Horse Allergy Treatment and Prevention

Just like humans, horses can have a number of different types of allergies. The most common types of allergies are respiratory and skin horse. Respiratory allergies are also known as "up" and is often similar to asthma in people.

A horse may be allergic to things in the air (eg pollen, dust, mold spores), certain foods or nutritional supplements, or insect bites. Typically, allergies are developed over time with exposure. For example, a horse may not have an allergy to straw but if exposed to moldy straw for a long period of time can develop an allergy to the mold from the chaff.


Symptoms

Just as people can have many different allergic symptoms (eyes or itchy skin, bumps or rashes, difficulty breathing), horses can have a variety of symptoms as well. Common symptoms in horses include:

    * Coughing or difficulty breathing
    * Reduced energy, especially during exercise
    * Nasal discharge
    * Watery eyes
    * Skin Bumps
    * Itchy skin. The horse can be seen rubbing himself on the ground or into objects, or your hair can be used where it has been rubbed away.

Unfortunately, it can be difficult to diagnose an allergy, as each of these symptoms can have other causes, apart from allergies. For example, an infection of the throat can cause coughing, or a lung infection could lead to difficulty breathing and decreased energy. Diagnosis is further complicated by the fact that there may be a delayed reaction between exposure and visible reaction. For example, symptoms of skin allergies (eg bumps) may appear 12 hours after exposure to the allergen (the substance the horse is allergic). Therefore, one may need veterinary help determine whether symptoms are due to an allergy or someone?? No other cause. (Particularly in the case of skin allergies) the veterinarian can sometimes collect a tissue sample for analysis to determine if the problem is an allergy and if so help identify the cause.

Treatment and control

The treatment of horses for allergies is similar to treatment for people. The preferred treatment is avoidance. In the exhibition, there are a number of treatments (eg antihistamines or corticosteroids) to reduce symptoms and make the horse more comfortable. There are also a number of desensitization treatments.

, If symptoms are not severe, one can separate the horse alternately allergen and allowing you to recover normally. If the horse is allergic to something in the stable (eg dust, fungus, mold), one can let it out to graze until you've had time to recover and one has had time to clean the barn. , If the problem is on the grass (a plant), a horse can be placed alternately in a barn until it recovers.

Depending on what the horse is allergic, some common solutions are:

    * Powder hay. Try soaking hay in water or find a supplier of less dusty hay. If this does not work, you may need to change to an alternative food, such as grain hay.
    * Dust from the chaff. Try lightly spraying the straw with water to dampen down the dust.
    * Powder. Keep the barn clean. If necessary, sprinkle lightly with water to dampen down the dust.
    * Bed. If the horse is allergic to your bed, you can try another type of bed. You may also want to consider rubber mats instead of beds.
    * Insects. You can keep the horse barn when insects are active (eg during the day) and let him out when inactive (eg at night). One can also use insect repellents or sheets to keep the insects fly off.
    * Mold or fungus. This is normally associated with hay, food or poor quality bed. Do not buy any products with mold or fungus. Keep these products a dry and well - ventilated area without sitting on a cold floor, so they do not develop mold or fungus. If you find any product with the mold / fungus, but have not used it instead.
    * Plants. If your horses are allergic to certain plants in the pasture, they should be reduced or eliminated. Be careful of using herbicides for this purpose as it can lead to laminitis.

Note that in the case of hay or straw watered, one must ensure that the hay and straw is changed daily so you do not have time to develop mold or fungus.

Cleaning a stall tends to disturb the dust, mold, fungi and other potential allergens. Therefore, one should always remove a horse from the barn while being cleaned and for some time afterwards (until things have had time to move again).

Normally, a well - ventilated stable allergens will have little stuffy. However, in the case of a dust allergy, increased ventilation can make the situation worse (at least in the short term) as the wind increased through the barn may raise dust.