Sweet itch/NTW ??

[PiaffeN_Passage]

I have a best to any vet’s knowledge sweet itch/insect bite hypersensitivity horse. The best thing to do for him is to keep him covered! Face, body, and legs. My horse itches his face and legs the worse, and is actually very self inflicting if allowed.

Have not come across much luck with antihistamines thus far…still trialing a few. The horse does respond to steroids but is borderline metabolic and aging so we need to use those sparingly.

I’m actually doing decently knock on wood at keeping him semi comfortable right now. He gets his itchies washed 1-2x a week with Microtek medicated shampoo and an oatmeal shampoo. I SLATHER him 6-7 days a week with neem oil (life saver!) and desitin (diaper rash cream) on anything super open that can’t be covered with fly gear. I also like to use cortisone cream on the face.

Seriously though look into neem oil. Many sweet itch people use this over in the UK.

[PiaffeN_Passage]

Also, DDing with Ivermectin is pretty useless. If you read the super big thread on here about NTWs you will find those who did th DD protocol with Ivermectin rarely if ever saw results. To do it proper you need to use Equimax.

[Kimmierae]

Tail rubbing

My mare is rubbing her tail just enough that she breaks the hair and the top of her tail is all fuzzy, but no sores or skin showing. She will be ok for a day or two then will rub again. I know it sounds weird but Vetericyn seems to help. Ideas?

[Kimmierae]

Sorry I am new at this. I guess I should have submitted my question as a new post and not a reply. I’ll see if I can figure out how to do that. ???

[Katy_Watts]

Have had good results with flax. You can have UPS ship 50 lb bags from any of the companies that sells stabilized ground flax.
Yup, sensitive horses are expensive.

[FatCatFarm]

I think Neem Oil added to your fly spray and double dosing with Equimax, in addition to fly sheeting as you can, helps the most.

[DragonTea]

[QUOTE=pattnic;8758037]
My mare also suffers from “sweet itch” - she is allergic to bites from gnats.

Honestly, it’s probably best to skip all the homeopathic and other crap, have your horse tested for allergies, and administer appropriate allergy shots. I know it has made a world of difference for my mare - nothing else really helped.

The initial course is more expensive, I believe, but the maintenance dosing (1x/month) only costs about $130/year (she’s in Georgia and doesn’t get it during the winter… just spring through fall).

Her shots are only for gnats; it would probably also be more expensive for more than one allergen, but I don’t know how much that difference would be. I’m guessing it’s still going to be less than what additional supplements, fly sheets, and your time would cost.[/QUOTE]

Totally agree here! I had THEE worst case of skin fungus and sweet itch! I promise you! I should have taken photos for the learning experience. We’re in the heat of Aiken, SC and we had gone through every antibiotic imaginable to get the skin crud gone…

I saw another vet in the same practice and she had asked if I had ever had him on allergy meds (not OTC, the true allergy RX kind). And I hadn’t even thought of it.

So we did the allergy test and we’re trying the allergy shots too (he was allergic to 22 things! including pine shavings, coastal hay and 8 types of fungi that grow in the summer) - BUT before we even did that she gave me Hydroxyzine powder and in two weeks the entire issue was resolved. So now we know in the heat of the summer this is what we will keep him on.

[JamieD]

Reviving a dead thread, BUT I finally found something that seems to be working!
So since this thread I have tried “stinky stuff” (which is essentially neem oil, combined with other oils) which did not seem to do much.
I got him on a cup of flax daily, which made his coat gorgeously shiny, but that was about it.
Then I had a different vet out, who put him on HydrOXYzine which seemed to curb the itching slightly.
Then 1 week ago, I had the vet out again to get his teeth done and she suggested we try a shot of vetalog combined with the daily doses of HydrOXYzine. This combination is the first thing that has seemed to work in over 2 years, so I am pretty pumped about it. So if your horse is suffering from sweet itch, talk to your vet about maybe trying it out.

[Berry0317]

OP you should also look into a product called “Seeds Please Itch Me Not.” It has Flax and all other kinds of herbs and seeds in it that totally stopped our pony’s skin itchiness in it’s tracks!! When we bought her she had horrible skin, and when I pulled her mane it caused her entire mane to fall out. I had her on Dex before I found the Seeds Please. Wonderful product and the owner of the company is just as wonderful to work with.

[Hermein]

I was told by a Friesian breeder to keep them stalled from dusk til dawn in a screened stall. That does work if you can do it.

Deet, or anything else that will kill mosquitos will kill the sweet itch flies.

Vaseline on the scabs helps in healing.

If all else fails, use dex tablets–iirc, about 10 mg every couple of weeks should do it, ymmv of course. THIS does not keep the sweet itch bugs from biting, but squelches the reaction to the bites.