I have a 6 yo chestnut ottb, who has started having issues with hives this season. He’s had off an on issues since I got him in March 2014, but only lasted a few days or a week at most. It’s been controlled with prednisone and flax seed. He’s on a limited grain diet consisting of alfalfa cubes, renew gold, flax seed, equine senior, corn oil, smartgut powder and cool calories. He’s out 24/7 on grass and FC Timothy blend as needed due to gastric ulcers in the past…he’s way happier. He gets soaked in deo-lotion and equispot as its the only combo that doesn’t cause more hives. Has any one had any luck with allergy testing or have any ideas?
My mare (grey arabian) was allergy tested in 2013 and the first attempt at immunotherapy (shots) did not go well at all. She was still reacting to a tiny amount of the shot after 18 months, so I stopped and after 6 months restarted SLIT (sublingual immunotherapy). Apparently it’s all the rage for dogs and her dermatologist suggested it since she lives at home and I can be the one to administer it twice a day. It’s just two pumps of liquid into her gum line twice a day. The issue is she’s supposed to not have food in her mouth 10 minutes before and 10 minutes afterwards. Not that big of a deal, especially since unlike the shots - the SLIT is helping her. She’s been on SLIT for just about a year now, and she’s doing much better. She’s not as miserable, not as itchy and is still her cheerful self.
The testing was a learning experience for me (about just how much she’s allergic to!) and not overly expensive. The SLIT is about $350 - $400 for about 5 months supply. I think the testing is well worth it. She always wears a fly sheet with belly band now (never had before) as suggested by her dermatologist since she’s so allergic to many insects and just about every possible pollen out there. She’s also on cetirizine and pentoxifylline (anti-itch), but this year we’ve backed down on both to once a day because the SLIT is helping her so much. And the flax has been a godsend for her as well. She’s not allergic to pyrethrins thankfully, so she uses Freedom Spot on in addition to fly spray.
Good luck - it’s not easy to watch them suffer. I hope you can find the right combination and a good dermatologist will make all the difference.
[QUOTE=syreino;8703367]
My mare (grey arabian) was allergy tested in 2013 and the first attempt at immunotherapy (shots) did not go well at all. She was still reacting to a tiny amount of the shot after 18 months, so I stopped and after 6 months restarted SLIT (sublingual immunotherapy). Apparently it’s all the rage for dogs and her dermatologist suggested it since she lives at home and I can be the one to administer it twice a day. It’s just two pumps of liquid into her gum line twice a day. The issue is she’s supposed to not have food in her mouth 10 minutes before and 10 minutes afterwards. Not that big of a deal, especially since unlike the shots - the SLIT is helping her. She’s been on SLIT for just about a year now, and she’s doing much better. She’s not as miserable, not as itchy and is still her cheerful self.
The testing was a learning experience for me (about just how much she’s allergic to!) and not overly expensive. The SLIT is about $350 - $400 for about 5 months supply. I think the testing is well worth it. She always wears a fly sheet with belly band now (never had before) as suggested by her dermatologist since she’s so allergic to many insects and just about every possible pollen out there. She’s also on cetirizine and pentoxifylline (anti-itch), but this year we’ve backed down on both to once a day because the SLIT is helping her so much. And the flax has been a godsend for her as well. She’s not allergic to pyrethrins thankfully, so she uses Freedom Spot on in addition to fly spray.
Good luck - it’s not easy to watch them suffer. I hope you can find the right combination and a good dermatologist will make all the difference.[/QUOTE]
I have good results with spirulina and the Platinum Performance Equine and Skin and Allergy for my itchy, allergic gelding. He’s been on it for about 9 months. I ran out for two weeks and noticed an increase in his itchiness so it is doing something.
I did do allergy testing (skin prick type) and shots for a horse many years ago. It was covered by insurance, which was good as the initial visit with testing and exam/consult was in the $1,000 range, as I recall. Then the shots were pretty darn cheap – something along the lines of $100 or $150 for each batch and they lasted a couple of months. I did the shots for 2 years, IIRC, and they did help, but the biggest thing for that horse was moving him to a different barn and avoiding the things that really triggered his allergies.
I have a couple of friends that did the blood testing for food allergies and had success with that. For one, it was the only way, after much trial and error, that she could solve the mystery of chronic diarrhea in one horse.
Had the allery testing done at New Bolton, $80. Horse came up allergic to all sorts of foodstuffs. Eliminated them from the diet. Doing allergy serum now (@ $250/bottle which lasts different amounts of time based on the injection schedule). Also on an antihistimine. Symptoms are 100% gone.
Allergy shots have worked well for two horses I have had.
The other thing, more recently, that has worked is colostrum. I have used it with three different horses who were getting rain rot constantly and all three have had it resolved by boosting their immune systems with colostrum. My vet gets it fresh, frozen bovine colostrum.
Thank you so much! I contacted my vet and he has the kit for the skin test that’s done over 24 hours. He said he can provide the testing at cost due to expiring at the end of the year and everything including the 24-36 hour stay at around 400. I have insurance on him, but my broker said it is a catch 22 on submitting or doing on right out at my cost. I’m also worried about creating an exclusion by submitting since the vet is going to give me such a discount. Has anyone had experience with having the testing done at an equine hospital like Morven Park?
I had mine done at New Bolton but did not stay over. I took a photo and read the 48 hour results myself. It’s not that complicated
Also I submitted to insurance and they covered EVERYTHING including 6 months of the serum and didn’t even drop me at the end of the year. My horse is aged and I was sure they would. I do have an exclusion. They could not be more accommodating. My broker is Smith Embry and I can’t say enough good things about them
The thing with insurance is, even if you don’t submit it, you do need to disclose it (that form you fill out every year), so an exclusion is likely, whether you pay for it yourself or not. And like vfx111, my insurance paid for all of it, including serum for the full year. Can’t remember if I had Markel or Great American then, but they were great about it (and of course, excluded allergies the next year, as I knew they would).
Prices have really changed over the years as the costs mentioned here are crazy low compared to when I did mine. I was thinking about timing and that might have been 12 to 15 years ago when I had it done. I had to haul out to an allergy specialist who did all sorts of animals (even worked up at the zoo).
My old girl was on allergy shots for about 5 years (she’s allergic to pretty much everything horses eat AND a whackload of other stuff, eliminating the allergens wasn’t possible) and has been off a few years and has the same level of allergy symptoms as when she was on them (ie little to none).
