Sweet Itch… Flaxseed Can Help

Recurrent Seasonal Pruritus (commonly known as Sweet Itch) is the most common allergic skin condition in horses. Horses with sweet itch experience intense itching along the abdomen, the back, mane, and tail. Sweet itch is caused by a Type 1 allergic response to the bite of insects of the Culicoides genus (the midges). And we all know – when you gotta itch, you gotta scratch! And affected horses often develop severe skin eruptions due to self-mutilation in an attempt to alleviate the itchiness.  

The incidence of Sweet Itch is hard to nail down but, depending on the geographical location, it can be anywhere from 5 to 60 percent of the equine population. A survey was conducted in British Columbia, and of the 209 horses surveyed in the south-western part of that province, the incidence was determined to be 26 percent. British Columbia has an equine population of approximately 113,000, and if this survey can be considered representative of the horse population in the province, the incidence of 26 percent translates into 29,380 horses. The incidence of sweet itch in Ontario is not known, but anecdotal reports suggest that this condition is becoming as common a summer nuisance as mosquito bites.

Usually if a horse develops flare-ups of sweet itch, the vet will recommend oral prednisolone at a dose of 400 to 500 mg daily for five days, followed by a gradually decreasing dose until symptoms disappear. A corticosteroid cream usually accompanies this treatment for the first couple of days too. But there really is no good non-steroidal long-term treatment for sweet itch, so owners of horses with this condition are frequently seeking a safe, nutritional alternative to steroids.