Itchy Filly!

*Sez*

Salsa & Solstice Twilight
Sep 12, 2003
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North Yorkshire
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Poor River-nivs is a very itchy baby :( She's still in her winter woollies, so it may just be that she's moulting and trying to rub out her thick coat, but I've noticed a lot of bugs around the yard over the weekend, so I'm not ruling out the possibility of sweet itch. I've never had to treat sweet itch before, so I don't know whether I should just give her more grooming time (at the moment, I go over her with a shedding blade and curry comb every other day unless it's raining), or if I should get her in a fly sheet? Mostly she's scratching the underside of her neck and her dock, but she's also been having a good scratch at her sides with her teeth.
What are the other symptoms of sweet itch that I should be watching out for?
 
Could she have lice ?

I beleive younstock are much more prone to lice and when Jorji was about 1 and half or 2ish he had a bout of them.

is she very sensitive in general ? Jorji doesnt have sweetitch but when hes moulting hes constantly trying to get hair out scratching etc, and when hes wet - lets not get into that, i thought my wooden boxes were going to tumble down :p
 
My youngster has been really itchy too.:eek: All down his neck and sides. I looked at his diet as he was wormed, de-loused etc and found out it was barley. He had been getting a small amount each day as he had lost a little weight. After cutting that out of the diet the itching subsided. He enjoys a good scratch but is loosing his winter coat so he gets a good groom each day. Have you looked into his diet?

This is a really good site for sweetitch and will give you lots of advice
www.Sweet-Itch.com

Good luck :)
 
Thanks for the info :)
I will double check for lice, but I've never noticed any sign of them - saying that, I haven't specifically looked for them since she came to me in December, so it's probably worth checking again. Worming is all up to date, and her first worm count sample has been sent off, so I'm just waiting on the results.
She's fed Baileys Youngstock Mix and Hi Fi lite, and has been on this for four months since weaning. Personally, I don't like mixes very much, but nowhere around here seems to stock a cube feed for youngsters. If nothing else is apparent, then I will try her on a different feed and see if that makes any difference.

Thanks for the link as well, it's really useful!
 
If we're lucky enough to get a warm day with no wind, then why not try bathing her? Towels/sweat scarper and fleece at the ready afterwards, and it would help to shift all that dead coat and rinse off itchy dry sweat beneath.
 
Well, she had a blooming good grooming tonight (got off enough fuzz to make a couple of pillows :eek: ), and once I could see down to the skin properly, I could see what looks like lice eggs. After much poking and prodding (poor filly!) I finally found a live one, so it's definitely lice.
I've got some Frontline left from treating my dogs for fleas, would this do for lice?
 
Ivermectin wormer plus permethrin-based powder OR deosan/deosect wash (dilute first). Need to treat at least once more about 10-14 later to kill lice emrging from protective egg casing.
Wash or leave overnight in freezer all rugs/brushes/headocllars...anything lice can live on! may need to treat field companions too.
And be prepared to feel really really itchy yourself !
 
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