Sweet Itch suggestions

[toohorsemad]

Hey ok Ive had Vic for a year and a half and Ive decided that now that I have the money I will get a really good sweet itch rug cause hes really prone and is getting quite annoyed by the midges :( So what I want to know is:
- a sweet itch rug with a max budget of 120 euroish (Im 16 so I cant really afford much more)
- spray/ non greasy lotion thats not expensive for when I'm riding him... this is very important because he was getting very annoyed yesterday whilst I was riding him
- a shampoo thats mild but still gets him clean and feeling less itchy

are all of those requests possible?? Please help Im sick of seeing him get so stressed about the midges :(

[martini55]

The rambo sweet itch hoody is a good rug and is what I use. I think it's around £90. You really do need to buy one specifically made for sweet itch rather than just a fly rug and unfortunately they tend to be more expensive. I'm just about to try killitch lotion so hopefully it'll help!

[Palomino Mare]

hi, yep i agree with the rambo sweet itch hoodie. Also use teatree shampoo - naff make it as do the bodyshop! equine america do a fly spray which i have just started to use and it seems to work well and isnt oily. you could also put your horse on naf "d-itch" supplement but it is expensive!


amz x

[martini55]

Just to say that although many will swear by supplements, Naf D-Itch had no effect at all for my mare so it doesn't work for everyone unfortunately.

[toohorsemad]

Ok thanks he doesnt get concentrated feed so I don't think Ill try the naf stuff... so the rambo hoodie is the best for my budget?

[Mareish]

Snuggyhoods are excellent

[notpoodle]

ive had the rambo before. the material is very tough, but i did find them hard to fit on a wide-chested horse (i had to take the chest straps off on mine and sew on longer ones ...). it also doesnt cover the belly as nicely as eg a boett, and the neckpiece tends to not stay over the ears unless you stick a fieldsafe headcollar on it. good thing about the rambo is you dont need to pull it over the horses head!

now we have a boett ... material less tough, fits nicely, proper bellycover and neckpiece . overall it suits us better, but it does rip very easily and is a bit of a pain to put on, especially when wet and pony is not impressed to have a soggy rug pulled over her face ...

Julia
x

[beccylovespurpl]

I'll second the snugglyhoods. They are expensive but the only thing that really works for my dad's mare (apart from steroid tablets, but they gave her laminitis). We use it with Deosect repellent which we mix with citronella. Last summer was the first summer we used this tactic and we managed to keep her under control which is the 1st time without any drugs.

[flashy33]

i found the only thing to work was itch no more i think its by net ex i gave up with rugs and hoods as i seemed to spend most of the time adjusting them

[puzzles]

a boet blanket. it's virtually guarenteed to eliminate sweet itch and has worked better than anything else i've found (and i've tried most things).
however Killitch works fabulously too.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx good luck xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

[capalldubh]

Boetts are outrageously expensive but seem to work better than any other rug.

However, there is a company called De Meulenkamp that make very similar rugs a bit cheaper (I think you need to google Solva Icelandics (http://www.solva-icelandics.co.uk/sweet1.htm#NEW_FOR_2007!_The_Pagony)) and these rugs are cheaper than the Boett. They also do an even cheaper version (fabric I suspect not as effective but design etc. all looks very similar) and these are in your budget range : here's one on eBay (http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Brand-New-Sweet-Itch-Rug-Protect-from-Flies-Midges_W0QQitemZ170111934609QQihZ007QQcategoryZ72591QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem).

DEET seems to be the best repellent but the Sweetitch trust do a DEET spray that is 98% DEET (works wonders, no flies to be seen for miles :D ) but again, this costs a fortune. Apparently human DEET sprays are about 40-50% DEET so not a bad alternative (you'd need to apply a couple of times a day), and NAF do a DEET spray for horses now, but only 18% DEET so really you'd need to be there spraying every few hours...

Apparently vets are starting to recommend permethrin sprays and treatments - but nasty stuff (not that DEET is very nice - my sandwiches seem to be tasting of DEET a lot these days, very hard to get off your hands). You can get versions that you apply once every few weeks (Frontline, Spot-On for dogs).

HTH :)