26/02/2022
🐴 Good news for all our equine clients!! 🐴
We are delighted to be able to offer a vaccine to help with the symptoms of the ever-frustrating Sweet Itch that many horses and ponies really suffer with. The vaccine was developed as a ringworm vaccine in Germany but it is now being used early in the year and seems to reduce the itchy symptoms in many equines. 🐎🐎
Sweet Itch is characterised as an allergic response to midge bites and saliva and can cause intense itching and skin irritation. Preventing insects from contacting the horse is very important but treatment in the past has often been difficult and unrewarding. Topical treatments such as sprays and creams may only partially help, and steroid use to calm the inflammation would carry side effects if used in the longer term. 🦟
The vaccine should be used early in the year before the midges have returned after winter. The course of vaccination is only two injections, separated by fourteen days, however it is not recommended for pregnant mares. The cost of the course is £125 and the normal visit fee will also apply, however the visit fee can be shared between multiple clients on the same yard. 🙂