SUMMER ECZEMA, SUMMER ITCH & FLY CONTROL

Dr. Frank Reilly is the “Ask the Vet” expert on Equine Summer Eczema/Horse Summer Itch for the AAEP.

Click HERE to purchase the Summer Eczema Oral Supplement.
(For best results Summer Eczema Oral Supplement should always be used with a strong fly spray)

Proper diet and exercise is essential for horse health. This product is a supplement to help maintain horse health. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent disease.

Summer Eczema Horse Summer Itch: What Does It Look Like?
Nicknames: Equine Sweet Itch (England), Equine Summer Itch (USA), Equine Queensland Itch (Australia)
Summer Eczema Horse Summer Itch has hairless, reddened, itchy area on the base of the mail, midline of the belly, mane, and head. The itchy skin can cause further problems due to the horse rubbing the area on fences/stalls to the point of breaking off hair and increasing the size of the scabbed/damaged areas. Secondary bacteria can invade damaged skin. Horse can be so uncomfortable that riding is limited or eliminated.
Summer Eczema Horse Summer Itch: What is the cause?
The cause is a gnat called Culicoides with nicknames of “biting midge” and “no-see-ums”. They cause a painful bite, and after they bite, suck blood from the area. They are called “no-see-ums” because they are only the size of a period at the end of a sentence. You feel a bite but you can’t tell what it is from. Their saliva has foreign proteins containing antigens which set off a reaction in the horse’s skin in six- to twenty-four hours after a bite. The reaction causes the redness and itchy condition.
Insect hypersensitivity reactions are documented as the most common allergic reaction of horses and Equine Summer Eczema/Horse Summer Itch (SE) falls into this category. Horse Summer Itch is recognized as the #1 cause of mane and tail rubbing in research and is the #1 hypersensitivity reaction in the horse.
Fun Fact: Culicoides adults feed within 1 mile of where they were born.
Summer Eczema Horse Summer Itch: What is in Summer Eczema Oral Supplement?
Summer Eczema Oral Supplement Ingredients: MSM, Sucralose, Licorice, Alfalfa, Chia, Molasses, Magnolia, Ashwagandha, Kelp, Ginger, Eleuthero, Cat Claw, Spirulina, Willow, Arginine, Oregano, Boswellia, Ginkgo, Marshmallow, Nutmeg, Sugar Free Apple Flavor
You list the products, so what makes Equine Summer Eczema/Horse Summer Itch Oral Supplement a proprietary blend?
The amount of each herb, the part of the plant used, and the blending process makes Equine Summer Eczema Oral supplement unique. Hundreds of horses have shown great results in field studies.
Summer Eczema Protocol
Summer Eczema Horse Summer Itch: How to Stop an Active Case
Goal: To heal the damaged skin and stop further episodes.
4 things you need to order:
1. Horse Summer Itch/Summer Eczema (SE) Oral Supplement: Start SE Oral Supplement twice a day in feed. This supplement has natural herbs to soothe the reaction of the Culicoides bite. Multiple horses have receive thousands of doses from all over the United States with great results. SE Oral Supplement is USEF and FEI ok to show on. A reusable plastic cup accurately and easily measures the right amount (20cc) of a very small volume of liquid to pour onto the feed. The herbs are mixed with Molasses or a Sugar-Free Apple flavoring which are great tasting to your horse. (Medication Dosage: 20cc in AM, 20cc in PM. One bottle last 24 days.)
- No Laminitis Issues
  - No Steroid Shots Needed
  - No Azium Powder Packs Needed
  - No Allergy Shots
Purchase Horse Summer Itch/Summer Eczema (SE) Oral Supplement Here
2. Sore No More Shampoo *32 oz herbal,all natural ingredients shampoo to help reduce itchy skin and help sensitive damaged skin to heal. *Promotes reduction of bacterial count, removes crusts and helps cool inflamed skin. *Reduce gnat bites by reducing the urine attraction that brings gnats to your horse. *Use 3x a week for 4 weeks in a row in active summer eczema cases.. *Required in Active Cases.
3. Kinetic Vet Vetasan Ointment: *1 pound container of antiseptic chlorhexadine ointment. *Topical to help in healing open wounds/rubbed damaged skin/scrapes seen in active summer eczema cases. *Use 3x a week for 4 weeks in a row after you wash the horse in Sore No More shampoo in active cases. *Antibacterial/soothe skin/stop itch..*Required in Active Cases.
4. Use a strong fly spray (Tritech 14 or Endure) Apply a strong fly spray twice a day in morning and dusk to repel insects.
See 2015 Article by Dr. Reilly in TrailBlazer Magazine.
Summer Eczema Horse Summer Itch: Management to AVOID AN OUTBREAK
2 things you need to order:
1. Horse Summer Itch/Summer Eczema Oral Supplement: Only need to give 1 scoop a day in feed. In states with constant warm weather (California, Florida…) need to use year round. In states with a cold winter, Start April 1st and go until mid-November. (Medication dose is 1 scoop a day and a bottle will last 60 days.)
  Purchase Horse Summer Itch/Summer Eczema (SE) Oral Supplement Here
2. Strong Horse Fly Spray: Apply a strong fly spray 2x a day in morning and dsuk to repel insects.
Management
1. Fans: Blow Culicoides physically away from the horse. Culicoides adults are not strong fliers, this is why fans can help.
2. Daytime Turnout: Culicoides Gnats feed at night. Be in a stall with a fan at night, or reapply a strong fly spray at dusk if outside continuously. Use a strong fly spray in the mornings to avoid greenheads, horse flies, barn flies that damage skin and then Culicoides attacks these areas at night.
3. Remove Standing water areas on farm. They live/breed in stagnate water so if removed, will cut down on population. They do not live in streams. Put blue stone around waterers to avoid lots of mud which can hold water in a horse shoe impression.
4. Omega Oils added to feed. A Canadian study shows it helps to decrease itchy skin. Click Here to see Dr. Pearson’s Study.
- Two great alternatives in the feed once a day:
  - Flax Seed – Ground – #1 Source of Omega 3’s in plants. Great 4:1 ratio of Omega 3 to Omega 6. Give Four (4) Tablespoons a day.
  - Whole Chia Seed – #2 Source of Omega 3’s in plants. Great 3:1 ratio of Omega 3 to Omega 6. Give 2 Tablespoons a day.
5. Deworming for Skin Internal parasites rob your horse’s immune system. We recommend giving one (1) tube of Equimax dewormer once a week for FOUR (4) WEEKS IN A ROW. This really can help your horse be at its best to protect the skin. Also, in case they have Equine Summer Eczema/Horse Sweet Itch and Onchocerca together, this helps both. Black flies can transmit an Onchocerca live larvae onto the skin and they borrow under the skin creating itching.
6. Give your horse a bath with your regular shampoo (even Dawn dish soap works) two to three times a week. Any soap can help in prevention. Why? Horse urine attracts flies over thirty times greater than other large animals. You can cut down on exposure by removing the attraction. Also hose your horse off after rides.
Summer Eczema Horse Summer Itch: What Doesn’t Work
Allergy Shots – A study out of Florida shows NO SUCCESS
Special Expensive Blankets – You will NOT NEED THEM.
See below how Summer Eczema Oral Supplement compares to other products.
Culicoides in Horses
Besides the hypersensitivity itch produces in horses, culicoides causes many other problems.
A. Culicoides in Horses - Vesicular Stomatitis.
Culicoides gnats also support vesicular stomatitis virus in livestock - pig, cattle, sheep, horses, and even in humans (fever, muscle pain).
Signs: mouth swelling/abscess, inability to close mouth, painful oral ulcers, tongue/swallowing dysfunction.
Lesions similar to foot and mouth disease.
Click Here to See: Vesicular Stomatitis in Horses on the AAEP Site
B. Culicoides in the Horse - Species
Are over 1400 species of culicoides in the world (not seen in Iceland, New Zealand or Hawaii)
C. Culicoides in the Horse - Blue Tongue - cattle, goat, sheep. Up to 90% mortality in sheep, severe airway infection by this virus - die by suffocate. Also swollen, painful gums, lips.
Click Here to See: Overview of Bluetongue from Merck Veterinary Manual
D. Culicoides in Horses - African Horse Sickness.
Cullicodes transmits African Horse sickness to horses.
1. Click Here Merck Manual: 90% mortality (death), suffocate to death, no treatment
2. Outbreak in Thailand in March 2020 - Click Here for Article
3. Research at Texas AM on culicoides in horses - Click Here for Article
a. Affects horses, mules, donkeys, and zebras.
b. 90% of horses die of it. Zebras rarely show clinical signs even if infected.
c. Culicoides species in Texas could transmit African Horse Sickness.
d. No set vaccines due to genetic variants - can make vaccines once in an area.
E. Culicoides in Horse - Onchocerca
Culicoides gnats are vectors for onchocerca - which also set off terrible itching problems in horses, infects horse’s eyes.
Click Here for Article on Onchorcerca Cervicalis