Hives, Itchy Skin-- allergy shots? supplements?

[blob99]

Hi All,

I have a horse who gets allergies during summer. I’m down in the south, so unfortunately our ‘summer’ is often March – September.

She gets hives all along her shoulders and is constantly itchy. She spends much of her time rubbing herself against whatever she can and it’s not unusual for her to end up rubbed raw. A lot of diligence on my part can keep her from looking too bad, but it doesn’t stop the fact that she’s itchy and probably not very comfortable.

Dex clears up her allergies, but obviously that’s not a long term solution. So, I’d like to find something that helps her stay more comfortable in the warmer months.

I’ve tried various supplements–coat supplements, omegas, vitamin E, spirulina, immune support supplements–with varying degrees of success. The spirulina seemed the most promising (I tried it last year), but it only seemed to make a difference for half the summer.

I’ve asked my vet about allergy shots but she seems convinced that they’re not effective.

So, curious to hear what kind of experiences people have had with allergy shots and/or if there are feed through treatments that have been effective.

[cnd8]

I have never had to do this personally, but there are a couple horses where I board that receive vetalog injections occasionally during the summer. We are in South Georgia and the summer produces all kinds of nasty effects in the horses. LOL

My guy occasionally gets hives in summer, but I do nothing and they go away in a day or two.

[blob99]

Vetalog and dex work, but keeping a horse on steroids for half the year has too many long term side effects, especially for horses that could be IR.

My mare isn’t IR currently, but she has a lot of draft blood and is a robust girl, so anything that increases risk of founder or cushings isn’t worth the risk.

[BlueDrifter]

zinc?

[CatPS]

We used a homeopathic remedy, Urtica urens, for my horse one summer as a last-ditch effort. And it worked! He got 10 of the pellets in his feed twice per day. This was prescribed by our vet. I was a major skeptic, but with an elderly Cushings horse who would get hives as soon as we stopped dex/banamine, I was willing to try it.

[stressgirl37]

My mare is sensitive to fly bites- she will rub, and sometimes get welts and really is miserable. Unfortunately, where I live this lasts about 6-7 months. From about April/May she is covered with a fly sheet with neck cover. When she gets miserable, I start her on diphenhydramine (generic Benedryl) twice a day. 1 tab per 100 pounds, per vet.

[Peggy]

Some combination of allergy testing/shots and flax with extra DHA helped my horse. I only had to resort to the hydroxyzine a few times last summer, whereas the previous summer he was on it a lot and got a Vetalog shot when he was rubbing himself raw.

[CatPS]

You could also try MSM… it has an overall anti-inflammatory effect, not just on joints.

[CanteringCarrot]

I have a horse with allergies of the respiratory variety, so a little bit different, but some management is the same. I have MSM and flax (oil or seed form, depends on the time of year) in his diet. When he has flare ups I treat with a brochodilator and steroid via nebulizer. I agree that long term usage of steroids is not so good.

Would something like Zyrtec help? I have read about people having some success with adding Zyrtec into their horses allergy management.

An allergy test followed by allergy shots can work in some cases. I have not done allergy shots yet, as my horse’s condition is managed ok thus far. However, my vet did say that success could be had with the shots depending on the allergy and the horse, really. Results can vary, but for some of his allergens, the success rate is high.

[blob99]

@CatPS

You could also try MSM… it has an overall anti-inflammatory effect, not just on joints.

Ah, yes, I should have specified that she is on MSM. Her current supplements are:

Flax
MSM
Smart Immune (vit E, vit C, lysine, and grapeseed)

Last year I started spirulina in February, it seemed to keep her hives much better than normal until July and then everything was full blown as usual. And it’s possible the first half was better for reasons other than the spirulina, hard to tell.

[Mango20]

My vet had me use Zyrtec, or more specifically the way cheaper generic Zyrtec, for a bout of hives my pony had. Being a pony, she didn’t want to use dex due to increased laminitis risk. I’m not sure if that’s something you can use long-term as a preventative in horses, but it would be worth asking. The generic is rather cheap.

[blob99]

@Mango20

My vet had me use Zyrtec, or more specifically the way cheaper generic Zyrtec, for a bout of hives my pony had. Being a pony, she didn’t want to use dex due to increased laminitis risk. I’m not sure if that’s something you can use long-term as a preventative in horses, but it would be worth asking. The generic is rather cheap.

Thanks, yes, I will ask about long term use. I’ve used zyrtec or benadryl per vet’s instructions for acute flair-ups with her and other horses, but not sure about long term. I know people use zyrtec long term, so perhaps it’s safe for horses as well.

[Jungle_Monkey]

Do you have an idea about what she’s actually allergic to? Fly bites? Fly sprays? Accumulation of sweat and crud? Pollens? Dusts? Molds? Etc? Does she get any food with soy in it?

[pAin_t_Misbehavin]

Big success with allergy shots.
When my horse came to me, his owner told me he had sweet itch or possibly neck threadworms, as he would rub his mane out every summer.
Where I live we have four seasons: fixin’ to be summer; summer; still summer; and Christmas.
So my vet allergy-tested him. He is allergic to cullicoides, but more so to cedar pollen and other types of pollen.
I put him on the allergy shots, and he hasn’t rubbed a single hair since. This will be the third year I’ve had him.

[licketysplit]

I am in Florida and one of mine has severe allergies. I had him allergy tested to determine what is was. This was majorly helpful and we identified gnats which are prevalent here. I did do the allergy shots which improved him about 60%. I still have to stop what is biting him though and I have found Ecovet bug spray is amazing with gnats. In addition I apply MTG DAILY to his itchy spots. This combo has been a game changer for him. He has gone from no mane or tail and a bloody belly and sheath to about 98% cleared up.

[blob99]

Thanks, all. I will ask my vet to do allergy testing and then push forward with shots. Even if she thinks they are not very effective, I’m happy to give a shot for 60% improvement, even 50% improvement, I’m also willing to give a shot just in hopes that it works.

We know she is allergic to flies, but she is definitely allergic to something beyond just flies, so the testing will be useful.

Like many of you, I’m also in the south, so summer is long and hot and there are bugs and wetness galore. Luckily other than her hives and itchiness, her coat stays alright and she’s not prone to rain rot or sweet itch or other skin things on top of her allergies.

[mmeqcenter]

Antihistamines? I keep Hydroxyzine HCl on hand, my mare has random outbursts of hives once or twice per year, and a swollen eye (just one!) at the start of every fall. She did this in both Ohio and now in Florida.

[chipper2128]

We had a 10 yo gelding who was allergy tested (blood test) and then continued on allergy shots for about three years until we lost him to colic. We also tried various supplements, topicals etc. I think the allergy shots did help some. But when talking with various Vets and other horse owners, I found that the consensus was that skin tests (prick test) are more accurate than the blood work test (although they are more expensive). And you need to find a dermatologist vet to do them. I was also told by the company that I got my shots from that I needed to redo the test about every 5 years.

I also think that we had improvement using the Platinum Performance Skin and Allergy supplement during the warm months. I still use this for my current horses in the summer to help with summer bug bites, gnats etc.

[blob99]

@chipper2128

We had a 10 yo gelding who was allergy tested (blood test) and then continued on allergy shots for about three years until we lost him to colic. We also tried various supplements, topicals etc. I think the allergy shots did help some. But when talking with various Vets and other horse owners, I found that the consensus was that skin tests (prick test) are more accurate than the blood work test (although they are more expensive). And you need to find a dermatologist vet to do them. I was also told by the company that I got my shots from that I needed to redo the test about every 5 years.

I also think that we had improvement using the Platinum Performance Skin and Allergy supplement during the warm months. I still use this for my current horses in the summer to help with summer bug bites, gnats etc.

This makes sense, since skin prick tests are more accurate in people. Unfortunately, I think doing one successfully on my mare will be difficult. One of the things she is allergic to is needles themselves and so giving her more than one prick at a time is not only very difficult, but any needle that is not an IV injection, comes with a very large swelling that will last for over a week. Because of this her vaccines are given as a cocktail so she only has one injection site and is always followed by a mini-vacation from work (swelling size varies from grapefruit to basketball). So i imagine a prick test would be a nightmare, leaving her covered in large bumps.

[PNWjumper]

I have a pony that gets really itchy in the summer. I’ve tried a lot of different things with no success (including doing the whole double worming thing in case it’s due to neck threadworms). The only thing that’s helped so far has been adding a supplement made by T.H.E. Equine Edge called Allergy Formula. I don’t think it’s advertised or on their website, but the Equine Edge rep/trainer I work with was the one who suggested it. I fed it at double the suggested rate and it made a big difference with this pony. I’m not sure what ingredients make the difference, but something sure does!