Neem oil for horses- prevention of insect bites and efficient substance against sweet itch

Product made out of neem oil showed a great and healing effects in medicine, agriculture and cosmetics. They are especially helpful for the prevention of insects and they are able to annihilate problems with skin and coat.

Where does the neem oil come from?

Neem oil comes out of the seeds of the neem tree. This tree grows in tropical and semi-tropical climate zones and is quite famous for its healing substances. The special substance is azadirachtin: this substance has antibacterial effects so that it keeps off insects and mosquitoes. However, for mammals it is not dangerous at all. Neem oil can be used against many different insects and is anti-fungal. They nearly kill all bacteria or at least contain a further spread. Especially for horses neem oil is really helpful because in summer it is a prevention against ticks, mites and mosquitoes. Additionally it helps against acute irritations or inflammations and a general dry skin. Some medicinal tests showed that neem oil effects a better cure than the use of cortisone. To sum up, horses can actually make a great profit from neem oil.

How to use the neem oil products

In summer many horses suffer from sweet itches. These itches are causes by insects (especially mosquitoes, biting midges and black flies). They attack the skin of the horse and insert their salivary juice while absorbing the blood. The skin reacts allergic what causes inflammations and irritations. In worst case this ends in a sweet itch. Especially all areas near the tail, croup, ears, chin and mane are often preferred by the insects. Horses are completely helpless so that it is crucial that horse owners intervene. Substances made out of neem oil help to prevent the horses against the nasty stings and additionally accelerate the cure of injuries, irritations and inflammations on coat and skin. If a horse already suffers from an injury the use of neem oil relieves the pain. Besides the use of neem oil products, however, we also present you two further methods how to prevent your horse against mosquitoes:

Make use of a so called eczema-blanket which you lay on the back of the horse.
Horses should only stand outside on the pasture until the beginning of the twilight. At this time of the mosquitoes are very active and therefore a big danger animals.

Medicinal products which include neem oil additionally accelerate the cure of grapes.

Different products made out of neem oil

If you want to prevent your horse against inflammations of the skin or if your horse generally has problems with a dry skin you can make use of several products which include neem oil. Neem oil is available separately or in a mixture ready for consumption. If you prefer to mix it on your own you need to follow the proportion of 1:10 (100 ml for 1 L of water). The prices depend on the respective country. Generally the pure concentration of the neem oil can have an advantage in price. Due to the variety of products you should consider which one to use in which situation.

The insect repellent

The repellent can be used for the general prevention of insects and mosquitoes. However, a complete protection can only be guaranteed with a daily use. For this you can simply spray it on the coat of the horse with a spray can. Some horses are easily frightened from this- here you find some useful information how to get your horse used to a spray cans and other objects horses are scared of. Moreover horse owners need to use a little sponge to carefully massage the repellent in the parts of the body which are mostly attacked by insects. Generally the product has an effective period of 24 hours. However, this period becomes shorter if it rains or the horse sweats a lot. Furthermore the repellent can be used as a medicine for sweet itches. The neem oil relieves and cures irritations and inflammations and can even stop a further spreading of the eczema.

Neem oil Emulsion

This product can be used in the daily coat and skin care. It shows curing effects in cases of light inflammations and itches. You can rub the emulsion on small rubbed sore areas around tail and mane and soon notice a reduction of the swelling. Additionally you can use it as a prevention against ticks and parasites. Moreover it already showed great cures for horses with grapes: it reduced the scabs and the skin got regenerated. The emulsion consists out of neem oil, lavender oil, extracts of tea tree and other essential oils. You have to spray it daily on the coat of the horse (make use of a simple spray can) or use a little sponge to rub it in the coat.

Neem oil

Pure neem oil is highly concentrated and therefore should only be used in little dosages. It provides a general care of skin and coat and reduces inflammations and other irritations of the skin. Moreover you can use the oil as a general prevention measure against the attack of mosquitoes. The oil effects a cure in cases of sweet itches, grapes and even against fungal infections (if they did not already spread to much). The ingredients of the product are neem oil, bisabolol, tea tree oil and further essential oils. The horse owner drips single drops on the coat of the horse and rubs them in with a little sponge. Due to the intensive concentration of the neem oil it is already enough to do this once or twice a week. Neem oil is water-repellent and therefore even heavy rain or sweating does not reduce the positive effects of the product. However, the horse can have oil residues in his coat. You can wash them out with water and if required make use of the neem oil shampoo.

Neem oil shampoo

After a long and exhausting ride in the summer nothing is better than a cold shower for horse and rider. Undoubtedly pure water already is enough for the most horses. However, if you want to offer a special care of coat and skin you can make use of the neem oil shampoo. This effects a natural shine and sleekness of the coat. Moreover it has the same characteristics as all the other neem oil products: it relieves inflammations and irritations and due to the intense smell it is a great prevention against mosquitoes and other insects. Additionally it cleans the coat very carefully and possible feces of mites and fleas get removed. The ingredients of the shampoo are neem oil, natural surfactants and natural citronella oil. The practical use is really simple. Just start to wash your horse with water and shampoo and then use a little sponge to carefully massage in the liquid. We recommend to generally use small dosages because all products with neem oil are really intensive. Moreover you should try to avoid any open wounds (grapes, sweet itches): horse are really sensitive in these areas and may react easily frightened. If skin already is irritated you do not need to worsen the situation with rude rubbing. If the skin already is rubbed sore it is enough to carefully clean them with fresh water (independently how carefully you are, some horses still react really frightened, kick or jump to the side). When the coat and skin is dried you can then carefully rub in the wounds with the other neem oil products described above.

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—All statements without guarantee—