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hazelcat74
Silver Member
472 Posts |
 Posted - 07 Aug 2011 : 2:20:08 PM
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Our sec A mare has had mild sweet itch since we got her 4 yrs ago and I have controlled it well in the past by useing a fly sheet over the summer months along with sprays and stabling her when midges are bad. However this year she has totally demolished 3 fly sheets by rubbing so much that they have been ripped to bits, I have tried a few different styles and the last 2 have been wrecked within a week. so I am now wondering about the more expensive Rambo hoody or Boett blanket and am wondering if any of you have experience of them and whether they are more substantial than the normal fly sheets, as I dont want to spend @£90 on something that might only last a few weeks! Thanks
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Ari
Platinum Member
1657 Posts |
Posted - 07 Aug 2011 : 3:36:35 PM
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| From what I seen on our yard the Boett rugs are the very best for controlling sweet itch; but only if your horse doesn't wreck rugs. We have a coloured cob who would trash a £90 rug in 24hrs so he has normal fly rugs as cheap as possible as long as they have the flap that covers his tummy and he his stabled in the day. You can only do your best. |
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Callisto
Platinum Member
6905 Posts |
Posted - 07 Aug 2011 : 4:15:08 PM
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| Have you tried the Derby House fly rugs? they fit over the ears, come with a mask that protects the ears and have a belly flap, and are on offer at the moment (around £25), in my experience expensive rugs don'y last much longer than the cheaper ones if the horse is manically rubbing itself. Have you tried Benzyl Benzoate on her mane and tail under the fly rug? |
  Zahkira (GR Amaretto x Taffetta)
Linda
East Sussex |
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zebedeedeb
Gold Member
England
516 Posts |
Posted - 07 Aug 2011 : 4:20:18 PM
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| hi my pba mare has very bad sweet itch if left to her own devices, i use a similar rug to boett but only around £69 and use neem oil, which the midges cannot stand and it also stops the itch, the field she is in is now surrounded with electric fencing as she will use any object poss to rub on , so if you want rugs to last its the only way, my rugs last 2 to 3 yrs as she can only roll and not rub,, its not easy to manage but my girl has a full mane and tail and you would never know she has it unless you see her in her field in her pj's,, all the best with it,,, deb |
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Suelin
Platinum Member
England
2514 Posts |
Posted - 07 Aug 2011 : 5:09:31 PM
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| Our Charlie wears his Bhurka (bought from the auction site) It is a Boett lookalike and was a lot less money but has been excellent. I have also been using Deosect on him once per week and the help that has given him is fantastic. He's a very happy pony and shows absolutely no sign of sweet itch. |
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Mrs Vlacq
Platinum Member
Wales
3776 Posts |
Posted - 07 Aug 2011 : 6:41:33 PM
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The Boett is still the best and will last a long long time but only if you electric fence them away from everything, and you get it on early (end Feb) before any rubbing. Once they have rubbed it's almost impossible to calm the skin enough to stop them rubbing, without steroids 
The Rambo is very tough if you cannot fence away from hedges, gates etc. The Pessoa is excellent, as is Premier Equine (both very deep). Cheap option in the same style is the Riff Raff or Hy rug, though not labelled as a SI rug. I've seen several Boett style ones but no experience of them first hand.
Interested in your feedback on those 
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- V Khazad - V Calacirya & V Sulime - Quarida(L) - V Boogie Knights - V Hamra Tofiq |
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delly-b
Gold Member
United Kingdom
1107 Posts |
Posted - 07 Aug 2011 : 6:52:46 PM
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I would say try get the sweet itch under control first by keeping pony inside and treating first. I got some lotion from the vet called itch stop. Once the itching is under control pony is less likely to try scratch and trash your rug.
I have tried a Pagony rug which is made in the Boett style but a little cheaper... It worked well for me, but you will need a hood or head collar on to keep the neck piece up IMO ... (I also have mosquito fabric spray that I spray on the rug and dry before using) |
       
Adele
Batley, West Yorkshire |
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hazelcat74
Silver Member
472 Posts |
Posted - 08 Aug 2011 : 6:06:20 PM
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| thanks everyone. have been looking at some of the rugs you have suggested, why is it quite a lot of fly sheets start at 5ft, do they think ponies don't get bothered by flies? |
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delly-b
Gold Member
United Kingdom
1107 Posts |
Posted - 08 Aug 2011 : 7:48:47 PM
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| have you checked out snuggy hoods? |
Adele
Batley, West Yorkshire |
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Nichole Waller
Gold Member
England
1168 Posts |
Posted - 09 Aug 2011 : 10:11:46 PM
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Speak to your vet and get some Fuciderm Cream first if all. Treat the itchy spots with the cream to break the 'scratch - itch cycle'. Until you do this she will constantly destroy whatever rugs you put on her.
Your field really needs to be fully electric fenced so she cant rub on anything.
I have a mare with sweet-itch and have tried lots of different rugs.
I have a boett, a snuggy hoods, a rambo hoody, a demerlonkemp and numerous ordinary fly rugs.
The boett is probably the best although i don't like the new hood with the fly mask built in (and they are really expensive).
The rambo hoody i'm using at the moment and this works well. She sometimes gets one of her ears out but the neck doesn't slip down. Mine does slip back slightly but i think i ordered a size bigger than i needed.
I also use the snuggy hoods, hood (pull on one) and use this with a normal mesh fly rug. I also use this under NZ rugs in the early and late season and it makes a great hood for cold nights or to keep the mud off. You do have to take it off every other day to give them a brush otherwise i find they get itchy from having it on for long periods (a bit like us wearing a balaclava..!). Also the ears fill up with fluff so need emptying regularly.
Good luck with whatever you try. |
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Sweet itch rugs
