Anything to help bites??

[Tor&Warrior]

Flyte came in today with about 10 really bad bites on his side and under his belly. The weather has all of a sudden turned boiling. He's got a mask and is covered in fly spray which costs me a fortuned because I wanted a good one and he was only out till 11am and has now been in all day but they look really sore and he flinchs if I touch them. I put more of the fly spray on them as it says to put it on after bites and stings too to help them, but I was wondering if theres anything else I could put on them which would help?? Some are small but one if easily the size of half a tennis ball!! He looks really miserable to! He can't be ridden now until they've gone as there under his girth!! I hope they go soon as we've got a dressage competition in a few days!

[galadriel]

Hydrocortisone cream can help relieve nasty bites. Benadryl cream also relieves bites. The Benadryl may be more of an anti-allergen, but I've checked my tubes of benadryl & hydrocortisone cream and they're not the same stuff. So if one doesn't work the other might.

I don't know if you have access to it or if it's just a US product, but Endure fly spray is working really well for us. It lasts a long time (several days) and works even if the horse sweats.

Poor Flyte. Sounds miserable.

[Bebe]

I think clove oil is soothing for bites if you can get it next to the skin. When Bebe has really bad bites I put arnica and witch hazel cream on as this relieves any heat and soreness.

The first summer I had Bebe she reacted really badly to fly bites, she was covered in scabby lumps where she'd reacted to them. I ended up getting her a fly rug to wear which did help a lot. They've never bothered her since that one summer, I'm not sure if it was because we moved yards (only a few miles up the road though) or if it's because the flypsray I use now repels flies much better. It's a recipe I make up myself using aromatherapy and Neem oils.

[nat17]

A onion is suposed to be the best thing for bad bites!;) I am using Beezlebug at the moment, (see tried and tested) to remarkable effects!;)

[Horseyheaven]

i rubbed some 'BioForce Neem oil' soothing cream on a girth sore and also a nasty infected bite from a wasp or bee and the very next day they had disapeered completly!!!

so it truely is really good stuff...defintally worth getting some not pricey either is working wonders for montana's sweet itch as well!

[Tor&Warrior]

Thanks for all your tips!
I put Hydrocortisone cream on them in the end as it was all I could get hold of quickly. They cleared up withing a few hours of putting it on. But I put him out the next morning and they were back worse, everywhere under his belly, his side and up his neck and on his back so I went and bought him a fly rug. So hopefully this should help!