Sweet Itch

Does anyone have any experience of this condition in horses/ponies?

My shetland pony suffers from it. I have tried proper sweet itch lotion of various makes, I bought him an expensive sweet itch rug which he swiftly managed to decimate and have also tried keeping him in during dawn and dusk and letting him out when there are less midges about, but nothing seems to work consistently well.

I was told yesterday about Avon Skin So Soft and have heard it works to repel midges from people ... but didn't realise it may also work for horses. Has anyone tried it on themselves, or their animals? Did it work?

Yes it is BRILLIANT!

In my day we used to put all sorts on for sweet itch, some of it rather dubious!

Thanks. Just ordered a truckload!

Yup I have used it on many horses...


Also if you can try and turn out away from lakes/rivers/streams as this can also aggrevate sweet itch , breezy area are best.

Thanks Spokky. Unfortunately, living on a heathery moor, we tend to get midges on all parts of the estate. The ponies will be swapping fields shortly, but will still be next to the reservoir ... so we will see Although, saying that, as we are quite high up, we always tend to have a bit of a breeze.

I was told the other day that jungle fever spray works too to keep them away. I hope you get it sorted

Thanks Steph. I will bear that in mind. I never knew he had SI before we took him on, and don't think I would ever knowingly take on another with this affliction. You just feel so bad for them.

Friends mare has is..they tend to rely on a bug rug...

The SSS works but the green one..

MAY SHOW COB USE TO GET IT VERY BAD. I use to use benzobenzowate(spelt wrong). Dont think you can get it now from the chemist, it was brilliant.
I use to keep Jay in during the day then turn him out at night. It really helped, as he use to trash rugs and i found with him and the sweet itch rugs made him itch more. (also made him smell)lol.
To be honest once i found a rountine with turnout,it really made a difference...........

Avon skin so soft works cos the midges die and stick to your face! lol.

I got some BRILLIANT stuff from the scottish game fair which is a totally natural product and it really works. I tried to find them the following year but couldn't so not sure if they are still around.

Poor Strom. Must be horrible for him The woman we got Dusty from said that if we didn't want Dusty, she knew of another pony that might be suitable but she wouldn't be totally happy recommending as she had sweet itch.

Helen