Healthy Skin Starts From Within
Nutritional support for horses prone to Queensland itch, rain scald and greasy heel
If you’ve had horses through a wet summer or a bad midge season, you know how fast it happens. One week the coat looks great. The next, you’re staring at a rubbed-out tail, scabs along the back, or angry skin around the pasterns.
Queensland itch, rain scald and greasy heel are three of the most familiar frustrations for Australian horse owners. Most of us reach for what we can put on the skin first: washes, creams, rugs and fly protection. All of those matter.
But skin is a living organ that’s constantly renewing itself, and what it’s built from comes down to what goes in the feed bucket.
Three problems, one common thread
They can look alike, but they have different causes:
- Queensland itch is an allergic reaction, usually to the bites of Culicoides midges. Think intense itching, rubbing and hair loss along the mane, tail and belly.
- Rain scald is a bacterial infection (Dermatophilus congolensis) that takes hold when skin stays wet for too long. You’ll see crusty scabs and tufts of hair that lift away with them.
- Greasy heel isn’t one disease. It’s a general term for inflamed skin on the lower legs, and wet conditions, bacteria, mites and irritants can all play a part.
What they share is the skin’s protective barrier. Healthy skin holds moisture in, keeps irritants out and repairs everyday damage more effectively.
Good nutrition won’t prevent these conditions. But a horse missing key nutrients may have weaker skin and coat quality, which can make an already tricky situation harder to manage.
The nutrients that matter
Zinc and copper: a partnership
Zinc is one of the hardest-working minerals for skin. It’s involved in cell renewal, keratin formation and wound healing, and helps keep the outer layer of skin intact.
Copper is easy to overlook, but it’s needed to build collagen and elastin (the skin’s structural framework) and for normal coat colour.
The key with these two is balance. Too much of one can affect how the other is used, so more isn’t better. Organic forms such as amino acid complexes may be absorbed more readily in some situations, but the whole diet still decides how well they work.
Omega-3 fatty acids
Omega-3s form part of every cell membrane and play a role in how the body regulates inflammation. That makes them a sensible part of the diet for horses with sensitive skin. Linseed and linseed oil are common sources.
To be honest about the research: studies on omega-3s for equine allergic skin conditions are still limited. There’s a good biological reason to include them, but we can’t say they’ll prevent or control Queensland itch.
Vitamin E
Vitamin E is an antioxidant that helps protect cells from everyday wear and tear, including sun and environmental stress. It also supports normal immune function.
Horses on good green pasture usually get plenty. But vitamin E breaks down in stored hay, so horses on mostly hay may need more from their diet.
Methionine and biotin
Hair doesn’t grow from shampoo. It grows from follicles fed by the bloodstream.
Methionine is an essential amino acid used to build keratin, the protein in hair, skin and hooves. If your horse has rubbed out its mane or tail, good protein intake helps support regrowth once the cause of the rubbing is sorted.
Biotin is best known for hooves, and there is equine research behind that (though results take months). It also plays a part in normal skin and fat metabolism.
Neither is a fix for itch, scald or greasy heel on its own. Their value is in making sure the building blocks are there.
Nettle and kelp
Natural doesn’t automatically mean proven. Nettle has a long history in herbal preparations for skin comfort, but there aren’t controlled studies in horses showing it reduces itching. Kelp supplies a range of minerals, but its make-up varies a lot by species and source, and it can be high in iodine, which needs to be kept in check.
Both can earn a place in a feed, but how much is used and what else the horse is eating matter. If you compete, it’s always worth checking herbal ingredients against your discipline’s rules with your vet.
What about magnesium and gut health?
Magnesium is vital for nerves, muscles and metabolism, but there’s no good evidence that extra magnesium improves these skin conditions.
There’s growing interest in how gut health links to immunity and inflammation, and it makes sense that a healthy gut supports a healthy horse. But there’s currently no strong clinical evidence that probiotics, zeolite or mycotoxin binders treat any of these three conditions. Binders work on specific compounds in feed under specific conditions; they don’t “detox” the whole horse.
Quality forage, good feed storage and plenty of fibre remain the foundation.
Putting it together
Nutrition belongs in your plan, but alongside dealing with the real cause:
- Queensland itch: keep midges off and work with your vet on allergy management.
- Rain scald: reduce moisture exposure and treat the infection.
- Greasy heel: find out what’s driving it, whether that’s wet ground, mites, infection or something else.
On the feed side, focus on:
- Enough quality protein
- Balanced zinc and copper
- Adequate omega-3s
- Vitamin E, especially for horses on hay
- Good forage and gut health
- Reviewing the whole diet before stacking up supplements
And be patient. Skin and hair take time to renew, and changes won’t show overnight, especially while the irritation is still going.
Why we made DERMAblend
We’ve always believed skin and coat health deserve as much attention on the inside as on the outside. That’s what led us to DERMAblend, which brings together zinc, copper, biotin, methionine, omega-3s, vitamin E, nettle and Australian kelp, plus selected feed-binding ingredients.
It’s designed to support normal skin, hair and coat function in horses whose skin is regularly challenged by our seasons. It isn’t a replacement for veterinary care, insect control or topical treatment. And like any supplement, whether your horse needs it depends on what they’re already getting.
The takeaway
Queensland itch, rain scald and greasy heel aren’t nutritional deficiencies, and no single ingredient will make them go away. But healthy skin is built from the inside, and giving it the right nutrients is one part of the puzzle you can control.
Looking after your horse’s skin isn’t just about what goes on it. It’s also about what goes in.
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