Dear Ponykins is mildly allergic to noseeums and is typically well-managed with a very low dose of tri-hist. Unfortunately, tri-hist seems to be backordered everywhere. Pony won’t eat Anihist. Any thoughts on other options? My vet’s only solution is to inject steroids, but my guy is so very sensitive I’m afraid to overload him. His allergies are really quite mild, but I hate to seem him itchy-especially with his thin skin. Any thoughts on other options?
You should ask your vet about hydroxyzine. It’s also an antihistamine.
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Yup, hydroxyzine or ask your vet about benadryl. That’s what my vet has suggested and I have used for several years. Helps break the itch cycle and is super cheap if you buy the big jar at Sam’s Club. I have one pony with sweet itch. It doesn’t totally control the lesions from forming, but sure keeps him from rubbing himself raw constantly.
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I’ve had my allergy boy on benadryl from spring to fall for several years now. He used to rub gashes into himself from bug bites. It has worked great. Amazon is another very cheap source.
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I always get suspicious now when a reasonably priced medication we’ve all used for years is “back-ordered.” Seems like if it comes back it is often radically more expensive, sometimes because the manufacturer has changed… I hope that doesn’t happen to Tri-hist. I do know a couple of people who have used Benadryl (diphenhydramine is the generic name) quite successfully.
I use aspirin for the thin skinned horses when the no see ums arrive. Seems to work better for me than antihistimines.
Ask your vet about Zyrtec. I have had very good luck with that.
My vet gave me hydroxyzine and explained that Tri-Hist was being used to make methamphetamine. Turns out that one of the ingredients in Tri-Hist is pseudoephedrine which can be used to make methamphetamine by removing the hydroxyl group. Lots more pseudoephedrine in Tri-Hist than in typical human preparations.
Thus is it now easier to obtain meth than it is to buy iodine, Tri-Hist, Sudafed, etc. The iodine connection is that it’s one of the reagents used in one of the preparations of methamphetamine from pseudoephedrine.
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Totally off subject, but your comment is interesting. I take an aspirin sometimes when I can’t sleep and it works great. I wonder what the pharmacalogical reason that aspirin helps in both cases is. Basic product, lots of uses.
Hydroxyzine is a great antihistamine so definitely a good one to try. Re: Trihist off the market, it figures, good products that help get pulled because losers misuse them. Makes me wonder what is being done with Pentosan Eq and NexHA too.
I used to use Tri Hist for mild allergic reactions also, but when I ran out, my vet prescribed Dexamethsone.
He gave me ‘single serve’ packets to keep on hand for problems in the future.
I tried generic Zyrtec this year for my horse’s allergies. So far so good! I think I found info on it here on the BB. I tried over the counter from Costco first, right in the feed. They are small and dissolve quickly. Now I’ve been getting it by the jar from my vet.
Another vote for Zyrtec. Generic from Costco is pretty cheap. My horse hated the taste of benadryl and it didn’t work nearly as well as Zyrtec
Thank you everyone for the ideas! I’ll call my vet in the morning to ask about hydroxyl Inez and Zyrtec. Zyrtec would be so easy as I have a ton around the house (I’m allergic to my horse!).
As for asprin, I asked my brother, the pharmacologist. He says that asprin is an anti-inflammatory and allergies cause inflammation ergo, asprin may reduce the effects.
Zyrtec (cetrizine) is a metabolite of hydroxyzine. Their structures are very similar, with the carboxylic acid in the former being replaced by an alcohol in the latter. Hydroxyzine is a first-generation antihistamine (likelier to cause drowsiness) whereas Zyrtec is second-generation.
Tri-Hist is a mixture of the pseudoephedrine and pyrilamine maleate, neither of which is structurally similar to Zyrtec/hydroxyzine.
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Yep, the druggies are ruining it for us. Actually I couldn’t use it anyway since my pony’s allergies are triggered by corn. His meds were making it worse. Vet just had me get Sudafed and wrote me a prescription for pseudoephedrine. I kept Sudafed on hand in case I couldn’t get the script for some reason. They called my vet and everything to verify, I had to give a copy of my drivers license and answer questions about drug use. I always got treated kinda suspicious picking it up. Worked fine.
I’ll add another vote for Benadryl. Check with your vet, but I’ve had great luck with it. It’s readily available, the tablets (not capsules) are small enough that even my insanely picky eater will eat them without noticing, and it’s considerably cheaper than Zyrtec. I never had much luck with Tri-Hist, either from a palatability or effectiveness standpoint.
My horse has allergies and rubs his eyes - many times he has scratched his cornea. TriHist and Equishield SA Powder was recommended by my vet.
Another vote for zyrtec, my vet recommended too. Also, for inflammation relieve, Omega oils are amazing. I feed Omega Nibblers as treats and supplement with a Vitamin E and Omega 3, 6 and 9 powder. My mare had chronic inflammation from untreated heaves and the omega supplements really helped keep everything in check. She also has a killer coat now 
I have one with a gnat allergy. i’ve had great success switching from Hydroxyzine to Platinum Performance skin and allergy. start early to build up histamines. i believe they get it in am and pm feed. I also use cosmetic grade neem oil bought on amazon.com to cover the midline area as well as ears and face (typical itchy spots). I’d say my horse was 90% better with that regimine vs. the steroids. I made the switch because usef requires a withdrawal from hydroxyzine and a med report.
How much sudafed do you administer to a horse? Hydrox hasn’t been that great for my mare. She has heaves, but she’s so much worse when corn is pollinating. Usually, dex ha’s the best result, but I world think that sudafed would be better as far as treating the trigger instead of the condition.
