways that I would consider “normal.”

Thank you so much! Could it still be sweet itch without any visible fly bites? I’m purchasing him a fly sheet with a belly band tonight to see if that will help. I love the aloe idea as well, I’ll do that tonight when I go out. Hankfukkt he seemed much more comfortable this morning.

He isn’t IR but I haven’t checked his thyroid levels, but if it continues past this I definitely will. His itching flares up mid summer every year, but this is the worst it’s ever been

[impressive_gunner92]

@Bedina

We gave a horse very prone to sweet itch a generic antihistamine (we used CostCo, and I believe it was the generic Zyrtec - Aller-Tec), crushed into his feed. It made a significant difference - he would rub himself raw without it.

I also really liked Calm Coat as a topical spray.

How much did you add to his feed? I can definitely give him my allergy medicine if the vet won’t prescribe an antihistamine

[impressive_gunner92]

@mmeqcenter

I’m going to have to disagree with your vet; I’ve used antihistamines on many occasions without hives being present, including for a very itchy horse (sweet itch) with much success. Hives are not the only indication of allergic reaction.

Thats what I was thinking. It almost seemed like he didn’t want to make a trip out to my barn at 10pm… hmmm

[mmeqcenter]

@impressive_gunner92

Thank you so much! Could it still be sweet itch without any visible fly bites?

Sweet itch is an allergic reaction to bites from mites, or gnats. They are not large enough to leave a visible bite.

[ChocoMare]

Happy reading

https://www.chronofhorse.com/forum/forum/discussion-forums/horse-care/17248-something-to-kill-adult-onchocerca-19-case-studies-posted-page-58?155469-something-to-kill-adult-Onchocerca-19-CASE-STUDIES-POSTED-PAGE-58=

[Snowdenfarm]

@ChocoMare

Happy reading

https://www.chronofhorse.com/forum/forum/discussion-forums/horse-care/17248-something-to-kill-adult-onchocerca-19-case-studies-posted-page-58?155469-something-to-kill-adult-Onchocerca-19-CASE-STUDIES-POSTED-PAGE-58=

My apologies as I did not read the entire 82-page thread, but do I understand that the symptoms of sweet itch caused by culicoides and the itchiness caused by onchocerca are the same – itchy mane, chest, belly and tail? Since culicoides do not leave a noticeable bite and I read that there are bumps that need to be biopsied to identify onchocerciasis, could that help differentiate the two? Is one itchier than the other?

[ChocoMare]

@Snowdenfarm

My apologies as I did not read the entire 82-page thread, but do I understand that the symptoms of sweet itch caused by culicoides and the itchiness caused by onchocerca are the same – itchy mane, chest, belly and tail? Since culicoides do not leave a noticeable bite and I read that there are bumps that need to be biopsied to identify onchocerciasis, could that help differentiate the two? Is one itchier than the other?

Yeah, to read the whole thing takes days! Do read the case studies tho and as many of the links that still work.

I’ve never seen a difference in itchniness per se. I just know from my personal experience with my horses and then those shown in the Case Studies is that some scratch themselves near to death and others just a bit. More research to be done!

[cayuse]

@mmeqcenter

I’m going to have to disagree with your vet; I’ve used antihistamines on many occasions without hives being present, including for a very itchy horse (sweet itch) with much success. Hives are not the only indication of allergic reaction.

I agree with you 100%. Allergies can manifest in different ways, not just hives. I have a couple of horses with skin allergies, one itches and has no hives, the other get hives but doesn’t itch. It is individual to the horse. Antihistamines for both situations helps.

[Peggy]

I had the same thing last year, complete with a rubbed eye from collateral itching. I specifically remember the vet coming late in the day on July 3 because that was the earliest she could get there.

The vet felt it was gnat allergies. Horse did allergy test for gnats, among other things. Short term the horse got a kenalog (long-acting steroid) shot and a prescription for an antihistamine. I also did a fair amount of bathing and rinsing with a cider-vinegar wash. I also Googled “make your own gnat spray” and picked something that seemed suitable to spray in his stall and on the plants outside. It was water and maybe one other ingredient. The vet also advised not only flax, but something with added DHA’s, such as fish oil. He was already getting flax, so I switched to the Horsetech product that has flax and a DHA boost from algae (https://horsetech.com/profile).

He had been on allergy shots for six months at that point but I have been told that it takes at least a year to get the full effect.

He has been much less itchy this year, but did start to get the little bumps started in his chest and under his neck. I immediately used IBH spray (recommended here) and the bumps disappeared. I use it maybe twice a week.

Good luck!