| Archive for It's About The Horse The Free Forum for those Doing Parelli - and a whole lot More! "Anything forced and misunderstood can never be beautiful." Xenophon (430-355 B.C.), |
| mariab |
Sweet itch treatmentJust need some ideas on treating a bad case of sweet itch. |
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| eva |
Thanks for this topictitle...as I found out it s what one of the horses has...(wikipedia)
I put pure aloe vera on it and it takes the itching away...hair is growing again too... 
Tried many other things ....this is the best |
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| Julie |
Boett or Pagony blanket, Beelzebug or Stop itch, or all three combined.
http://www.net-tex.co.uk/product_page.cfm?pid=233&men=3 I would try the beelzebug and get a blanket to prevent it for next year as late in the season! |
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| Leah |
There is research supporting the connection between the itching and neck thread worms.
The gnats infest the horse with the neck threadworms and that can contribute to the itching. Treatment is an extensive deworming program with ivermectin problems. The female adult NTW can live up to 15 years in a horse. |
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| PasoBaby_CarolU |
Leah, isn't the dossage a double dose of Ivermectin?
(Ivermectin has a BIG safety factor figured in, so a double dose is still safe) Just make sure it is PLAIN Ivermectin (or even generic), but NOT NOT NOT NOT IVERMECTIN GOLD!!! Ivermectin Gold is a broad spectrum wormer. It is not safe for yearlings and under, or horses that haven't been wormed recently, OR horses carrying a heavy worm load, OR in double dose!!! |
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| Gillies_mom |
There's also some thoughts that sweet itch could indicate a copper deficiency. My mare gets a boett blanket and sprayed with benzyl benzoate a couple of times a week. Since I've started supplimenting with copper I think the severity of the sweet itch has gone (could be wishful thinking, but I don't think she's as bad) - but you need to be careful to supplement zinc too, with ratio of Cu:Zn of 1:3 to prevent a zinc defiency as CU and Zn absorbed through same process.
Tried the double dose wormer, twice two weeks apart, made no difference. |
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| Leah |
yes a double of ivermectin. Every 2 weeks if needed.
Some horses actually respond better to Equimax but no idea why. And NO NO NO to Z-Gold! Never double Z-Gold. |
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| Pyrgirl |
This worked for my horse. I used 1.5 dose of plain Ivermectin. First round was 2 weeks apart 3 times. That was last fall. Then this summer we did two does of 1.5 Ivermectin 2 weeks apart and then Ivermectin all summer - every 6 weeks 1.5 dose. When you first do it, you may see some pretty significant reactions in the skin especially on the nec, head, and even the back. Almost looks like hives or ant bites and itches like crazy. It is probably the dying neck worms. If you have more questions, PM me or better yet, ask leah. |
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| Leah |
giving this discussion a little bump | ||
| appellativo |
The Horse Journal did an article on sweet itch a while back, you might google them and order the back copy. It had several barrier ointments to use. they also mentioned the neck worms and using a rug complete with belly protection. | ||
| Julie |
What are neck thread worms, as I am not sure we have these in the UK but we have a lot of sweetitch |