What is Sweet Itch?

What is Sweet itch and how salt therapy could help?

For many horse owners dealing with sweet itch it can be a real battle to try and prevent your horse from itching themselves raw. You feel so helpless when your horse is so frustrated with that itch just won’t go away. You end up spending so much money on lotions and potions that you have to reapply every few hours to see any results, and they can be unbelievably messy trying to apply to a fidgety horse, not to mention that some of them really do not smell nice!

So what actually is Sweet Itch?
It is a chronic skin disease that is caused by an allergic reaction to the saliva of biting insects. Horses will become incredibly itchy and quite often break the skin leaving open sores and have areas of hair loss. It can be a really stressful condition for owners to manage. You can cover the horse with a fly mask and specialist rugs, but these can often make them hot and exacerbate the issue. Likewise keeping them stabled when flies are most active can also have its problems as horses will often use the door frames and walls to scratch on quite vigorously, thus causing more damage to the skin. Using lotions often attracts all the dust and dirt when a horse rolls which can increase the risk of infection.

So what’s the answer?
Salt therapy could be the way forward for your horse with sweat itch. During a salt therapy session, the skin absorbs the salt in the air and the antibacterial and anti-inflammatory properties get to work at reducing the inflammation, reducing the itch/scratch cycle and this allows the skin to start healing. Quite often with skin conditions your horse may only need one or two top ups throughout the season. It can be a really cost effective way to manage the condition and it makes it much less stressful for you and your horse.

What are you waiting for… give your horse the gift of salt therapy today. Get in touch for more info and to book.