Anthesan cream and sweet itch?

notpoodle

notpoodle

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Jul 16, 2003
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a (non horsey) friend suggested i could try using Anthesan cream on angel's itchy bits. she currently has a nasty rub (raw and all) bang in the middle of her forehead and won't leave it alone (despite my best efforts, cleaning it daily, applying antiseptic etc).

she obviously hasn't been bitten there directly, but that bit on her forehead is always the first thing that 'goes' when the itchy season starts ...

has anyone tried anthesan for something like that? is it suitable for horses? does it sting?

Julia
x
 
have never tried it but would be interestede to know if anyone has.

my mare always gets the bit in the middle of her forehead go raw when her sweetitch is bad. i usually put calomine lotion on it and she seems to stop itching it. i just dab it on with cotton wool.

cheap and cheerful!! - well if it stops chicken pox itching i thought it must be worth a try!!
 
i'd rather not have to get the vet AGAIN if i can help it :eek:

will def try the calomine lotion though, i hadnt thought of that!!

any other ideas? it's driving both the pony and myself nuts :mad: and i'd love to take her to some local shows in the summer (she's a fine example of her breed and all!), but not so sure if she has a great big hole in her head :eek:

Julia
x
 
i find fly hats let the midges through and im yet to find one that doesnt!

i am currently using avon skin so soft dry body oil on her face. this is the longest her forehead has stayed in tact (**touching wood**)

may be worth a try. nothing else ive tried works!!
 
the mask she has is quite good, one of those boett-style full face with teddy bear ears ones that hook onto the neckpiece of the rug (so her poll is not exposed even when grazing). i doubt she has actually been bitten on her face (i also slap anti fly gel on her head and ears just in case she gets the mask off ...), it;s just this darned itch-cyle! i'm surprised her hair hasnt grown back white in this spot yet (we already have white bits on the flanks and top of tail ...).

tomorrow, i shall go forth and acquite calomine lotion !!

Julia
x
 
you can get it from tesco for about 50p a bottle and it lasts ages. you needed to wash it off every week or so otherwise it builds up and goes crusty!! i apply it once a day until she stops itching and the hair starts sprouting through again x
 
I doubt anthisan would irritate a horses skin, but given how ineffective I find it for myself it wouldn't be something I would probably bother trying :eek:
Calomine sounds like a good option, once you have it cleared up and the skin healed you could try Benzol Benzoate - the bowen lady who did my horses uses it on her sweet itch horsey to keep the bugs at bay and reduce itching.
 
I use anthesan myself and find it great - but I wouldn't use it on anything raw as it stings like mad! Also, having had a horse who was allergic to everything, I would be very careful about using it on any horse..

Ross
 
Second jessey, go for benzyl benzoate, much more affective. You could also try benadryl ointment too (works much better than antihisan on humans, fast and effective on a number of allergic skin reactions), get it over the counter at chemists.
 
tried that, didnt do anything, apart from being carcogenic ... and youre not meant to put it on broken skin as far as i know ...

the calomine is working a treat on her head so far though!! lo and behold she hasnt rubbed it since i put it on there! am now sticking it on the top of her tail as well :)

Julia
x
 
glad its working for you - benzol benzoate did nothing for my mare either. its namazing how sharing things can help others !
 
Sweet Itch Lotion

If the camomile doesn't work i would reccomend Camrosa my horse has had sweet itch for around 3 years now last year being the worse. I have tried loads of diffent things benzyl, olive oil (the vet rocommend it), cooper fly spray, feeding garlic, midge off, naff off but nothing seemed to work.

Sadly i only found out about camrosa half way through the season. by this time he had rubbed out his main, tail, and under his belly and was well into the itch - rub cycle. After applying this he immediatly stopped rubbing, it soothed the skin (so it wasn't hot and itchy), acted as a fly/midge reppelant, and encourages regrowth of hair.

I couldn't belive how quickly it started working. He was rolling every five minutes to rub his belly (so much so he actually bruised his back so i couldn't ride him) and even this stopped. It is expensive but when you add up how much you can spend on cooper fly spray and everything else you buy boets, fly spray, skin lotions, food suppliments it works out slightly cheaper and this stuff last for days. :)

The one down side is your horse can be a bit oily but i'd rather he was a grease ball than a soar, itchy pony. I also feed him linseed oil i boil it up then add garlic to it it's supposed to make him less tasty and sooth the skin.
 
I have some human cream for insect bites called Eurax - it is fantastic and it stops itching for up to 10 hours - not sure if it would be suitable for horses or not though!
 
have you tried a boett rug?

My horse has had sweet itch since he was 2 and now he is 6. I tried all the lotions and potions and in the end invested in a boett rug. It is the best thing I have ever done for my horse as you need to prevent the itch cycle by covering them up and preventing any midges biting because as soon as they are bitten the itch cycle starts. My horse got really lethargic, low and obviously really itchy and sore when he got bit.
But now he literally puts his head inside his boett as if he knows it helps him - LOL !!
I know they are expensive but by the time you fork out on all the lotions, or cheaper fly rugs which slip and move, you may as well buy a boett. Bailey wears a boett hood too which attaches to the rug so he is totally covered up - he does not get hot during summer and even wears it all year round in winter under a NZ as still have been midges.
When you read into all the research and facts about sweet itch as I have done because so desperate to keep my horse out of misery it makes sense to cover them up - soon there might be a vaccine they are testing at the moment and you can involve your horse in the trials - but I have always worried about doing that.
When I ride I take off boett and cover him in deet fly spray available from boett the SAS use pure deet like this. I have tried other fly sprays but pure deet is the best !
Hope you figure out a way to help your horse :)
 
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have you tried a boett rug?

I have tried carmosa but only used it when he had been bitten. It was good at healing and soothing the skin. Now I just put my effort into preventing him from being bitten much better and my horse is not all greasy. He has a fantastic mane and tail and everyone always cant believe he has sweet itch
 
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