In itchy horse hell--what beyond zyrtec?

[Simkie]

This has been such a tough year with the heat and humidity. Even my horses who usually aren’t itchy are rubbing and the itchy horse is miserable.

She’s on zyrtec, spirulina, flax. We tried hydroxyzine and that was 100% a no go for her. I’d really like to keep her off steroids, but we might be getting to that point.

Can any of the other human anti histamines be used in horses? Are they any better? Or just different? She’s been on zyrtec since late April.

(She also gets sprayed and fly booted and hosed and washed and has a fan, etc etc etc. She definitely is allergic to the gnats, but bugs in general just LOVE her more than any of my others )

[Jackie_amp_Starlette]

Diphenhydramine, commonly known as Benadryl.

[Simkie]

I thought we weren’t using benadryl in horses anymore since study has shown it’s not absorbed.

Pharmacokinetics of diphenhydramine following single-dose intravenous and...

“The main conclusion of our study was that oral diphenhydramine at doses up to 5 mg/kg are unlikely to achieve therapeutic plasma levels in adult horses.”

I mean I can give it a try but I hate to discontinue something that is probably doing something for something that’s not likely to do anything

[EmilyM]

the only way I got over the hump with a very severely allergic horse was getting allergy serums and using zyrtec on top.

Allergy treatment for Horses | Nextmune

[Simkie]

That’s great to hear it’s worked for your horse! I think we’re looking to do this once we’re through this season and things have calmed down. I don’t think we can start when she’s so reactive?

Can I ask about how much it cost you?

[EmilyM]

I honestly don’t remember, but i want to say the maintenance vials were about $350 and last about 9 months??

[danacat]

Wish I had a solution to share. All of mine are itchy as well. I coat their bellys, sheath areas etc. with all sorts of goop to no avail. Nightmare summer.

[Simkie]

God I know, right? I do the same, use zinc oxide as a protective barrier on the midline…this one goes out, and immediately lies down to itch her belly on the ground. Just…come on girlfriend, I’m trying to help here. It’ll help you itch less if you leave it on

[luvmyhackney]

If she can have steroids, Dex to get it under control and then a Zyrtec/ Benadryl combo to maintain.

I’ve been doing a vinegar rinse and it’s helping a tiny bit.

Belly lines are getting eaten alive and anywhere that doesn’t have hair.

[2DogsFarm]

I used a topical benadryl gel, seemed to give some relief. But it was pricy & I couldn’t find anything larger than 3oz, which did not last long.

Currently using 1.5% hydrocortisone ointment I get in a 4-pack of 2.5oz tubes at Sam’s Club for just under $8.
Helps with the itchiness & flies seem to avoid where the ointment goes.
Horse also gets 100mg generic zyrtec twice a day.
In rhe past, only his neck & under his jaw were affected. This year cannons, midline & chest also have itchy hives.

[Jackie_amp_Starlette]

I did not know that - I see a lot of people posting across different boards to use it. I just had good luck with it - my gelding got hives (?) from the heat/humidity and a swollen sheath from bugs or just fluid, and I put him on it for three days and it’s all cleared up. I did slather his sheath with zinc oxide, too. It may be coincidence, or maybe it helped.

It could be like many drugs - sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t, depends on the animal’s (or human’s) system.

[luvmyhackney]

It worked for my pony when he got stung by a bees on his butt.

Vet advised me to give as he can’t do steroids.

[danacat]

I think the key to the whole thing is put goop on way early in the spring before the midline itchyness even starts – and then don’t stop – once you skip and they get itchy and start rubbing it off, it’s all over! Vicious circle.

Mine have no crusties or itchy spots under there (I tried to be consistent / zinc oxide etc.) and they are still rubbing their bellies out of habit. Can’t win.

One of my guys relentlessly backs up into me for scratches to the point that he’s almost running backwards chasing after me – I can only scratch for so long!

[horseshorseshorseshorses]

I work at an equine vet clinic but I am not a vet.

Dex will get the itching under control but can cause a laminitis and other issues. You can talk to your vet about SA powder or Trihist. Allergies testing to make custom shots help lots of horses here. We do give Benadryl but Zertec seems to be the preferred perception.

[Simkie]

@danacat

I think the key to the whole thing is put goop on way early in the spring before the midline itchyness even starts – and then don’t stop – once you skip and they get itchy and start rubbing it off, it’s all over! Vicious circle.

Mine have no crusties or itchy spots under there (I tried to be consistent / zinc oxide etc.) and they are still rubbing their bellies out of habit. Can’t win.

I thought I was consistent Thankfully she’s not raw on her belly, just bare. Maybe it’s just habit like your guys. But she’s just soooo itchy in general, everywhere. I watch her rub the whole length of her body on the fence and just sigh.

@luvmyhackney

If she can have steroids, Dex to get it under control and then a Zyrtec/ Benadryl combo to maintain.

I’d reaaaaaally prefer to not go to steroids with this one but we might get there. What’s your combo dosing rate? I thought it was either/or, never both.

I bathe in the vetrolin shampoo, and that does seem to help cool things down. She’s hosed pretty much every night and bathed 2-3 times a week at this point. It’s so damned hot and humid and they get so sweaty and sticky. I think it helps a little to get the sweat (and any bug spit) off.

Very interesting to hear all the reports of success with benadryl. I really stopped using it awhile ago. Maybe we’ll give that a shot.

I also ran across this study: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11830450/

And levocetirizine looks awfully promising there. It’s Xyzal, with a generic available for cheap. Anyone tried it? Kinda tempted. It’s the active enantiomer of cetirizine (zyrtec), related to it in the same way esomerazole (nexium) is related to omeprazole (gastrogard)…

[luvmyhackney]

@Simkie

What’s your combo dosing rate?

Wasn’t together per se but dose of one in the AM and Dose of the other at night. We did Zyrtec at night and Benadryl during the day. I don’t remember exact doses. You aren’t supposed to mix, but it was either that or put the pony in a bubble. Then we did allergy shots and so far no repeat issues.

It did help.

[Pico_Banana]

FWIW, I use both Zyrtec and Benadryl on myself. One Zyrtec in the morning, two Benadryl in the evening.

[add_leg]

You can use Apoquel on horses and we’ve seen it done successfully but it is not cheap at horse doses. They have a horse-specific one coming to market soon, but right now they can use the dog version.

[Displaced_Yankee]

@Simkie

I bathe in the vetrolin shampoo, and that does seem to help cool things down.

Have you considered something designed more for the itch to get some more immediate, if only topical relief?

I like the E3 Tea Tree Oil shampoo or the EQyss Microtek Medicated shampoo (although I try to reserve the latter for true skin issues). Others swear by the Equiderma Shampoo OR Coat Defense shampoo.

I do my itchy boy about every 10 days in the sticky hot weather and it really helps. I let him dry, goop his midline, legs and ears with tea tree salve, fly boots, fly mask and away with your bad self. I

[GraceLikeRain]

It’s insanely expensive to test out though with the loading dose. I explicitly willed myself to forget how much we spend last summer doing the loading dose and then thirty days but I’m sure I could have done an updated allergy panel and a year of shots for cheaper. It was so so expensive and 100% ineffective for mine. Zyrtec was more effective although she’s blown through that and hydroxyzine and steroids. We are only doing topical manage with a stall plus sheet with belly band at night this year and it’s actually our best summer so far.