How do you get rid of horse itching, dusty skin, and keep flies away?

[Tsavo]

A giant bottle of mouthwash.

The next day it looks like a grey coating. Brush it off and the coat looks great. And no itching.

[Tsavo]

That says 500 mL. I used the 1 liter size.

I think mouthwash is what got my horse into reining.

[Red's Mom]

It keeps the flies away too?

[Tsavo]

It seemed to for several days. I think it is the minty freshness. ☺

I have not seen my horse itch himself any where the mouthwash was applied. I have seen him try to itch behind his ears so I will get more mouthwash if I see him continue that.

My horse has never had skin flaking like that before last month. I have owned him for almost 13 years and his coat is always very shiny and never a problem before last month. Makes no sense.

[PaulaO]

Do you mix this with water or use straight?

[Tsavo]

Straight. One liter did the body minus neck. Other than that scratching behind his ears which I haven't seen again without applying mouthwash, I have not seen him scratch a single time on his body where the mouthwash was applied. This is a horse I put on colic watch because he suddenly became concerned about his flanks. It was never colic... It was itching that only appeared recently this year for some reason. The gnats are pretty bad... Might be related.