Sweet itch has a significant genetic component. Research into susceptibility genes may allow selective breeding that reduces the prevalence of this welfare-significant condition.
The genetic component of sweet itch offers a route to long-term welfare improvement through selective breeding that reduces susceptibility in future generations. This requires breeders to make difficult decisions - some of their most talented animals may carry susceptibility genes, and excluding them reduces the genetic pool for performance selection. However, the welfare cost of sweet itch is substantial enough to justify weighting it alongside performance in breeding decisions. The development of validated susceptibility tests would allow informed breeding decisions, and immunotherapy offers prospects of treating the condition more effectively in horses already affected.