Big Bertha (17 March 1945 – 31 December 1993) was a cow who held two Guinness World Records: she was the oldest cow recorded, dying just three months short of her 49th birthday, and she also held the record for lifetime breeding, having produced 39 calves.

48 years and 9 months

Droimeann cow

Cows seem to enjoy having access to such brushes. According to the study, cows with access to such brushes are cleaner and spend about fivefold more time grooming than barn cows without access to such brushes. This, the researchers suggest, signifies the importance of the brushes to the cow.

The brushes may benefit farmers by keeping cows from destroying surfaces inside barns and pleasing consumers who increasingly want to know that the animals are healthy and, more important, happy. For the cows, using mechanical brushes may ward off parasitic outbreaks, scratch itches and remove dead skin.

Cows, like dogs and people, like a good scratch. Outside, they’ll rub their bodies against fence posts or trees to remove parasites or just stay clean. Some do it so much, they can break radio transmission towers if you don’t fence it off.

Why do they do this? Lice are a common cause of cattle “rubbing” in the winter time. Before the damaged hair comes out during the winter, the retained hair causes an itch sensation; the cattle rub their faces, necks, and shoulders from December through March.

Cows show their affection to humans by following them around, grooming them with their tongues, communicating with moos and lowing, allowing people to get close to pet them and cuddle them, and even playing with toys and people.

In warmer weather, the animals’ scurf and debris can cause intense itchiness in certain locations. Once cattle start rubbing, soreness and bleeding occur, adding to the problem. A lot of these itching episodes will often follow unseasonably warm periods in the winter after cattle have haired up.

Marina von Keyserlingk, one of six co-authors of the report, said in nature, cows are outside and use trees and other abrasive surfaces to scratch themselves. While researchers found that the cows liked using the brush for an average of seven minutes a day, they weren’t sure how important it was to get that scratch.

Re: Dry skin Give them a really good washing and scrubbing, then condition the heck out of them with a cheap Walmart conditioner. Scrub in the conditioner. Rinse and rinse and rinse. Blow them completely dry, and if it’s cold then blow in some oil…

Also known as Queensland Itch, Seasonal Recurrent Dermatitis (SSRD) , Summer Itch or more technically, Culicoides Hypersensitivity. Sweet Itch is a medical condition in equines caused by an allergic response to the bites of Culicoides midges. It may also occur, too, in other equines.

Treating Sweet Itch

• Use fly sheets designed or modified to extend at least halfway down the horse’s tail, thereby covering areas that gnats especially like to attack.
• Add cider vinegar the horse’s feed.
• Apply small amounts of Avon’s Skin So Soft bath oil to the most vulnerable areas.

At present there is no cure for Sweet Itch. Once an animal develops the allergy it generally faces a ‘life-sentence’ and every spring, summer and autumn are a distressing period […]

Once horses prone to sweet itch start scratching it can be much more challenging to stop them itching. At Minster Equine we are pleased to be able to offer a vaccine called Insol (originally developed for ringworm in horses) that has shown some promising results in the prevention of sweet itch.

Sweet itch is caused by an allergic reaction to the protein in the saliva of biting insects. This causes the immune system to attack its own cells and leads to the extreme reaction. In the UK insects that cause sweet itch are the midge (Culicoides) and potentially the black fly (Simulium).

How do I treat sweet itch? When sweet itch strikes, it is important to treat it as soon as possible. Keep irritated areas clean and dry. If the skin is sore or broken, apply a healing agent like calamine lotion or a nappy rash cream such as Sudocrem® to help soothe irritation and soreness.

“In my experience calamine lotion is well tolerated by horses and can be helpful in decreasing the distress felt by horses suffering from the condition. However, it is a treatment and not prevention i.e. it will not stop the flies biting.” Benzyl Benzoate is an insecticide originally used to treat scabies in humans.

Apple Cider Vinegar works to acidify the horse’s stomach for better digestion, cleansing the digestic tract. It can also aid in the absorption of minerals and helps balance the acid/alkaline ratio which is essential for good health.

A severe sweet itch can just be heart breaking because nothing you do will help in some cases so it really depends on the horse. If the horse is everything you want otherwise, the price reflects the sweet itch and it’s not too severe then I would go for it.