Flies and sweet itch: observations and care instructions

Describe what you notice

Start with the observation. Record the date, time, location and who saw it. Describe the behaviour or skin change without assigning a cause.

• What the horse was doing, including any rubbing you observed.
• The affected area and any visible change in the skin or hair.
• When you first noticed it and what has changed since.
• Any photograph, with its date and the area it shows.

If someone else saw the change, identify it as their account. Leave anything you have not checked as unknown.

Keep observations separate from a diagnosis

The British Horse Society describes sweet itch as an allergic reaction to proteins in the saliva of biting midges and sometimes other biting insects. Other allergies can produce similar signs, so diagnosis needs veterinary assessment. BHS sweet itch guidance.

Record rubbing or a skin change as an observation. If your vet gives a diagnosis, keep their findings and advice with the date of the assessment.

A photograph or a record of scratching can help describe your concern. It does not establish the cause.

Make the agreed protection clear

Write down the arrangements already agreed for this horse. Identify the rug, mask or other equipment by name so another carer can find the correct item.

• Which equipment to use, where it is kept and whether it is currently available.
• The existing instructions for its use and checks, including who gave them and when.
• Any agreed turnout or stabling arrangements and who is responsible.
• Any product currently used, with its original label and the vet’s instructions where applicable.

If an instruction is missing or the agreed equipment is unavailable, contact the person responsible for the plan. Keep the question visible until it is answered.

Share changes and keep the response

When you contact your vet, have the observations, their timing, existing care instructions and products used available. Add previous findings if they are relevant to the concern.

Keep the advice you receive, who gave it and when. Record any agreed change, who will carry it out and any follow-up the vet specifies.

Tell the other carers which instructions have changed. Record what was actually done separately from what was requested.

Note later observations in their own right. A change after using a product does not by itself establish what caused it.