horse has rubbed herself raw, emergency vet today

[MyLifeNow20]

So this morning check my horse and notice this weird patch on her neck under her mane. We think shes been bitten and rubbed and rubbed causing this.
Its weeping and she is very uncomfortable and doesnt want me to go near. I got yard owner over (my best friend and mentor!!!) and we assessed it, send pix to vet and cold hosed it and hibiscrubbed it. Vet came back and said she needed a shot and antibiotics so he came after an hour.
Also
Im confused with insurance, do I claim on it or pay it?
She is so itchy, summer is worse, she rubs all the time, caused swollen eyes cos she does it all the time. Ive tried all sorts of things but nothing seems to work. She is a terrible head shaker when hackig too.
Does anyone have any advice please?

Sweet itch?

Discuss with vet. Horses can be pains with this sort of thing. Prevention as ever is best so lots of insect repellant, fly sheets/hoods etc. Stabling during periods of insect activity, late evening for example, or stabling in the day and out at night. Vigilance for sore spots.

Thank you, I have just read up on that and it seems it could be..
At the moment she is in during the day and out at night.
Do I just ask my vet to come and assess her?

I've had horses with sweet itch for over a decade. What works for us is proper sweetitch rugs. Not fly rugs but the proper itch rugs. On all the time. They dry quickly so can stay on if it rains or chuck on a rain sheet over the top.
Electric fencing all perimeters and anything in the field they can itch on. No solid troughs, trees etc. Flexible buckets for water.
Try to pick the most windy spot to keep the fly numbers lower and away from any wet spots like ponds.
Use a decent fly spray like deosect or coopers. The others don't work well enough for itchers.

The key is to break the itch cycle. It takes a long time. But allowing them to itch on anything will only make it worse. I wouldn't stable a horse with sweet itch as there is too many opportunities for them to itch.

We used to put fans into the stable for horses who has sweet itch. Keeps the bugs down. You have to be careful (keep the sockets and wires out of the way and have heavy duty fans) but it's very effective.

Re insurance - ring your vet and ask what their protocol is.

All of the above plus as they age it can get worse. I ended up giving immune therapy injections which really helped and my mare was much calmer and happier.

I don't think I'd get insurance involved, unless it was going to be an expensive long term treatment. They take every opportunity to exclude things and increase your premiums in my experience.

I agree maybe sweet itch, can she come in during the day at all even out of a shelter to get away from flies? I used the Lincoln fly salve thing in black and yellow tub this summer when fly bites were bleeding and worked really well as a barrier. Also try a big wash of the mane/ tail body with something soothing but antibacterial to see if that can reduce the itch….

I agree it sounds like sweet itch. Have a proper sweet itch rug on if you can, the rambo one works well for my pony. The Biteback products are also good, there is a fly spray plus a cream I have been using this year and they have helped.

It is probably not worth using insurance for one vet bill, you excess will likely be nearly the cost of the vet bill anyway and as someone else mentioned they'll just starts making exclusions and put up your premium.

Hi all just an update and thank you for the replies.
It is healing well.
I spoke to the vet and he has advised bathing her twice a week in coatex oatmill shampoo and giving cavless in her feeds amd then to reassess in jan/ feb time.
She is coming in during the day and I now have a fly rug on her x

Piriton. To break the itch scratch cycle