Itchy, irritated coat and skin.
Liver, kidneys and lymphatics support.
Naturally occurring nutritive vitamin, mineral and antioxidant levels.
*Recommended to start feeding 4-weeks before the spring midge season starts, and continuing until end-autumn.
NB.
This is not a sweet itch fix-kit. Sweet itch is a deeply embedded autoimmune condition, usually from birth, and now thought to be connected to the multi-metabolic detoxification disorder, Cryptopyrroluria, aka KPU.
This disorder needs a very specific, targeted, regenerative programme which addresses the gut:liver:kidneys pathway - see our Coat&Skin and KPU pages for further details.
However, our SwItchTonic can certainly help support the sweet itch symptoms during the summer. Otherwise, for general poor-quality coat and skin, this is connected to a toxin overburden in the liver and kidneys. Therefore, a detox is recommended, and at the very least a bi-annual liver/kidneys tonic during each coat change. Again, see our Coat&Skin page.
*Please note this is a nutritional, functional food supplement and not veterinary medicine. See Dr Kellon's Horse Sense - 'Nutrition is not 'Alternative' Therapy.
*For the latest research and updates, see our main Herbal Nutrition by Condition/Coat & Skin page.
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 truly the worst of all equine skin torments, and which I have first-hand experience of with two of our horses. 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 as well as a whole range of other vital tasks, including ensuring that the acid-base balance is kept constant, as well as the mineral and water balance, and also the blood pressure. As a result they end up having way too many toxins to excrete so they become overwhelmed and unable to excrete the heavier load. So, those clever kidneys use an emergency detox pathway – the skin. Cue an excess of toxin excretion via the skin surface, which causes the skin surface to itch like crazy, 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.
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
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%
Produced to ecological standards and free from agro-chemicals. See our Quality page for for Organic Certification Documents.
Feed Guide
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.
https://www.biodynamics.com/what-is-biodynamics Supplements of any kind should be fed with caution to the pregnant or nursing mare so always seek veterinary advice.
The content in this website is intended as a sharing of knowledge and information from our own research over many years, together with clients' experiences and our own personal experience over 5-decades of horse care. This website is about enlightening towards a more naturopathic approach to support a healthy lifestyle for our horses. Any information contained within is not intended as a substitute or replacement of veterinary or other professional advice, and we would encourage everyone to make their own equine healthcare decisions based upon their own research.
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* HACCP certified facility (an international standard that ensures we meet food safety standards)
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