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Sweet Itch / Insect Bite Hypersensitivity Products That Actually Work
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items My mare gets terrible sweet itch every year. If left untreated, she will chew on herself and rub on anything she can find until she’s hairless with open sores. The products below are what have worked for her - this year she is down to only a few spot...
Sections
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Medicated Bath Products
Allergy Meds and Nutritional Support
Fly Bite Prevention
Medicated Bath Products
Treating sweet itch requires a multi-pronged approach, and applying topicals and medicated shampoo to control areas in a “flare” is critical. Protecting sensitive areas and treating bacterial and fungal infections can give your horse instant relief.
While not a replacement for a medicated bath, this spray is great for a quick fix when you’re short on time or the weather is too cold/wet for a bath. Spray on active areas and let dry before you turn them out.
PET MD Antiseptic & Antifungal Medicated Spray for Dogs
This long handled scrubber has soft bristles and makes lathering in the medicated shampoo so much quicker and easier! Plus my mare really seems to love the soft scratches of her itchy areas.
Glam & Beauty Dual Sided Bath Brush with Ergonomic Long Handle
Sweet itch means constant rubbing, and broken skin invites secondary infection. This chlorhexidine + ketoconazole wash treats both bacterial and fungal infections. Let it sit a few minutes before rinsing. It won't cure sweet itch, but it keeps your h...
Medicated Antibacterial & Antifungal Shampoo for Dogs, Cats and Horses
Medicated soap generally does NOT foam well. These soap foamers make a big difference. I use these to get a good coat of soap on my mare’s body, and then scrub with my long handled brush to work it in.
Mini Soap Foamer
One important swap for horses with sweet itch/IBH is eliminating harsh grooming tools and tools that are difficult to clean and sanitize. Rubber curry combs are much gentler on my mare’s sensitive coat than metal curries are easy to dunk into a bucke...
Small Rubber Curry Comb | Equinavia
Sweet itch isn't just the bites — it's the itch-scratch-infection cycle they start. Coat Defense breaks it using drying products like clay and arrowroot to keep Rhonda's skin dry so fungus and bacteria can't take hold. Peppermint oil also cools the i...
Coat Defense Daily Preventative Powder for Horses Horsepowder
Allergy Meds and Nutritional Support
Support from within is important IBH, both by improving coat health and by lessening immune reactions to the bites to begin with
Part of treating sweet itch/IBH is coat support. Before starting this supplement, Rhonda’s coat was so dry and brittle. Healthy Coat has omega-3 + omega-6 fatty acids from flaxseed and soybean oil, plus vitamin E, biotin, niacin, and B12.
All of thes...
HEALTHY COAT Multi-Species & Show Formula Liquid Livestock Supplement
A pump is so much easier than trying to pour and measure out sticky supplements. You’ll need a good pump to move the Healthy Coat, and this one is great for thicker liquids. Make sure you measure your pumps to know how many ounces you’re getting!
Top Performance Gallon Pump
My vet prescribed 22 of the 10mg Certrizine tablets a day to help reduce my mare’s itching during fly season (so I administer these spring through fall in Texas). If you’re not doing the mental math, that turns out really expensive over time.
This ...
Equate 24 Hour Cetirizine Hydrochloride Allergy Relief Tablets, 10 mg, 365 Count
Fly Bite Prevention
It goes without saying that preventing more insect bites helps, so I’m listing products that actually work. We live in central Texas where the heat, humidity, and insects are relentless and nearly year round so only the best products hold up.
I can fly spray my mare until I’m blue in the face, but we live in central Texas. It is hot and humid for a good 80% of the year, and the flies are relentless. Equi-Spot WORKS. Aside from steroid shots from the vet, this is the single product that ha...
FARNAM Equi-Spot Horse Spot-On Fly Control, 6 treatments
I’ve tried every fly spray under the sun, and this works the best on my mare. In central Texas we don’t get much relief from the heat and humidity that brings flies around. This spray is oil based, so it really sticks to their coat and didn’t disappe...
PYRANHA Wipe N' Spray Fly Protection Horse Spray, 32-Fl Oz Bottle
Tanning gloves are the best hack for applying fly spray while protecting your skin from pesticides! Tanning gloves are made to be leakproof and spread oil-based products already. I use a hose to rinse them and dry them in the sun once they get dirty,...
Equate Beauty Self Tanning Duo Applicator Mitts, 2 Count
In sensitive spots like Rhonda's face, girth area, or open sores, I use SWAT. It's a thick pyrethrin ointment that repels flies and kills on contact, so it protects the exact spots flies target. I dab it on daily around her face and girth and over an...
Swat Fly Repellent Ointment Farnam - Valley Vet Supply | Fly Control