SWEET ITCH
Midge Sensitivity
Causes
Sweet Itch is an allergy to midge bites. If bitten by many midges and the horses are generally allergic, they often develop an allergy to the saliva of culicoides midges. The result of this allergy is that their skin reacts more than is normal to midge bites. In severe cases it means that horses scratch and rub themselves so much that they get rid of hair and cause skin damage.
Treatment
The first thing to do for Sweet Itch is to get the horse away from midges, possibly keeping the horse stabled with midge screens in the morning and evening when midges abound, or move your grazing away from damp, midge prone land. Special midge turnout sheets are available to cover up the majority of the body to keep midges away and can be very useful. Other treatments are fly repellents, sprays or feed supplements. Steroids are used by vets in severe cases to soothe itchy skin and a new vaccine is in the offing but has it's own problems.