>>> I've seen many horses & humans recover quite nicely from skin issues/auto >>> immune >>> reactions by adding freshly ground flax seed to the daily diet along with >>> some >>> herbal/homeopathic support. ... Many holistic veterninary practitioners >>> think that >>> overuse of wormers/ exposure to other chemicals topically or internally >>> exacerbate the >>> condition.
I think there are two big factors at play in Tivar's to-date improvement - getting him away from the kind (or greater quantity?) of bugs he was allergic to, and getting him in a place where he can't rub. In the case of sweet itch, I don't believe there's a way to fight it effectively that doesn't require bug sprays, or spot-on treatments or both - not unless you move the horse to an area where there are none of the offending bugs at all. I know a good number of people who have used flax in their horse's feed, but haven't seen any real improvement. Some report no improvement at all. I tried it for a while several years ago, but didn't see any benefit in my horses to keep it up - it's a pain to store and manage for more than one or two horses. The bottom line is that I honestly don't believe that we have the same sort of gnats here in my part of NC as are present in the sandy soil areas of the coastal southeast - I'm sure the species of insects vary regionally. If that's correct, his improvement is not at all related to the use or non-use of chemicals or supplements, since he was getting all of the above in Florida too. Those of you who live in the parts of the west coast where SE is extremely rare/nonexistant should count your lucky stars - so far, I'm counting mine that he's this much improved in such a short time. The other side of the coin is that some vets (many vets?) think that keeping up the ivermectin wormers during sweet-itch season seems to provide some relief. Apparently carrying a worm load can lower a horse's immunity and can intensify any health problem. I don't know that there's any reason to overdo the worming frequency in SE horses, but I certainly don't plan to drop back either - I just don't think there's signifcant evidence that wormers are a big factor one way or another in the treatment of SE. Regardless, those of us who keep horses on small acreage need to be very aware of worm loads - I literally have more acres than most probably, but I also have more horses. As the article I posted recently said, it's sometimes difficult to tell what exactly contributes to improving the condition - temporary weather changes can make it temporarily difficult for the cullicoides to survive, but they can return immediately after the weather changes. I can believe that - I remember once after a hurricane, a huge number of coastal gnats (cullicoides?) blew further inland than they normally live - but they died out in a few days. If someone tries [garlic, x-brand fly spray, flax, or whatever] during a particular weather cycle, I can see how people can begin to believe that certain things help - and no doubt some things do help. I'm not sure I'll keep up the garlic after I finish the bucket I have - Janice told me that she THOUGHT it might be helping, but these things are just too darned difficult to quantify. I just pray that his improvement lasts, and isn't simply a weird weather fluke. So far, his improvement is dramatic - it's almost like he doesn't have SE, although I know he does. "Chemicals" like wormers are believed to be the single largest reason that the average life-expectancy of a horse has increased 5-10 years, maybe longer, over the past 30 years. (Before "chemicals", a lot more people died of cancer too.) I don't find it helpful to refer to virtually all medications/additives as "chemicals" - even those that greatly improve the quality and quantity of our lives. After all, some "toxic chemicals" - arcenic for instance - can be 100% natural, but can still kill us. There's simply no point in drawing some arbitrary black/white dividing line by calling some very beneficial medications/additives "chemicals." Life simply isn't that simple and we need to do whatever we can to maintain the quality of life for our animals. Karen Thomas, NC
