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Member
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Location: Beaver, PA | Anybody know any good remedies for an itchy horse? Sounds to me like it may be Sweet Itch from what I've been reading. However, it is mostly on his belly and his chest. It gets worse every year, and at times looks like hives. I've been using a mixture of Listerine and Baby oil (mostly for his tail and mane, to keep him from rubbing them). He is a Missouri Fox Trotter. I also have a TWH that doesn't have any problem at all. He is in the stall next to the MFT. Any suggestions? |
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Expert
Posts: 1719
  
Location: PA | Do you have gnats? Those blood suckers are awful and not much deters them. But, could this be fungus? Does the horse have crusty scabs? |
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Expert
Posts: 2953
 
Location: North Carolina | Try putting some "SWAT" or similar product on his chest & belly. If the hives go away ... it's insect related. We have a horse with same problem. Swat works for him. Get the clear product if you don't like the pink look
Edited by hosspuller 2006-05-06 10:05 PM
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Expert
Posts: 1719
Location: PA | Vaseline works too. The gnats don't like to get gummy and stay away. |
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Member
Posts: 9
Location: Beaver, PA | No, no crusty scabs, just bumps. A friend of ours recommended Corizone creme, just wanted to check and see if anyone has heard of using that. She said it is caused by a tiny biting insect. I have seen some tiny little gnat like bugs, not yet this year but last year. The Listerine and baby oil seemed to help some. |
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Member
Posts: 9
Location: Beaver, PA | Thank you all much for the replies. I will try the vaseline and SWAT if they don't go away. Like I said in the previous post, the Listerine and baby oil seem to be helping. I just don't like the greasy coat look! |
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Veteran
Posts: 113
Location: Lyons Oregon | ask your vet if it could be anllergy, then a simple antihistimine will take care of it. Check to see if horses can have benedryl which you can find in any drug store. |
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 Expert
Posts: 2453
Location: Northern Utah | My black colt had this problem last summer. Small black gnats bothered his brisket area and rubbed it raw. After a lot of rubbing it scabbed and was really sore. I took him to the vet and go some Cortizone cream. It helped a lot. It relieved the itching. So he stopped scrapping his chest on everything he could reach. I hope he has developed some immunity to what ever caused it last year. As it's a pain in the butt to rub cream on him twice a day. |
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 Extreme Veteran
Posts: 301
Location: Catoctin Mtn, Maryland | Every spring through summer we go thru the "nat" thing with one of our mares and one of our geldings. Poor babies,....both will sit in the pasture and just move back and forth scratching their bellies. Like others have suggested, we use swat in the clear form. Twice a day is the key with additional applications when you can. It's an allergy for sure and it doesn't get better with time............... |
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 Member
Posts: 8
Location: michigan | Skin allergies are some of the most common allergic conditions in horses, and many are caused by hypersensitivity to insect bites.The resulting itchy swelling is often called sweet itch or Queensland itch. They can also be from fly spays, a new shampoo, or coming in contact with a plant out in the pasture.In severe cases a veterinarian may treat the horse with corticosteroids to shut down the allergic response. The two main treatments for any allergy are avoidance and corticosteroids.This works great for my horse who breaks out with hives every summer. He gets two shot per season. Talk to your vet about allergy shots.If you think you want to have skin testing done, this usually runs about 400$. I just describe what my horse was going through to my vet and he gave me allergy shots with out the test. Shots cost about 40 per shot. |
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Elite Veteran
Posts: 610
Location: Northern CA | I have the same problem with my gelding and it's getting worse every year. I am using "T ZON" equine dermal care cream. a healing tree product. It heals and is instant relief.- has tea tree oil and hydrocortisone (for the itching) in it. I also use my own recipe for fly -spray. white vinegar, sss, water. spray this on under the belly after applying your cream. I make sure i apply this stuff first thing in the morning and at dusk. good luck! |
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 Expert
Posts: 1283
Location: Home of Wild Turkey Whiskey | I have a mare with the "sweet itch" problem and we have had great sucess in treating the fly or gnat problem. We use Freedom 45 spot on, Package says it last two weeks, we have had a lot better luck treating every 10 days. Sure beats getting her up every day and treating it with lotions and potions, that's what we did for about 3 years. We start the spot on in early April before the flies are bad. It has worked well for two years now.  |
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Extreme Veteran
Posts: 301
Location: Catoctin Mtn, Maryland | Freedom 45 spot? Where can we purchase it? Thanks |
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Itchy Horse
