Is anyone using Cavalesse yet? I am and I'm not sure if we're having a negative reaction.

[dooit]

Cavalesse is the latest sweet itch treatment available. It's a vit B based treatment, give in a liquid form daily to suppress the immune response to midge bites.

I think we may be a little less itchy than we were without but we are also going loopy!

My normally super sane cob has started to be so silly and spooky in the last week. I realise this could be a bit of spring fever (although we still don't have any grass to speak of) but he's been on the Cavalesse for 2 weeks and the change in his behaviour is very noticeable. He is only just 5 but will normally hack out anywhere, with or without company, pass anything and is generally saint like. Today he jogged and spooked non stop for the first half hour of our hack and was only marginally better for the rest of the time.

Just wondered if anyone has experienced similar? I know it shouldn't happen in theory as it is a natural product blah, blah blah, but..................

[fortyplus]

If it's any consolation I rode my friend's 7yo (but late developer) Warmblood cross today (or yesterday when you read this). He is usually prone to being a bit lazy but was spooking and felt like he was going to explode at any moment! Another friend's eventer bucked her off at the weekend after being out at grass for longer than usual So I think it's more likely to be spring grass than the treatment.

[alicecrail]

They do give b vits to help pep up horses that have been ill though, so it is possible

[dooit]

Hi Fortyplus. I was inclined to agree with you really. We went out today and he was more settled although still not himself. He did, however, do lots of lovely green horsepats which would suggest that there is more grass coming through than I realised. So it could just be that after all. I hope it is TBH as I think the Cavalesse is working re. the sweet itch and I'd like to continue with it.

That's very interesting alice. Do You know any more about it? Which products, etc? I might have a chat with my vet after the weekend to see what he thinks. Thanks.

[Llanidan]

Hi Dooit, I work for the company behind CAVALESSE and was interested to see your post, spring grass and the fact your horse may be enjoying his day a little more without the itching is probably the reasons behind the spring in his step. There isnt anything in it that should alter his behaviour, but I am thrilled to hear you and your horse are enjoying the benefits of this fantastic new product!!!

[dooit]

Hi Llanidan.

I've seen you on a few different forums now! You must be the trouble shooter.

I know the reason for his change of personality can't be due to him not feeling itchy as he's not been itchy for the last 6 months and has never behaved in anything other than an angelic manner.

I didn't own him last spring so I can't comment on how early in the season he got itchy, but by the time we got him in September he was very sore and raw in areas.

I'm assuming that the Cavalesse is responsible for him not being itchy yet although it is entirely possible that he is not reactive to the midges around at this time of year. I know that a few of my friends with sweet itch sufferers are already seeing the tell tale signs. I'm really hopeful that the Cavalesse will work as I had no idea how distressing sweet itch was for both horse and owner until I got Leo.

Could I ask you a question while you're here? What is the white crystallised stuff that forms round the neck of the little jar? If it's part of the active ingredient will that not affect the potency of the dose received as I've noticed quite a lot of it every day?

Also a bit of feed back on the design of the sachets and jar..........emptying the sachet into the jar was very fiddly given the width of the sachet vs. the neck of the jar. I came very close to losing a whole months supply on the floor whilst trying to empty it. Also I find that the combination of the crystals forming and the type of jar/lid mean that you have to take super extra care to ensure that the kid if on firmly to avoid leaks. I lost a fair amount of the liquid by not keeping the jar upright when I first stored it.

Can you comment on alicecrall's suggestion that B vits pep horses up please as opposed to the ingredients in Cavalesse? Obviously you can't list them but can you offer assurances that the 2 products would not contain the same ingredients?

Thanks for your input.

[alicecrail]

Dooit i spoke to my DH (who is a vet) about the b vits and he said the particlar product only had a small amount in so shouldn't alter your horses behaviour. They do give them to horses that need a boost but in larger quantities

[dooit]

Thanks for that Alice and Mr Alice. Can you tell I'd had a glass or 3 of wine last night? "ensure that the kid if in firmly"

He seems to have settled back down to his steady neddy self again so that's a relief. I'd put my days of puddle/bird/bag/leaf/blade of grass dodging firmly behind me since I met Leo.

I'd still be interested to hear from you Llanidan if you pop in.

[fortyplus]

Hi dooit - glad he's being more sensible again! Do you have access to a stable or is he out 24/7? Keeping him off the pasture from mid afternoon till dark or even till the following morning will keep him away from the worst of the midges. It's funny at this time of year when your paddock may still look bare but that's just because the nags are eating the grass as fast as it grows! If anyone has laminitis-prone animals then if yours is doing cowpats they need to be very careful with theirs.

[chloejane]

hi, relly interested in this cavaless, anyone know how much it costs and do i need to get it from my vet or can i buy it direct?

[dooit]

Hi 40+. I do have access to a stable if needs be but he just isn't rubbing at all now/yet.

I'm really pleased with his progress and lack of rubbing. When we got him in September his tail was none existant and his withers were raw and bleeding, his face was bald in places so all in all he was in a bad way. His sheath was also covers in sores from where he was constantly rubbing it bear like on the floor or kicking with his hind feet. I'll try to find a current picture to show you him last weekend.

He is rugged 24/7 with a rambo protector, is regularly sprayed with deet and has his Cavalesse every day. On top of that he now has a good quality diet and feed balancer, none of which he had before we got him. All of those factors, I hope, will keep him comfortable and hairy this summer.

[dooit]

Chloejane, the Cavalesse is approx a pound a day. You get a 3 month supply and it's between 80 and 90 pounds. You can buy it onlne but with most things there's no guarantee you'll get the reak deal and not a bag of flour or something more damaging so I'd rather pay the extra tenner and get it off my vet. We didn't need a vivit either to get ours, just rang up and ordered it.

[dooit]

Real and visit!

[dooit]

Me and my big bloody mouth! Arrived this morning to find Leo had turned his mane and tail into brillo pads with rubbing.

GAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!

Cavalesseschmavalesse.

[Pixel]

Oh no, after all your efforts .

I've been really lucky and never had to deal with sweet itch but I can see how disheartening it would be. (My theory is that our horses have always been kept on windy hilltops so less likelihood of midges!)

[chloejane]

dooit, thanks for letting me know the price - not sure i'll bother though now you've had problems again! I'll just have to hope the fly rug and creams help. Have you tried the Rambo sweet itch hoodie? Its great, covers loads of your horse.

[Owls]

Oh no dooit. I was thinking about trying that with our itchy horse but will think again now.

Stabling? Years ago we used somerhing called Benzyl Benzoate (sp). Not sure whether you've tried that?

[dooit]

I have used products containing benzyl benzoate before, (I think kill itch was one of them) but it was not effective (although his condition was already out of control at that point as it was when we'd just bought him).

I may stable if things continue to deteriorate though I'd prefer not to as I think he'll just yell for his field mate all day.

I haven't tried the hoody rug but he's rubbing the base of his mane/wither area and tail through the rambo protector so I suspect he'd do the same with the hoody.

I've decided that if I ever have any spare money I'll buy him a boett as I've heard they're the business or I've also been looking at snuggy sweet itch rugs, they look like they'd offer good protection too.

I do feel very disheartened Pixel. I just imagine the months of distress and itching that lie ahead for him. I'd love a long,hot summer for me but I suppose for him it's roll on winter already.

[Pixel]

I've just been having a quick google as I don't know much about sweet-itch and this site looks quite interesting with some stuff about 'vaccine' trials. Also I now know why I've never really seen a proper case of sweet-itch, it seems my theory was correct! (first bullet point. That describes our area exactly, we are on a hill in sight of the sea and the chalk means we don't get ponds or rivers to attract midges. Dooit, is there any way you could perhaps move Leo to higher ground for the summer? Another site I just looked at said that a breezy site makes it harder for the midges to land on the horse.

The bit about Avon skin-so-soft is interesting too, we started using that as a fly-repellent last year and it was very effective. I assumed it was the smell putting off the flies, I didn't think about it being oily.

[dooit]

Pixel, you're spot on about a windy hill being ideal for sweet itch sufferers. Unfortunately we are already on a hill, devoid of trees and hedges, no pools, streams or ponds near by. It really couldn't be much more exposed (sounds lovely doesn't it) and I'm sure it is far less midgey than where he was kept for the first month we had him which was very much a lowland farm.

[dooit]

Oh and we have the avon skin so soft already. I used it once then we had a frost and the bottle turned solid and wouldn't spray out so I can't really comment on how effective it is/isn't.

The vaccine trial are no longer running. The people that carried them out have gone away to collate their findings and try to formualte a working vaccine. I'm crossing everything for that when it finally comes out in the next couple of years.

[Pixel]

I imagine there are a lot of people waiting for that vaccine! Let's hope something comes of it.

Not much fun for you in the meantime though .

[Owls]

Dooit, this is the Benzyl I was on about. (well not that exact one but that is the sort of thing we used years ago). Not sure if it has a higher concentrate than stuff like Killitch?

www.viovet.co.uk/advanced_search_result.php?keywords=benzyl&x=25&y=21

Really feel for you. You're obviously doing everything you can but it's so hard to manage and causes such misery for them (and us!).

[Llanidan]

Hi Dooit, sorry I havent been on for so long!! Am really shocked to hear about your horse rubbing again!!! We are having fantastic feedback on Cavalesse so far!! This really is strange, as you previously said you felt Cavalesse was helping your horse. On our trials there were a tiny percentage of horses that were classed as faliures due to some very strict guidelines but these horses showed no difference on CAVALESSE where as you initially saw the benefits. Remember that CAVALESSE isnt a ''cure'' but and aid in the management of summer allergies and you need to continue with rugs stabling etc. As for the crystals you mentioned these can be mixed back in to the bottle. Also remember you should only be using the premixed solution for thirty days, after this we can not guarantee its efficacy, you need to dilute a new sachet at this point. Look forward to hearing from you soon.

[chloejane]

Hi, I think I have found something else which might help sweet itch sufferers: I've tried everything with my cob and nothing worked. He has lived in stable for last 7 or 8 summers but is now out 24/7. I've been giving him Vitamin B1 tablets (Thiamin) for last 4 weeks and he's hardly scratched at all for over a week! Just get them from health food shop and adjust the dose - i give 8 a day. Check with your vet first though - mine said it was fine to try it but always worth asking them first. Hope it helps

[majca1]

Hi we have brewers yeast powder on our website. google (nettex brewers yeast) It is top quality pharmaceutical grade the same that is used in tablets. We feed 25g a day for 450k of horse. I think it definitely works best if fed everyday of the year but expecially all winter prior to the midge season. Brewers yeast is used as calmer too some people buy it specifically for that purpose. i.e. before travelling or a visit from the vet/dentist. I don't think that it is vitamin b in cavalesse that is making your horse loopy. What else is in it?