April - Sweet Itch And Sweet Itch Awareness Month

The spring and summer months can be a distressing time for sweet itch sufferers and their owners. Indeed, research¹ conducted by Elanco Companion Animal Health, distributor of Cavalesse®, has revealed that nearly a third (30%) of horse owners consider sweet itch to be a very serious condition with nearly a quarter (24%) believing that it causes serious distress to horses. Moreover, over half (52%) of those questioned stated that they would be unlikely to buy a horse with sweet itch with 82% of owners of horses with sweet itch feeling concern, frustration and/or worry at the start of the sweet itch season with 2% even admitting that they panic. And while most horses are treated with a combination of products, including Cavalesse®, to manage the condition, over a quarter (27%) do not use stable or field management, such as stabling horses from dawn to dusk. “Sweet itch can be a very distressing condition for both horses and their owners and the constant irritation caused by the immune response to the midge bites can lead to severe welfare issues if left untreated,” comments Ed Whittle, technical consultant at Elanco Companion Animal Health. “While nearly three-quarters (74%) of horse owners feel that sweet itch is time-consuming to manage, veterinary professionals should be advising their clients on simple and easy to implement preventative measures, such as stable and field management, to help alleviate the condition. These include moving the horse away from standing water and boggy land, stabling from dawn and dusk and the use of fly repellents. The most effective fly protection for horses out at grass are light rugs and hoods which can cover all the areas of the horse susceptible to bites.” Cavalesse is an easy-to-administer oral solution which helps to maintain healthy skin in horses prone to summer skin allergies. Elanco Companion Animal Health will be joining forces with the British Horse Society (BHS), Blue Cross, Redwings Horse Sanctuary and World Horse Welfare (WHW) to highlight summer skin conditions, such as sweet itch, during Sweet Itch Awareness Month (SIAM) in April. The campaign will raise awareness of the preventative measures that will help alleviate sweet itch and the importance of management of the condition before the start of the midge season in the spring. Lee Hackett, head of welfare at the BHS, comments: “Sweet itch is a condition that worries many horse owners and we receive an awful lot of calls from people whose horses are suffering horribly from it. We are thrilled to be supporting Sweet Itch Awareness Month which is so important in highlighting how the disease can be effectively managed leading to happier horses and happier owners.” Kath Urwin, rehoming centre manager at Blue Cross, Rolleston-on-Dove, Staffordshire, says: “Blue Cross is pleased to support the sweet itch campaign again this year. Many horses and ponies come in to our care because their owners are unable to deal with this debilitating condition. We are keen to highlight that it can be in fact be very effectively managed and that, with appropriate care, many of those suffering can lead perfectly normal lives. “The significance of sweet itch has been consistently reflected in the National Equine Health Surveys (NEHS), with 15% of returns during 2010 to 2012 identifying skin conditions as a problem. The next NEHS survey will be held in May 2013. We hope all horse owners will recognise the importance of participating in NEHS to help build important statistics on endemic diseases such as sweet itch and in so doing, help improve the health and welfare of horses and ponies in the long term.” “Sweet Itch can be very uncomfortable and distressing for horses and it can easily get on top of even the most responsible owner so it is no real surprise that over half of those surveyed would actually let it stop them from taking on a horse in the first place,” says Nicola Jarvis, head of veterinary services, Redwings Horse Sanctuary. “With preventative measures the condition is manageable. However, taking on a horse is a lifelong commitment and owners will need to be prepared to put in the work on a daily basis in order to keep this condition under control.” Tony Tyler, deputy chief executive, World Horse Welfare, concludes: “There is nothing sweet about sweet itch – it clearly causes distress for both horses and their owners and the more that can be done to help spot it and treat it at an early stage, the better.” For further information on sweet itch, Sweet Itch Awareness Month or Cavalesse®, please contact your local Elanco key account manager or Elanco Companion Animal Health, Lilly House, Priestley Road, Basingstoke, RG24 9NL, 01256 353131. References:Sweet itch – effect on horse and owner. Mo Gannon & Associates. Web survey in November 2011. 351 responses – owners who have owned horses with sweet itch in the last two years.

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