As the saying goes, "Beauty comes from within," and the skin is an exact reflection of what’s going on beneath the surface. And when it comes to itchy skin, it all starts with the gut.

Sweet itch particularly is the worst of all equine skin torments, and I have first-hand experience of it with two of our horses, Kelso and Mac.

Previously thought to be an autoimmune response to the Culicoides midge, recent research (2021) is now showing that the primary issue with sweet itch i s not so much a skin problem. Skin symptoms for sure, but it's actually a gut issue relating to a massively disturbed microbiome, with extensive inflammation in the gut wall lining. This triggers a hyper immune reaction, making it extremely sensitive to allergic reactions, which means a huge increase in toxins. In other words, it's an autoimmune issue.

Now the kidneys get involved as they only have a limited disposal capacity while performing a range of other vital tasks, including maintaining the acid-base balance, the mineral and water balance, and blood pressure. If the toxin queue becomes overwhelming and they’re unable to excrete the heavier load, they use an emergency detox pathway – the skin. Cue an excess of toxin excretion via the skin surface, which causes severe itching, especially during summer when there’s insect bites to deal with as well.

As soon as we cover the horse with a fly rug, the midges can't bite so the symptoms lessen. However, for some horses, the metabolism is so overloaded that the skin becomes the main elimination organ; you'll see this in horses who constantly scratch, even in winter.

A problem with the underlying cause of itchy skin is that it can't necessarily be seen in the blood count. Values that indicate renal insufficiency, i.e. poor performance of the kidneys, only become apparent when 70% of the kidneys have already been damaged - in other words, much too late. At least for our sweet itch or fly-affected horses we can cover them with a fly rug, but not so for our non-sweet itch horses, where it all stems directly from gut biome dysbiosis.

This is where we need to seriously address the health and function of the kidneys, never mind the gut system. If it’s obvious that there’s itchy skin, we should be asking why the kidneys aren't working properly, then work upstream. If the kidneys have an overload problem, the liver also has a problem, which affects the whole toxin biotransformation process.

This takes us back to where it all starts - the gut; yet again, as with so many issues, it's all about a significant imbalance in the gut biome. Too many toxins, so the liver and kidneys can’t do their jobs, with the skin being used as an emergency pathway for excretion. And for the record, this is the same with mallenders/sallenders ; all typical of when the liver and kidneys aren’t working normally anymore.

So, what to do?

Pulling this altogether, first up we need to stabilise the skin biome so don't bath your horse using harmful chemical, oil-stripping products. Fortify the diet by swapping ultra-processed feeds to clean grass-forage base feeds, i.e. grass nuts/cobs/chaff, and keep sugar and acid content low. If your horse has been fed haylage , feed spirulina for 1-month which will not only bind intestinal toxins but also help deacidify the hindgut, and feed adlib stemmy hay to get plenty of cellulose fibre passing through the colon to help recolonise the friendly hindgut fibre-fermenting microbes.

Now we need to clean up the gut, liver and kidney function with a 1-month course of our OptimaCARE three-stage full body detox. NB: Linseed has also been found to help control itchy skin as a result of the Culicoides midge bite (Canadian Journal of Veterinary Research, October 2002)

October'21 - Edited to add : New research this year is now showing that sweet itch could be connected to a now widespread, multi-metabolic detoxification disorder called Cryptopyrroluria, aka KPU. See our KPU page for the full story.

Tincture

Our human-grade, certified organic tinctures gives you a ready-to-absorb potent source of phytonutrients at the highest-strength available, for immediate absorption straight into the bloodstream and to the body’s cells.

Feed Guide

• Horse 30-40ml / Pony 15-20ml, daily in feed.
• Always shake the bottle to disperse any sediment.
• 3-yr shelf life.

100% pure tincture of certified organic herbs:
Withania somnifera ( Ashwagandha ) Decocted 1:3 35%, Arctium lappa ( Burdock ) Decocted 1:3 35%, Calendula officinalis 1:3 90%, Stellaria media ( Chickweed ) Infused 1:3 25%, Galium aparine ( Cleavers ) Infused 1:3 35%, Taraxacum officinalis Folia ( Dandelion ) Infused 1:3 25% & Decocted 1:3 45%, Crataegus oxycanthoides ( Hawthorn ) Dec / Inf 1:3 25%, Carduus marianus ( Milk Thistle ) Decocted 1:3 65%, Urtica dioica Folia ( Nettle ) Decocted 1:3 35%, Achillea millefolium ( Yarrow ) Dist / Inf 1:3 35%

Herb Blend

Produced to ecological standards and free from agro-chemicals. See our Quality page for for Organic Certification Documents.

Feed Guide

• 5g/100kg bodyweight (i.e. 25g daily for a 500kg horse) in daily feed.
• 1-yr shelf life.

Dried organic herbs, roots & barks:
Withania somnifera ( Ashwagandha ), Arctium lappa ( Burdock ), Calendula officinalis, Stellaria media ( Chickweed ), Galium aparine ( Cleavers ), Taraxacum officinalis Folia ( Dandelion ), Crataegus oxycanthoides ( Hawthorn ), Silybum marianus ( Milk Thistle ), Urtica dioica Folia ( Nettle ) & Achillea millefolium ( Yarrow )*

* Grown especially for us organically and biodynamically by Organic Herb Trading Co.

Supplements of any kind should be fed with caution to the pregnant or nursing mare so always seek veterinary advice.

• I am pleased to report that Persia, my sweetitch mare is much much less itchy (and there have been plenty of midges about), she has finished the detox so is now just on the SwItch. Nothing else has really helped so I am delighted! Imogen
• I'm so impressed with the SwItchTonic and how is working for my sweetitch lad. Best regards, Nicola (from France)
• I just wanted to let you know that I have been feeding the SwItchTonic herbs and his skin has improved and (I dont want to speak too soon but) his sweetitch has been the best it has ever been this year! So thank you so much! He is also doing very well at competing and people cannot believe how old he is, when I get a new photo I will send it through to you. Liane and horses
• The herbs have turned out to be something of a miracle for Fern. She stopped itching within a couple of days and is definitely more relaxed. She still has quite a bit left so (due to Christmas cash flow)I will be ordering some more in the New Year. Thanks again for all your advice and your excellent products.