HerdLeader Summer Itch Relief - Oral supplement for insect bite irritation & summer allergies

£33.96 GBP
£33.96 GBP
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Information on Feeding & Ingredients

Feeding

Feed once daily by drawing up the correct amount of the product into the measuring chamber and sprinkling it over a small handful of concentrate which you then give to your horse.

Daily use/Feeding recommendations:
Feed at the rate of 5ml per 125kg bodyweight.
Typically horses (500-600kg) 20-25ml daily, and ponies (350-500kg)15-20ml daily

If you choose to add it to your horse’s whole feed ration then ensure that the liquid is taken and not wasted in the bottom of the feed bucket/bowl.

A 1000ml bottle of HerdLeader is typically 50 days supply for a horse, more for a pony, up to 66 days supply.

Ingredients, Safety & Regulations

Herdleader Oral is a composition of pharmaceutical grade 99% pure Nicotinamide (one of the B3 vitamins) and Purified water. No other ingredients. Nicotinamide is the only one of the various forms of Vitamin B3 that suppresses the immune response that releases the irritant histamine.

Nicotinamide is a water soluble natural vitamin. It is very safe. Excess vitamin is expelled through urine. It does not accumulate in the body.

The level of Nicotinamide is 270mg/ml. This means that a 500kg horse receiving 20ml per day of Herdleader Oral is fed at the intended rate of 11mg Nicotinamide per kilo of bodyweight.

The current FEI banned and controlled substances list does not include nicotinamide. Rest assured, Herdleader Oral and Lotion contain no prohibited substances.

When to start feeding and how long before you would expect to see an effect?

If it’s been a mild winter, for example, midges will be active earlier than after a prolonged cold season.  Then there are environmental factors, i.e. where the horse is kept, low lying ground, proximity to water, etc.  Add in all those other measures that are available, factor in how early in the year you started the supplement & then, of course, each animal will react to the same irritant individually. 

Now, more technical information for you.  Nicotinamide works in two different ways.  Firstly & most well known is the dampening down of the immune system & therefore the urge to scratch/rub itchy parts. Secondly,  it works to thicken the skin.  The first effect - relating to the immune system - builds up quite quickly, in a matter of days, while the second takes effect much slower.  The skin’s thickening is caused by increasing numbers of fat cells it contains & this process is ongoing, it can take a month or more. 

Feeding to Mares in Foal

Herdleader Summer Itch Relief is completely safe to feed to pregnant mares at any stage. Indeed the B3 vitamins generally are important and useful to the developing foal.

How does the cost compare?

Herdleader Summer Itch Relief delivers a higher dosage (11mg/kg bodyweight) of Nicotinamide than other brands and yet its cost in-use is less. Typically its cost for a horse is 68p/day compared to 75p/day for the Cavalesse brand for example.

  • A pleased owner 15/6/23

    Amazing
    "I have used Cavalesse for a number of years now and transformed my horse from quite literally a giant walking scab to a beautiful boy. I wanted to see if there was anything better though and after some searching on google found this and I have to say I think it’s even better than the Cavalesse and much easier to administer. Because really who loves having medicine injected into their mouth. I’m on my second bottle and will definitely be sticking with this from now on! I should add he now has a full tail and mane (something previously unachievable) and is no longer in a sweet itch rug most days"

  • Samantha Spriggs 19/6/23

    "We spend thousands each year on vets bills for our old TB mare who suffers from the most hideous allergic reactions to any type of fly bite. This summer we have tried Heard leader and we have a very happy senior TB. This stuff isn't good, it's magical. Can't rate it highly enough, it's brilliant."

  • Pippa Dorey 12/9/23

    Relief

    "My horse had blood tests which showed lots of allergies. She had immunotherapy for 2 years and I tried antihistamines and Cavalesse. This caused sores so couldn’t continue. The one thing that showed the lost relief was Herdleader Oral. Not a cure but has helped the itch. So much. I put a neck rug on her from snuggly hoods and even though needed 1 course of steroids this year- it was only a low dose oral. Thanku x"

Spring sees the start of the itchy season

Summer can place an additional burden on our horses skin health. Factors in the environment change with increased insect activity, pollens and fungal spores. extra support for your horses immune system from Herdleader supplements can give both you and your horse a more comfortable summer. 

Herdleader is ready mixed: saving you time and trouble each day.

Herdleader contains more Nicotinamide than any other brand - giving your horse maximum comfort.

HerdLeader is a neutraceutical non-medicinal product containing nicotinamide, one of the B vitamins, which helps to maintain a healthy skin in horses prone to irritation from insect bites & allergies in the summer months.

Midge bites cause Sweetitch in horses

Insect bites

Typically insect bite irritation is a condition in equines caused by the bites of Culicoides midges. It may be found in any horses and ponies and especially in the warmer regions of the world.

The irritation develops at the sites where the insects feed.
Mainly these are the mane and tail and dorsal midline. Ventral midline irritation may also occur. Similarly around the ears and head. 

These irritations result in itching, which results in rubbing and considerable self-trauma. The itch response is triggered by the immune reaction in the mast cells of the skin, releasing Histimine.

Other triggers

Under normal living conditions horses are engulfed in dust, mould spores and other foreign substances all day long. In pastures where horses graze there are many different airborne proteins that could mean your horse needs extra support to maintain a healthy skin.  

Such triggers leading to the need for support are commonly pollens (often tree), grass, foods (grains and hay)

And Donkeys too!

  • writes Lesley Martin

    We have four Donkey Sanctuary male donkeys; two of whom have been with us for nearly 13 years. 

    One of these - Quincy - is a scewbald and 16 years' old.  He is a very itchy donkey who ends up with pink skin at his neck and bottom due to the amount of rubbing he does. 

    Because another of the donkeys - Danny - had used his teeth to remove a large area of hair, I got chatting with the vet about the possibility of giving both Quincy and Danny sweet itch vaccinations.  As our vet practice had no experience of giving such a vaccination to donkeys, I asked them to speak to the vets at The Donkey Sanctuary.  The message came back that the TDS also have no experience of sweet itch vaccination in donkeys and, although happy for us to have our donkeys vaccinated, we weren't happy for them to be guinea-pigs!

    TDS vets did, however, suggest Cavalesse as another option and a Google search brought your product up in first place on the scroll bar of photos.  Once I'd got my head around the fact that Cavalesse had to be prepared and your product was pre-made but still had the active ingredient nicotinamide, I thought I'd give it a try and boy oh boy does it work!

    I gave all four donkeys a 15ml dose a week ago yesterday - Saturday night - for good measure I gave them another 15ml dose on Sunday morning as the directions said it could be given once or twice a day and then a further 15ml dose that evening and since Saturday night, Quincy hasn't itched once and the once pink skin on his neck and bottom is no longer. All are now having 15ml once a day (in the evening).

    The liquid is, obviously, palatable because Quincy and Danny are suspicious of anything out of the norm.  I'm using a large pinch of Hi-Fi Molasses Free feed to soak up the liquid.  This sits atop their TopSpec Donkey Forage Balancer and everything gets eaten and licked from their bowls.

     

    THANK YOU FROM ME AND THE BOYS!

     

    Lesley Martin.

Customer Reviews

Based on 33 reviews
79%
(26)
9%
(3)
3%
(1)
3%
(1)
6%
(2)
C
Caroline Gregory
Summer itch relief

Just started using this so hopefully will see a difference in a couple of months. Quick delivery and reasonably priced so fingers crossed.

M
Mandy Mason

Only been on it a short time along with other things I'm trying like shampoos and lotions. Still needing those but hoping it doesn't flare up again if hot weather returns

J
Jan Hay
Update!!

This is an update to my previous review.
At the time I wrote the original review, I was halfway of the way through my first bottle of the product and I couldn't detect any changes to my pony's condition at all. He was still itching very badly and he'd broken the skin in places. However, as we had a bit left I thought I might as well finish the bottle and I'm glad I did. I began to see very subtle little changes, so I reordered another bottle and by the time we were halfway through that second bottle I started to see huge changes. His skin had improved, the itchiness calmed down and he has continued to improve since then. All in all he's a much happier, more settle pony so I'll continue to use the product. To look at him now, you wouldn't think he had sweet itch at all. I'm on bottle number 3 and about to reorder.

Thank you Jan. We're delighted to hear that your pony is now so much more comfortable. We appreciate you taking the time to update your original review, best wishes fromthe Herdleader team.

S
Sarah Martin
Didn’t work for my pony

Sadly this supplement didn’t work for my pony.

Morning Sarah. A disappointing response & one which we take to heart. With supplements, sadly, not all will be successful with all animals treated. Having said that we would urge you to continue using the product until at least your current supply is exhausted. The last person who gave us a low scoring review wrote a couple of weeks later to say that she had changed her mind completely, would be re-ordering & please could she update her initial response.
You may not have read this excerpt from our website so we paste it below, just to give you the technical side of things
Nicotinamide works in two different ways. Firstly & most well known is the dampening down of the immune system & therefore the urge to scratch/rub itchy parts. Secondly, it works to thicken the skin. The first effect - relating to the immune system - builds up quite quickly, in a matter of days, while the second takes effect much slower. The skin’s thickening is caused by increasing numbers of fat cells it contains & this process is ongoing, it can take a month or more.
We wish you all the best in finding a solution that works well for your pony.
From Team Herdleader

A
Alison Laws
Excellent product

I started using this product in March, have had a mare with sweet itch for 13 years and summers have always been a nightmare. Not this year! I have to admit I double the dose but only because I daren't reduce it because it works so well. I will never not have this product ready to go in the spring. Life changing for my mare. Although she is still rugged, she doesn’t wear a mask anymore. Over the moon!

P
Peter Liffen
Itchy horse

I’ve been using the herd leader summer itch relief since the spring. My usually very itchy horse seems good at the moment. 🤞🤞🤞

Excellent news, many thanks Peter

J
Joy Griffiths
Excellent product

This has helped my cob immensely- he now roams around in day & doesnt hide in field shelter-very good product

Delighted that your cob is now able to behave as he should, no longer hiding away.

L
Lindi Boyle
Game changer

Honestly, a game changer ! I've tried over 20 years managing sweet itch, so many preparations. I tried nicotinamide tablets last year and they helped a little. Started Herdleader liquid in February this year, no sweet itch. Lovely mare is 28 years young. Thank you 💜🐎💜

A game changer, that's high praise indeed. Thanks so much for your support.

C
Celia Hanlon
A good product.

This seems to be having a beneficial effect on our horse who is a serious sweet itch sufferer. The weather has been helpful, not too warm and breezy enough to keep the midges at bay. We will hope that the good effect continues when the weather warms up!

Well the weather did warm up, but only briefly & we're back to soggy conditions again now. Hoping your horse continues to do well on our product

J
Jo C.
Shetland with sweet itch.

I'm impressed. Pony was on a different product last year but unable to obtain stock this year so tried Herd Leader and so far she looks the best she ever has in the 3 years I've owned her. She gets bullied in a rug so I have to rely on lotions and potions.

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