Speaking of Izzy's Coat

My poor horse is having a devil of a time with sweet itch, and I just cannot get ahead of it. Matters are not helped by the fact that he REFUSES any kind of barrier to bugs. He will not keep a fly mask on longer than an hour, and since he has deliberately wrecked his winter blankets, I haven't bothered with a fly sheet, especially since what he really needs is the neck cover. He's just too destructive. Instead, I've tried to protect him from the insects with fly repellants, and then I use a variety of products to soothe his skin.

This summer's arsenal.

Even though this summer hasn't been nearly as hot as years past, the bugs are still tormenting him. The ranch owner has been doubling up on the Fly Predators this season, so the fly population is almost zero. The Fly Predators aren't eating what's eating Izzy though. In fact, I wonder if the lack of flies is what has allowed the little biting boogers to flourish.

One side of his withers.

I start each morning with fly spray which works on our flies as they drop dead as soon as they land on him. Earlier in the summer, I tried spraying the crest of his mane directly, but his skin flaked off and shed much like dandruff. And not just a little; it was gross. I stopped doing that.

From his tail to his forehead.

Izzy has rubbed himself raw from underneath his tail clear up to his forehead. Fortunately, the only spot not affected is under his saddle pad. For his coat, the best product I've found is the Coat Defense Mud. A few days of that stuff and the red, oozy wounds dry up and are replaced with nice healthy skin.

The other side of his withers.

This week, I've been trying some ​Zephyr's Garden Skin Rescue Emollient Salve, and it seems to be working better than the Coat Defense mud.My hope is that it will serve as both a barrier to the bugs as well as a salve to the wounds.

HIs poor mane.

The one thing that I can't seem to affect at all is his mane. No matter what product I rub into and onto his crest, he gets no lasting relief. Each day, he rubs out just a little more. Besides the topicals, I've also tried to help his coat through diet. Last year he was on flaxseed oil, and this year I tried ground flax seed. I hate to think what his skin would be like without the flaxseed. 

Under his mane.

I just hope he can hold out a bit longer. August and September are usually brutally hot, and right now we are in the midst of a massive heat wave (our highs this week have been near 110 with lows in the 80s.) By the end of September, things will begin to cool off, at least in the mornings. Until then, all I can do is give him lots of cool showers, apply fly spray, and doctor his wounds daily.

Come on, winter, hurry the heck up!