Hives

[cheval_convert]

My 15 year old gelding has been dealing with hives for over 2 months. For the most part, these hives are about the size of a quarter when they are on his body. His muzzle and forhead become an oozy mess. we have tried benadryl to control it but with no luck. The vet put him on a 2 week course of dex along with a different antihistamine. He started with a large dose of dex (5 pills per day) and gradually reduced down to one a day. During this time, the hives were gone and he seemed normal. After 5 days of only one pill per day, he started getting his bumpies again. 4 days later and he is again covered in hives and his face is like an open weeping sore. I have been bathing him with a medicated shampoo that the vet gave me and using betagen on all of the bumps. The vet came today and drew blood for an allergy test and started him on 2 pill of dex per day until we hear back from her. I am not thrilled with the amount of dex he has been on since it can cause laminitis. Have any of you dealt with a horse whose hives become weeping sores and if so, what did you do about it? (My football player, rugged horse has become a hothouse flower…sigh.)

I should mention that this is the 3rd year in a row that he has had hives but in the past benadryl solved the problem. He has been at the current barn since January and there has been no change to his food or shavings since moving him here.

[mmeqcenter]

What about trying a fly sheet 24/7 in case it’s a reaction to bug bites? Idk where you are but here this fall has been AWFUL with the flies and gnats. Two horses a few weeks ago on my farm had huge welts from some kind of bug bites, maybe horse flies or something. One has a history of hives and swollen eyes from allergies in the fall, but the other one has zero history of any health issues.

It is possible he has developed a new allergy to a food substance, or bedding.

I believe apple cider vinegar baths are supposed to help with hives, but maybe confirm with your vet on that.

[mmeqcenter]

What about trying a fly sheet 24/7 in case it’s a reaction to bug bites? Idk where you are but here this fall has been AWFUL with the flies and gnats. Two horses a few weeks ago on my farm had huge welts from some kind of bug bites, maybe horse flies or something. One has a history of hives and swollen eyes from allergies in the fall, but the other one has zero history of any health issues.
Another horse has had a persistent cough for months. Cough suppressants or antihistamines work for a week or two, then it comes back. He had a minor cough last year too but it went away after one treatment with antihistamines. It appears to be a bad year for allergens in general.

It is possible he has developed a new allergy to a food substance, or bedding.

I believe apple cider vinegar baths are supposed to help with hives, but maybe confirm with your vet on that.

[cheval_convert]

I don’t believe it is flies or bugs. I’m in the Northeast and at this point the my horse is going out in a rain sheet because of the night time temperatures. I have used a fly sheet but it didn’t help.

I can try the apple cider vinegar on some of his less weepy hives to see if that works. Thank you for the suggestion.

[danacat]

One of my horses (now over the rainbow bridge) got bad cases of hives regularly. Turns out he was very allergic to shavings / something in the shavings (drying agent or some chemical ??? – not sure what exactly) Hives were caused by no particular brand – it was hit or miss.

Anyway, I began bedding him on straw and he never got hives again.

[cheval_convert]

We have had to increase the dex to 3 pill per day and add banamine. Waiting on allergy test to see if that reveals the problem. This definitely has me worried.

[Renn_aissance]

When this has happened before, was it around the same time of year? That may give you insight into the trigger.

My guy has a skin allergy to something either in the soil or in his pasture that seems to be activated by a combination of temps in the 50’s and 60’s and rain or dampness. If unmedicated, he breaks out in hives all over his body, and when the case is particularly bad, when the hives recede, he’s left with skin crud- looks like scratches, but his skin is very tender, and it appears to be flaking off. Happens like clockwork twice a year in spring and fall rains if I don’t get him on his Zyrtec on time. One of his fieldmates has a less dramatic version of the same reaction but we haven’t been able to figure out what is causing it for either horse.

Benadryl was not effective for my horse. If he lives on Zyrtec (100mg BID) he’s usually fine. He’s had a couple of episodes that needed a little more help, either with Banamine or a day or two of dex, and one fun case where he grew collagen into a hive and now has a permanent lump (which I had never heard of before…) I agree with you that prolonged dex use can be a worry, but does your guy have a condition that would predispose him to a problem, and is your vet concerned?

[dearsalter]

My gelding gets hives pretty consistently this time of year; I’m in Northern CA and it’s always reliably dusty and dry (meaning both of us need a few tissues at the end of the day — he gets fragrance-free baby wipes and I get Kleenex, LOL). He gets a good rinse after nearly every ride, but if he’s had a few days off or has gotten extra dusty in turnout, and the hives resurface, I am sure to hose him down thoroughly and that usually resolves things within 12-24 hours.

It sounds like your horse’s are a more serious case, but maybe adding rinsing to the mix (if reasonable for you to do so wherever you are) will help provide some relief along with the rest of his care. Good luck! I hope he’s feeling better soon.

[OverandOnward]

I have an OTTB gelding that is constantly subject to hives and skin irritation, apparently from fungus. It is most prevalent where he sweats on the neck where it joins the shoulder, on his lower chest and on his side behind the elbow (the girth area). He can get it anywhere, but the sweaty areas are by far the most prone and have it year round. The worse the outbreak is, the worse the hives will be. We have warm winters with occasional cold spells so this is a year-round problem, but it’s definitely much worse and more widespread on his body in the summer.

This year was the best summer ever for the condition. The least noticeable, least widespread on his body, and very little signs of itching.

In addition to benadryl and the vet prescription, I have adopted a strict routine to control the fungus that we assume is the cause. He gets an antibacterial bath every time I’m at the barn (4x week, sometimes more) with a soft scrubber for the places where the skin is showing the most reaction. He keeps the soap on for at least 10 minutes before rinsing. (I put him in a small paddock to graze for the duration.)

Then I’ve been applying Equiderma skin lotion to the areas where it is obvious. It has worked famously (I was using it before I started the bath routine). As the weather has become cooler and the problem less acute, I’ve just use the Equiderma spray on all of him.

For the bath, I mix betadine with regular horse soap for the most affected areas, and as mentioned above it stays on for 10 minutes.

The leftover soap mix I use on the brush and curries I used to groom him before the ride. These are also soaked and then allowed to sit for at least 10 minutes. I think this has helped a great deal, as this is the first year I’ve done that, and the first year that the fungus has stayed contained in the sweatiest areas, and not been scattered all over his body.

And, for preventative measures I make sure to thoroughly soap-wash & rinse between his legs and under his tail - ALL of the cracks and crevices, no part of skin is left to its own devices. Since I started doing that he has not had sweet itch problems. I have a special soft wash rag used for only those areas and he’s cooperative (once he got the idea). There is no reason to worry “will it dry” because horses are easily able to spread their back legs and allow plenty of air up in there. They just don’t often do it for us to see, but they stand in a more relaxed way when they aren’t dealing with us humans. My gelding has become accustomed to the routine, and especially if he’s been feeling a bit itchy, he will open up his stance in back and allow me to wash and rinse everything and let the air in to dry it.

In my case I assume “fungus” because of photos & internet research, and feedback of what it “most probably is” from vets and experienced horse people. It can be difficult to accurately test for allergies. If a treatment works, go with it, has been the recommendation I’ve rec’d.

[Pally]

What I’ve learned about allergies (largely from a bumpy horse’s test results) is that allergies don’t work so much like a circuit board of on/off switches, with each allergen being able to “flip on” a reaction. Rather it’s like a bucket that gets filled with allergens. Put enough allergens (considering both type and exposure level) into the bucket and it will “suddenly” overflow…aka we see the reaction.

So in your horse’s case this is the third year you’ve had allergy issues at (if I’m reading it right) the same time of year. Suggests an environmental allergen of some sort. However, it’s worse this year. Grain and shavings may not have changed since January but they have perhaps changed since this time last year. It’s possible there’s something in there that’s keeping the bucket at a steady, say, 3/4 full as compared to only 1/2 at the old barn. So now your fall-induced overflow is just bigger than before. Anyway, this is just speculating… I think your allergy test will help a lot.

For the bumpy horse I mentioned above, we knew shavings were a factor, but it wasn’t consistent enough to “that’s it that’s all!” so an allergy test was done. Pine came back just moderate, along with a few environmental things. Rice was super high, along with a couple other common feed ingredients being moderate. Well, indeed there had been a feed change a couple months prior (and new feed had rice bran). He didn’t react to the feed immediately or directly but it sensitized his system enough that the fluffy shavings beds and fly sprays and what not produced the hives eventually. Changed his feed and he was completely able to cope with the environmental side.

[Peggy]

Ditto what Pally said. Which is why removing some of the allergens from a horse’s environment can make a difference, even if you don’t or can’t remove all of them. So even if the test isn’t super accurate it may enable you to remove enough or use the shots to mitigate some.

[cheval_convert]

Thank you to everyone who took the time to respond to my plea for help.

Dearsalter, we were bathing fairly regularly (thank goodness for having a leaser who treats him better than I do!) but as the temperatures have begun to drop it will become more difficult to bathe him with any regularity.

Pally, l had not thought of an allegen trigger that way. Once we get the results of the allergy test I’ll see if there is anything in his environment that we can control and then see if that solves the problem. (I suspect that after a hard frost, some of the naturally occurring alergens will no longer be an issue.) You give me hope that we may be able to avoid a lifetime of shots, or at least limit them to the worst times of the year.

Thanks again, everyone!

[OverandOnward]

@cheval convert

…
Dearsalter, we were bathing fairly regularly (thank goodness for having a leaser who treats him better than I do!) but as the temperatures have begun to drop it will become more difficult to bathe him with any regularity.
…

What you can do in winter - Use a skin lotion with an allergen-killer on the most affected areas. Equiderma skin lotion is good, if a bit expensive. Chlorhexadrine mixed with a skin-friendly oil may do just as well. And, even if you can’t bathe, a wet cloth or wet brush can be used to clear away sweat, dirt, dust and other things that may be irritating to him. And if he’s developing a hot spot, just wash the spot.

That is an interesting analogy to the bucket of allergens. That does sound hopeful, to just keep removing items from the bucket to keep it from overflowing.

[cheval_convert]

So, we had the allergy test and he is allergic to fescue, clover, dandelions, beet pulp, alfalfa, carrots, corn, molasses, and palm trees and other things. He is not allergic to bug bites or dust. We have adjusted his diet to timothy pellets and hay only. We will be adding a ration balancer in the next week or 2.

The vet has given him a steroid shot to see if a monthly shot could be an option. He was off the dex for almost a week and had no hives, however, when I rode him in a lesson on Wednesday, he broke out in hives again. (Great, my horse is allergic to exercise.) I had given him a peppermint and a bite of apple. He is not allergic to apples but since sugar is made from molasses, it could have been the peppermint.

The barn owner also brought up that one of the vets mentioned that the hives could be a sign of ulcers. He doesn’t have any other symptoms but I will be talking to the vet about this possibility. In the meantime, he is seeing a chiropractor/vet on Monday, so I will be talking to her as well.

I am also waiting for a callback from the vet about starting allergy shots for him.

My football player horse has become a hothouse flower

I also want to acknowledge the barn owner, manager and staff - they have been awesome. I have so little time in my life right now, I don’t know what I would do without them. I will forever be grateful to them for all the help they have given me and the care they have given my horse.

[gallop_jump]

Oh man, he’s allergic to all kinds of good things! Hives and allergies are no fun in horses. I’m not sure what the weather was like during his initial reaction this year, but a sudden change in temperatures can sometimes be that last drop in the bucket (at least for humans).

[cheval_convert]

He started with the hives in the heat of the summer. I was hoping that as the fall progressed that they would go away as they have in years past, but that is not to be. He has had 2 shots of depalogue (spelling is wrong but is is a steroid) which seems to bring things under control for a few days but then he starts with an outbreak again. He is allergic to a lot of mold and fungus, but those are things that I cannot really control. (He is in a well-kept barn where the stalls are cleaned daily and then picked out over the course of the day. He also spends about 16 hours per day outside.)

He is now showing signs of ulcers (mildly reactive) so the vet had me start him on aloe juice twice a day. If this doesn’t work, then I will have to go to gastro guard. In the meantime, he begins allergy shots which is more of a long-term solution. I just wish we could find something other than steroids to control the condition until the allergy shots have a chance to work.

[Wyndwolfe]

For the bumps that burst and weep, you might try Cortisone cream (10%). I have found that it works better than Benadryl for some horses. Another thing that I have done, especially in colder weather, is mix baking soda with water, soak towels in it, then heat them in the microwave and give the horse a “spa” treatment - putting the warm towels over the affected areas, and leaving them until they are basically room temp. Wring the towels out before you warm them, so that the horse’s coat does not get wet.

[cheval_convert]

Thank you for the suggestion. I like the idea of the spa treatment.

The vet has given me special antibiotic cream and spray for the sores - she is concerned about the possibility of the sores becoming infected. (I’m concerned, too.)

The serum for the allergy shots arrives tomorrow - here’s hoping it will be a long term fix.

[Hayburner]

My mare did not have hives this summer but she had intense itching that started in late July. We could not control it with Benedryl, Zertec or Hydroxyzine. Had to resort to low dose of Dex.
I tired medicated shampoos and sprays and they did not help either. We had a very hot and dry summer and vet said they saw a lot of this condition.

Had initial blood work for allergies done and she showed little amounts of allergy reaction and what she did react to is not even in my area.

What I have done so far is add Platinum Performance Skin and Allergy supplement, Omega Fields Nibblers for the flax (she won’t eat a lot of powders), Spirulina and DAK oil. Since most of this is recently added i don’t know what will have the biggest impact yet. Tho, fingers crossed I think the Dex is giving her the relief she needed and we are weaning her down over the next few weeks.

[cheval_convert]

I hope weaning her off of Dex works for you. The hives reappear everytime we take him off of the dex. Now he is also on gastroguard because of ulcers. I am very worried about my boy.