Mosquitoes in moist grass

Mosquitoes lay eggs in water or in moist soil. In September and October, the nights are much more humid, which is ideal for mosquitoes to lay eggs. When the temperature rises, these eggs hatch en masse. That is also the reason why you can still see swarms of mosquitoes in September and October. If summer eczema horses no longer have a blanket on and no other precautions have been taken, you will see the itching resurface.

Change in diet

Did you know that far fewer horses have summer eczema than commonly thought? Often, the culprit of the itching is the diet. And specifically the sugars. In the spring, horses go out to pasture and the grass is full of sugars. There are horses that show similar itching symptoms as with summer eczema. The same thing happens in the fall when the diet changes. Hay and concentrates can be high in sugar, causing horses to start itching again once concentrates and hay are reintroduced. The itching is not due to summer eczema, but to the sugars. Many of these horses have (a mild form of) insulin resistance.

Tips for a resurgence of summer eczema

The most important thing is to continue protecting your horse until the temperature drops below 10 degrees Celsius. This is done by keeping an eczema blanket on (possibly under a rain blanket) and by making your horse more resilient against mosquito saliva from the inside out. Also, give a detox once the horse is no longer on pasture or in September, optimize resistance with cannabinoids, and give repelling herbs. The more measures, the better. Read more about the complete approach to summer eczema here.

Tips for sugar sensitivity

Sugar is one of the main causes of itching in horses. Too much sugar often causes horses to scratch at their manes and disrupts the intestinal flora, reducing resistance. A reduced resistance leads to small inflammatory reactions that also cause irritation.

In addition to sugar sensitivity, there are also horses that are sensitive to a particular food. Sensitivity usually manifests itself through changes in manure or itching. Tips to limit sugars:

• Examine the amount of sugars in the food you give and limit them
• Carefully choose the forage, a 1st cut is often richer
• Also limit starch
• Give cannabinoids to bring the body into better balance