Sweet Itch Prevention

The UK's first Sweet Itch Awareness Month takes place throughout April to highlight the serious and distressing condition which can be a major welfare concern. A joint initiative between Janssen Animal Health, the British Horse Society (BHS), Redwings Horse Sanctuary and World Horse Welfare, the campaign will highlight the preventative measures that should be carried out to help alleviate sweet itch and the importance of management of the condition before the start of the midge season in the spring.

Tackling the problem

More officially known as recurrent seasonal pruritis, sweet itch strikes in the spring as the weather warms up and flying insects appear. A strong allergic reaction or hypersensitivity to the Culicoides midges, this common skin disease affects approximately 3–5% of horses and ponies in the UK. Possibly hereditary, this disease makes the lives of thousands of horses and their owners miserable from late spring through to autumn, however with a slowly changing climate bringing warmer winters, sweet itch symptoms can now prevail well into the winter months.

Symptoms include extreme itching and rubbing, resulting in damaged hair and skin, as well as flaky scurf, weeping sores and possibly infection.

Sweet itch is an overreaction of the horse’s immune system to a protein in the midge’s saliva. This causes the immune system to attack its own cells, resulting in the extreme reactions.

Control the environment

The key to success in sweet itch management is control of the horse’s environment. A switched on sweet itch owner needs a good stock of effective fly repellents and the choice of products is now wide, with permethrin being a common ingredient that has proven to be effective. Aside from the obvious fly repellents and emollient creams, you can also get a range of insect-trapping, bug-zapping products to be placed in and around the yard and lorry. Sticky fly tapes are a yard favourite as they can be hung out of reach of the horse, but only trap the large insects that fly near. Bug zappers or boxes that attract flies with pheromones, are effective at getting those big houseflies and horse flies but to reduce clouds of midges you may well need stable fans. If the fan is fitted in the back of the stable pointed towards the door then the movement of air will keep out the midges. Don’t forget that very fine mesh material could be used to cover windows and doorways.

As midges like wet, marshy ground, keeping your horse away from boggy patches can really help, as can stabling at dusk or in the early morning, when the insects are at their worst.

Rug up

There is a huge range of fly rugs on the market, but a specialist sweet itch rug is designed to cover almost every inch of the horse’s body, including the belly. Usually lightweight to stop the horse overheating, these rugs are a worthwhile investment if you have a sweet itch prone horse. Check them regularly for holes and patch them up as required – some rug companies even offer patch up kits or a fixing service, so enquire at your local stockist or with the manufacturer.

Treating a horse with sweet itch is a constant battle. Once bitten, the allergic reaction begins immediately and the horse will begin to itch. It is therefore important to try as best as possible to prevent the bites in the first place. Once the itching has started the damage has been done and although it is possible to then treat the itching and prevent further biting, often the itching becomes a habit that is hard to break.

Sweet itch makes life hell for the horse. Imagine having a terrible itch that you just can’t scratch and it never lets up. No wonder horses suffering from sweet itch are often listless, unenthusiastic to ride or stressed. An itchy horse will find any solid object to rub on, such as fence posts or stables, and can easily destroy these areas. A horse with sweet itch that is not controlled is easy to spot as it will be constantly rubbing and will suffer from broken and lost hairs, raw patches of skin that may become infected and ridged or thickened skin. Make sure you are prepared well in advance, so that at the first sign of midges, your horse is protected.

Top tips

Keep your horse away from marshy land where insects congregate in high numbers.
Stable in the early morning and at dusk.
Use bug zappers in the stable and field.
Fans or cotton mesh on stable windows can help reduce the insects indoors.
Use a good quality strong fly repellent daily or weekly, depending on application instructions.
Soothe the horse’s skin with emollient creams.
Cover the horse head to toe with a lightweight sweet itch rug and mask.

To read the British Horse Society's sweet itch advice leaflet click here

Readers' Comments

You must be logged in to view or make comments