My question is for any feed or supplements(grain, balancer, brand, type, ingredients etc ) that may help boost the immune system or help with reactions related to sweet itch/neckworms. I’ve got an easy keeper (800lbs, in light work) except last year she started with horrible sweet itch/neck worms combo and did nothing but scratch herself raw. So im trying to get a jump on things this year and doing everything i can to make it easier for her. Shes currently on 2 lbs Buckeye senior (shes only 5 though) and 1 cup of the Tractor supply ground flax once a day. Is there anything else you’d recommend i look into? Buckeye says their Cadance Ultra and Ultimate 25 have the highest omega 3’s but im not sure about what other brands would be good. Or if because shes not getting alot of grain, if it even matters besides adding the flax.
I feel like I’m confusing myself with all the options:joy: and Open to any ideas to help narrow it down. 
Vitamin E can help with skin. Also, skin conditions can worsen if the horse is metabolic, has she been checked for that?
Thank you. She has not been checked for that but shes perfectly normal in every way, except for this.
Since she’s eating the lowest amount of Sr for her weight, and calories are an issue, I’d switch to Grow N Win ration balancer, and add 1c flax. Whole, ground daily, or pre-milled (like Triple Crown ground flax) will have the most Omega 3
Cadence Ultra is a high fat higher calories feed, around 7:1 Omega 6:3. Ultiumate Finish 25 is flax (high O3), rice bran (high O6) and soybean meal (higher O6), and around 2:1 Omega 6:3. They are NOT good options for this, whether from a calories perpsective, or the Omega 3 perspective.
Thank you. Ive been going cross-eyed looking back and forth between bags and ingredients. I figured i was probably overthinking it.
If you haven’t actively treated for NTWs with the double-dose Equimax/ivermectin deal, do that this year.
Spirulina has helped enough allergy horses to try it
Cetirizine may help prevent the histamine reaction
So many trainers and vets have scoffed at this idea, but it is literally the only thing that worked for my horse.
Thanks, I hadn’t heard of spirulina before. I’ve never delt with sweet itch like this before so i was slow to realize what was going on last year. By then it was just damage control and trying to stop her from hurting herself. I want to be as ready as possible this year.
most poo-poo it until they see it work
Me too. Remarkable results.
Are you sure it is worms? Sweet itch is an allergy. And allergies in horses tend to get worse with age. We are doing allergy shots for my horse in the hopes he can handle the bugs this spring (he is allergic to all of them, not just the no see ums).
Flax
MSM
Spirulina
Citronella based fly spray. It works best to keep the culliciodes gnats (that are typically the cause for sweet itch) at bay
Turnout after a breeze has picked up in the AM and back in the stall before the breeze dies down in the PM. For my horse that was essentially 10AM - 5/6PM during fly season. Culliciodes are notoriously poor fliers and once the breeze is over 5 or so MPH they are much less of a problem.
Keep horse clean. Manure/urine odor is a strong draw for gnats. My guy loves to sleep in his wet spot every night. I ended up putting a rain sheet on him to keep him cleaner (and washing him with water as needed when it wasn’t too cold for that. I don’t like to shampoo often and strip the skin of protective oils.)
Benadryl tablets at the first sign of any itching in order to break the itch cycle. He then stays on it until the end of the summer. It’s dirt cheap; less than $10 for the season supply @ Sam’s Club
There used to be a website that listed many original source/research studies that I learned a lot from. Unfortunately they seemed to have removed the source material and now have a heavy emphasis on supplements/products that they make and sell. I did not find the need or benefit of their expensive products as long as I followed the general concepts their “program” is based on - common sense stuff as I’ve listed above.
It takes time but it does work. My horse went from bloody raw mane, tail, and belly from April until late fall at the time he first came to me to today needing only a daily fly spray in the AM before turnout. Occasionally in mid summer he needs a few weeks of fly boots, but it’s rare. He has been essentially itch free for 5 years with these suggestions.
I had one that turned out to be allergic to flax! The more I fed him, the more he itched!
The bad thing about NTWs is the symptoms of the allergy to the migrating juveniles coincides with noseeum season, so it’s a trial and error to figure out which it is
She is textbook for NTW symptoms unfortunately. I just wanted to update on what I’ve decided on for feed incase anyone else reads this. Based on ease of availability I ended up going with a mix of Triple Crown balancer, Blue Seal Sentinel Sr, Hay pellets, flax seed and will get Solitude for flys when that starts. I have another slightly harder to keep horse then her, and we’re short on grass and pasture so thought this mix will cover all the bases feed wise. I’ll see how it goes and adjust accordingly. Still on the fence about getting a Boett blanket because they are pricey but so highly recommend I’ll probably do it. Otherwise we are stocked up with ivermectin, masks and wraps, fans and sprays and ointments of all kinds 
Plus a list of other things to add or try if necessary. Hopefully now that i understand the situation, we can keep it under control 
keep in mind that for some reason, a LOT of people find they needed to start with Equimax. There’s no good reason the addition of praziquantel should make a difference, but somehow it does. So consider that if you don’t see results with the first couple of double ivermectin doses. “Results” can mean getting better, OR worse as the microfilaria die off.
I will add it! What’s the protocol for that? 2 does at once or?
Yep, the protocol (and yes, many vets are 100% on board with this, it’s very safe (barring of course the rare exception)) is double dose by weight (so a 2000lb dose for a 1000lb horse) at once, every 2 weeks. People who do this generally do 2-3 of those doses, 2 weeks apart each, before deciding if it’s working (improvement or degredation are both “working”) and then usually switch to plain ivermectin for as long as necessary, which is often the rest of the Summer.
Thanks, your help is much appreciated!
Just one more question… When should i start double dosing ? I really really want to get ahead of it and not wait until she starts itching.
Ok two questions 🤦 after starting the plain ivermectin, is that a double dose also or just regular for her weight.
We had a like 3 warm enough days that gnats came out and she was immediately itching a little bit. Its going to snow tonight now, our weather is very unpredictable until April.
