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Post by aliwelsh on Mar 30, 2015 8:53:02 GMT
Our pony rubs out the bottom third of his mane every summer thus ruining his hairstyle This is the only place he rubs This year I am armed with a snuggy hood and a supply of and benzyl benzoate (BB)- google research tell me these might be the best two options Advice needed - When should he start using the hood? Do I use the BB as well as the hood? If I apply the BB does it go all over him or just in the areas he rubs? Thanks for reading and please advise if you can
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Post by CarolineNelson on Mar 30, 2015 14:20:12 GMT
Our pony rubs out the bottom third of his mane every summer thus ruining his hairstyle ;) This is the only place he rubs This year I am armed with a snuggy hood and a supply of and benzyl benzoate (BB)- google research tell me these might be the best two options Advice needed - When should he start using the hood? Do I use the BB as well as the hood? If I apply the BB does it go all over him or just in the areas he rubs? Thanks for reading and please advise if you can Benzyl Benzoate BP is excellent. It's a treatment as old as the hills so maybe not 'fashionable' on the horsey shelves any more. However, I can vouch for it from way back when I was little; my pony had mild sweet itch, we used it with great success on her. Have used it ever since. Benzyl Benzoate is very soothing and cooling. Herein lies the 'rub' if you pardon the pun. If you use the hood too, you need to make sure he doesn't get too hot as that alone will make any animal itchy and feel the need to rub. Perhaps try a cotton hood rather than a nylon one on warm days. Apply Benzyl by hand, reasonably liberally, to the areas where he rubs and gently smooth it in. Don't rub too vigorously. NO, you don't need to use it all over him! A word of warning though - Although not harmful, Benzyl Benzoate stings like mad if you get it in your eyes, so if he is ridden by a child, apply after riding in case the inevitable happens. It is actually a 'human' treatment so not harmful to humans at all. Start applying it before he starts rubbing. Given that skin irritations are eased by cooling of the blood, remember to offer him a small quantity of salt in his water (Epsom Salts or similar), which will help. And allow him free access to a natural salt lick such as N.A.F's Himalayan Crystal salt lick (pink, has a hole in the middle and comes with a rope to tie it up if you wish, or it can just sit in his manger).
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sarahp
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Post by sarahp on Mar 31, 2015 7:04:56 GMT
If it's only ever the bottom third of his mane are you absolutely sure it's genuine sweetitch, as in allergy to midge bites? Normally with that condition they rub the full length of the mane and the top of the tail as well. Different rubbing patterns can occur with allergies to different things. Just a thought.
As far as sweetitch does go, I'm a BB fan too, although you may get funny looks if you ask for it at the chemists as its human use is for scabies. It also has a very pervasive smell which doesn't wear off, so you may want to apply with rubber gloves unless you want to go around smelling of it for ages. I've used it without a hood, as I date from the time when there were no such things anyway.
Another useful technique is to stable the pony during the times the midges bite which is dawn and dusk - in practise I get them in about 4pm and turnout at 10am. I've also used the snuggy full body suits which worked well as long as the pony didn't trash them - the point is to stop the midges biting the pony in the first place by preventing them from being able to get at the pony to do so. Remember that if they are bitten they can itch with no more bites for up to three weeks, so don't write off treatments too soon. I believet here is now a vaccine available although I haven't had occasion to try it - might be worth asking your vet.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Mar 31, 2015 7:25:42 GMT
Over the years I have found sometimes sweet itch is mistaken for encysted red worm, which hibernate in the muscle and then emerge with spring, so maybe a wise move to worm with a wormer that treats encysted red worm, it may just solve your sweet itch! Just a tip.
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Post by cariad on Mar 31, 2015 10:44:21 GMT
Where can you get Benzyl Benzoate from nower days? Honestly the only thing that ever worked for my horses and then suddenly couldnt get it over the counter any more??
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Post by brindlerainbow on Mar 31, 2015 15:58:29 GMT
I bought benzyl last summer on the internet. I just googled it and there were several suppliers.
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Post by judyh on Mar 31, 2015 20:33:21 GMT
Be careful not to put it on and rub your eyes!! Use rubber gloves as above but take them straight off.
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Post by waspblue on Apr 2, 2015 0:05:46 GMT
Over the years I have found sometimes sweet itch is mistaken for encysted red worm, which hibernate in the muscle and then emerge with spring, so maybe a wise move to worm with a wormer that treats encysted red worm, it may just solve your sweet itch! Just a tip. Encysted redworm actually hibernate in the gut wall, not the muscle. I think you may be thinking of neck threadworm possibly as that sometimes presents itchy symptoms. they live in the nuchal ligament in the neck and are transmitted by biting midges from horse to horse. Look them up on intenet and see what they look like etc. It is always a possibility and worth finding out about. Good luck.
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Post by CarolineNelson on Apr 2, 2015 6:50:57 GMT
Where can you get Benzyl Benzoate from nower days? Honestly the only thing that ever worked for my horses and then suddenly couldnt get it over the counter any more?? Some of the smaller Chemists still stock it (ie: not the 'known big High Street chain'. Don't say it's for horses though as by law they're only supposed to sell human treatments for humans. When needed, I use the equally old-fashioned but very useful oral 'Kaolin & Morph' for show sheep who are a bit 'loose'. The pharmacist will ask - 'is it for you or a family member?' . . ."yes" . 'Have you taken it before?' . . . "yes".
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Post by comanchediva on Apr 2, 2015 6:56:44 GMT
Caroline, my dad gives Kaolin and Morphine to his calves when they're a bit "loose". He takes it himself sometimes as well, although hopefully not from the same bottle!
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Apr 2, 2015 18:53:16 GMT
Over the years I have found sometimes sweet itch is mistaken for encysted red worm, which hibernate in the muscle and then emerge with spring, so maybe a wise move to worm with a wormer that treats encysted red worm, it may just solve your sweet itch! Just a tip. Encysted redworm actually hibernate in the gut wall, not the muscle. I think you may be thinking of neck threadworm possibly as that sometimes presents itchy symptoms. they live in the nuchal ligament in the neck and are transmitted by biting midges from horse to horse. Look them up on intenet and see what they look like etc. It is always a possibility and worth finding out about. Good luck. Oh, well my equine vet passed me that information and worming for encysted worms has solved the itchy problem I had, so I will consult the oracle, thank you wasp blue.
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kayjayem
Happy to help....a lot
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Post by kayjayem on Apr 3, 2015 20:05:49 GMT
Just a caveat, I had a sec D who was allergic to Benzyl Benzoate. I know it's very rare and only ever had the one even though I've used it for years on various ponies, thats why I never did a patch test and it made a mess so I would always test a small area first just to make sure.
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Post by brindlerainbow on Apr 3, 2015 21:00:28 GMT
Waspblue your info is spot on I have one that has had neck worm, they are not encysted red worms they are thread worms. Ivermectin soon sorts them out
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Post by mcnaughty on Apr 9, 2015 15:15:30 GMT
I have to say that I have never had a sweetitch pony but I have plenty of friends that do! They have already got their Boett rugs on as I understand that you need to PREVENT the sweet itch rather than TREAT it.
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sarahp
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Post by sarahp on Apr 17, 2015 6:53:29 GMT
Exactly so. If you can prevent the midges from biting the pony he won't itch.
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Post by crimsoncloverep on Apr 21, 2015 15:44:07 GMT
we have kept our sweet itchy cob covered with her rambo sweet itch hoody/ fly mask and have been applying benzyl benzonate each day to mane, tail and face. She is on a high oil diet + brewers yeast... so far (touch wood) there's been no excessive itching !!
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Post by bubbles1822 on Apr 22, 2015 20:30:29 GMT
Snuggy suit on a pony who has mild sweet itch
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Post by lillicob on Jun 1, 2015 20:24:25 GMT
My problem last year was my cob mare shredded 3 fly rugs as they made her more itchy, so then went to BB with more success. After searching the internet I found the use of Niacinamide in a successful treatment, (can't remember what the product was called but it was in sachets), the main ingredient being this.After googling the Niacinamide, I found it was tested on horses with moderate to bad sweetitch with great success. So this year I am giving the dosage suggested ( amazon supply this product) with my definition of the moderate, rated say, as a 5 and bad rated as a 10,if you know what I mean,with weight also being taken into consideration. My capsules are 500mg so am giving one capsule daily, would say her itch score as an 8.The trials showed after 2 weeks of treatment, the itch score on a 10, was down to a 2, so we will see. Google it if your interested, its interesting reading, plus its a natural source, rather than a medication,and is a cheaper trial option than expensive creams and potions.Am using the BB alongside this too as she started itching 3 days ago, out of the blue with a vengeance,I buy this off the internet 10 x 1 litre bottles from Hyperdrug. Sorry for long post, I hope it may help others with the dreaded sweetitch. I would just mention this mare of mine will not be stabled, is claustrophobic, and box walks like a maniac, whinnying to get out, and sweats which is a problem regarding dusk past dawn. Aren't they just lovely.
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