If your horse suffers with sweet-itch, you’ll understand the challenges posed by this frustrating condition. Here at Discount Equestrian, the team has ample collective experience of dealing with sweet-itch, so we’re sharing our sweet-itch solutions with you in this blog post.
What is sweet-itch?
Contrary to its name, for anyone whose horse has this condition, you’ll know all too well that dealing with sweet-itch is far from pleasant! Sweet-itch is an allergic reaction, or hypersensitivity, to the saliva of the black fly and midges. The allergic response that causes symptoms is because of your horse’s immune system attacking itself. Some horses develop sweet-itch as foals, whilst others develop the condition later in life – which can often be linked to moving to a stable yard where there’s an increased number of black flies or midges. Unfortunately, sweet-itch can affect any horse, and there has even been research to suggest that it can be hereditary – therefore, we advise against breeding any horse who exhibits sweet-itch symptoms. Just as human allergic reactions do, every horse reacts differently to sweet-itch and, as such, their symptoms can vary widely.
What are the symptoms of sweet-itch?
Extreme itchiness – especially on your horse’s face, withers, topline, dock, and along their mane. They will scratch on anything they can until they lose hair and subsequently damage delicate layers of skin, which can lead to their skin becoming inflamed and hot to touch, possibly even causing their skin to weep, bleed, and suffer infection.
Scaly or scurfy skin – due to the discomfort caused by sweet-itch, your horse may develop scaly or scurfy skin covered in lumps, bumps, and flakes of dead skin that look like dandruff.
Behavioural issues – many horses react dramatically to fly bites because they expect to experience extreme discomfort because of them. Therefore, many horses with sweet-itch display potentially harmful behaviours such as head-shaking, aggressiveness, and napping when they sense a fly nearby.
** Please note: if you believe your horse may suffer from sweet-itch, it’s important to contact your vet for advice! **
Sweet-itch solutions:
* Stabling
As much as we dislike limiting our horse’s turnout time, because it can detrimentally affect their mental wellbeing, stabling during times of the day biting flies are at their worst lessens the impact of sweet-itch.
We advise keeping a lightweight sweet-itch rug on in the stable when biting flies are particularly bad because it can prevent your horse damaging their skin by scratching on whatever they can in their stable; however, if your horse is mischievous and tends to get tangled in their rug whilst stabled, it’s definitely not advised to leave a rug on them!
If you’re worried about boredom setting in, there are many ways to keep your horse entertained. Here are a few stable toys that have been proven to alleviate boredom in the stable:
3.) Kentucky Horsewear® Relax Horse Toy Unicorn
4.) Jolly® Apple 9
* Moving Yards
If the area you keep your horse is prone to swarms of biting insects, it's beneficial to find a livery yard in a different location that doesn’t attract so many biting insects. However, the stress of moving a horse who is settled has to be weighed against the benefits of moving them somewhere biting insects are less of a problem – especially since there will be at least a few biting insects throughout the summer wherever you keep your horse.
Should you require a professional opinion on whether moving your horse solely because of their sweet-itch is worthwhile, your vet is likely the best person to speak to.
* Fly Rug
There are incredible advancements in the technical qualities of material used in horse rugs every day, and fly rugs are no exception. With such an eye-watering amount of choice, it can be challenging to find the right fly rug to suit your horse as well as your budget.
We think it’s worth mentioning that there has been some interesting research into the effect of zebra stripes on fly rugs. According to various sources, zebra stripes confuse flies so fewer land on your horse. The Discount Equestrian team are divided as to whether the zebra stripe pattern is effective at discouraging flies from landing on our horses, so here’s an article about it to help you decide if you’d like to give a fly rug with zebra stripes a try: https://research-information.bris.ac.uk/en/publications/zebra-stripes-tabanid-biting-flies-and-the-aperture-effect
Our advice is to assess the extent your horse suffers from sweet-itch before deciding on the style of rug you’d like. For example, a horse who suffers with severe sweet-itch will benefit from a fly rug that covers them head to toe, though a horse who is mildly irritated by flies may not need such extensive protection – and if your horse is a rug-wrecker, you definitely won’t want to spend a fortune on a fly rug only for it to last just a few weeks!
Here are five sweet-itch rugs that offer extensive protection against biting flies:
1.) WeatherBeeta® Sweet Itch Shield Combo
2.) Bucas® Sweet Itch Zebra Rug
3.) Rhinegold® Zebra Print Fly Rug
5.) Mark Todd® Fly Ultra Combo
Here are five fly rugs that offer brilliant basic fly protection without breaking the bank:
1.) JHL® Essential Fly Rug Combo
2.) Masta® Zing Fly Mesh Fixed Neck Rug
3.) Rhinegold® Combination Full Neck Fly Rug
4.) Kool Coat® Classic III Combo
5.) WeatherBeeta® ComFiTec Airflow Combo
Also, in case you’d like to try a half-lightweight half-fly sheet to keep your horse comfortable and dry during those inescapable showery spring and autumn days, here’s our choice of multi-functional fly rugs:
1.) Elico® Ingleton Combo Rain/Fly Rug
(https://www.discount-equestrian.co.uk/elico-ingleton-combo-rain-fly-rug.html)
2.) Rhinegold® Masai2 Full Neck Fly Rug with Waterproof Topline
(https://www.discount-equestrian.co.uk/rhinegold-masai2-full-neck-combined-outdoor-fly-rug-with-waterproof-topline.html)
3.) Bucas® Buzz Off Rain Zebra
(https://www.discount-equestrian.co.uk/buzz-off-rain-zebra-full-neck-new-spring-2015.html)
* Ride-On Fly Rug
When fly spray isn’t quite enough to keep your horse calm and comfortable during ridden work, a ride-on fly rug could be the answer. As with fly rugs, there’s a variety of styles and designs of ride-on fly rug – so it could be a case of trial-and-error before finding just the right one.
Here are some suggestions of effective ride-on fly rugs from members of the Discount Equestrian team:
1.) Rhinegold® Ride-On Fly Rug
2.) Bucas® Buzz Off Riding Rug
3.) Bucas® Buzz Off Riding Zebra Rug
Members of the Discount Equestrian team also wanted to add that there are other riding accessories you can find to make ridden work more comfortable for your horse if they suffer from sweet-itch. Here are a few such accessories:
1.) LeMieux® Comfort Riding Shield
2.) Equilibrium® Net Relief Muzzle Net
* Fly Mask
Your horse’s eyes, ears and nose are prime targets for biting flies, so it’s important to protect them as best you can during turnout. We’ve also discovered that fly masks with a nose piece protect from sunburn; saving us having to apply so much suncream to sun-sensitive noses!
Some horses are renowned for removing fly masks in record time, though the team here at Discount Equestrian have selected some of the most effective – and most durable – fly masks we’ve tried on our own horses:
1.) LeMieux® Armour Shield Pro Full Mask
2.) Hy® Armoured Protect Full Mask
3.) Bucas® Buzz Off Zebra Full Face Fly Mask
4.) Equilibrium® Field Relief Max Fly Mask
5.) WeatherBeeta® Buzz Away Fly Mask
* Fly Spray
As a quick solution to deter biting flies, horse owners have used fly spray for decades. Most fly sprays work by emitting a scent that overpowers your horse’s scent, which discourages flies from landing on them or repels flies altogether. Fly sprays are available in man-made chemical concoctions and all-natural formulations; the choice is yours!
Debates rage on about the effectiveness of fly sprays, though the fly spray you choose is a combination of personal preference and your horse’s individual sensitivities/requirements – and, in our opinion, the use of a fly spray is more effective than not attempting to repel flies in the first place.
Here are our top five fly sprays (though there are so many more to choose from!):
1.) Carr & Day & Martin® FlyGard Extra Strength Insect Repellent
3.) Leovet® Power Phaser Fly Spray
5.) Cavalor® Sw-Itch
There are also some fly sprays that have insecticidal properties that are designed for use in your horse’s stable or on their rugs.
** Please, be very careful when using insecticidal sprays – most are not suitable for use on horses! **
Here at Discount Equestrian, the insecticidal fly spray our team finds most effective is Fly Away® Fly Free Zone.
* Fly Creams/Gels/Lotions
For an added layer of protection, there’s a fantastic selection of fly creams, gels and lotions to apply directly to the areas your horse is most affected by sweet-itch. It’s advisable to wear gloves or use a sponge to apply fly repelling creams, gels and lotions.
It can be challenging to decide whether a cream, gel, or lotion formulation is most suitable for your horse, so to help you decide which to try, here’s our favourite five (again, there are lots more to choose from!):
1.) Carr & Day & Martin® Insect Repellent Gel Citronella Free
2.) Equine America® Soothe Itch Cream
3.) Lincoln® Itchy Switchy S.O.S Skin Shield
4.) Fly Away® Defleqt Midge Away Cream
5.) Barrier® Super Power Plus Fly Gel
* Supplements
Most fly repelling supplements work through absorption into your horse’s system so they are no longer a tempting victim to biting flies. Whereas other supplements that are formulated especially for horses with sweet-itch aid the rapid healing of your horse’s skin from the inside out.
There are many supplements that have proven useful in the management of sweet-itch in horses, though following are supplements tried and tested by the Discount Equestrian team:
3.) Science Supplements® Skin & Coat
If you’re unsure which fly repelling supplement would best suit your horse, please contact your vet – alternatively, you can contact our friendly team here at Discount Equestrian and we’d be happy to help!
* Shampoo
There are, thankfully, new shampoos being developed all the time to tackle sweet-itch; making our horses more comfortable and our lives that little bit easier!
Whether you want to repel flies, cleanse sensitive skin, or help heal damaged skin more quickly, there’s a shampoo available for the purpose. Whilst there are countless shampoos to choose from, we have narrowed down our selection to five:
2.) Lillidale® Citronella Shampoo
3.) Lincoln® Fly Repellent Shampoo
5.) CleanRound® Medicated Shampoo
* Other Fly Repelling Products
Our team wanted to include a small selection of brilliant products that haven’t already been mentioned that we have found to help in the management of our horses who from suffer sweet-itch:
2.) Shapley's® Original M-T-G Plus
3.) Fly Away® Citronella Free Fly & Insect Repellent Roll-On
Should you know of sweet-itch solutions not already mentioned in this blog post, please contact the Discount Equestrian team – your contribution may appear in a future blog post or in a social media campaign!
