Summer Itch, Sweet Itch, Summer Eczema have a new, top-rated, proven treatment using USDA-certified organics for all breeds. FEI/USEF Ok.
Nickname: Sweet Itch (England), Summer Itch (USA), Queensland Itch (Australia)
What:
Hairless, reddened, encrusted, itchy areas on the base of the tail, midline of the belly, mane, and head. The itchy skin can cause further problems due to the horse rubbing the area on fences/stalls to the point of breaking off hair and increasing the size of scabbed/damaged areas. Secondary bacteria can invade damaged skin. Horse can be so uncomfortable that riding is limited or eliminated.
Why:
Insect hypersensitivity reactions are documented as the most common allergic reaction of horses and Summer Eczema (SE) falls in this category. SE is recognized as the #1 cause of mane and tail rubbing in research and is the #1 hypersensitivity reaction in the horse.
The cause is a gnat called Culicoides with nicknames of "biting midge" and "no-see-ums". They cause a painful bite, and after they bite, suck blood from the area. They are called "no-see-ums" because they are only the size of a period at the end of a sentence. You feel a bite but you can't tell what from.
Their saliva has foreign proteins containing antigens which set off a reaction in the horses's skin in six to twenty-four hours after a bite. The reaction causes the redness and itchy condition.
Only a few horses in a herd are usually affected because it is an allergic condition, and the conditions not contagious. A horse with affected skin will not transmit it to another horse or person. There is a genetic component to SE - offspring of affected horses are more prone to have SE.
The Culicoides feed from dusk to dawn (evening) and live only twenty days. They breed in stagnant water mixed with manure/dead vegetation. They live and bite only one mile from where they were born.
How to Treat Summer Eczema/Sweet Itch
Goal: To treat and heal the damaged skin and prevent the problem from reoccurring.
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