Sweet itch is an allergic skin condition caused by hypersensitivity to Culicoides midge bites. It causes intense pruritus and self-trauma, requiring careful management throughout the midge season.
Sweet itch causes profound seasonal suffering. Affected horses experience intense, unrelenting itching during midge season — their compulsive rubbing causes open wounds, thickened skin, and hair loss over mane, tail, and belly regions. The suffering is chronic and recurrent, worsening with each season as sensitivity increases. Welfare-positive management requires a multi-modal approach: total midge avoidance is impossible, but combination of full-body sweet itch rugs, stable housing during peak midge activity, repellent application, and anti-inflammatory treatment during flares substantially reduces suffering. Early intervention prevents the progressive skin thickening (lichenification) that develops over repeated seasons of trauma.