Ideas for treating horse allergy? (respiratory)?

Question

My horse began coughing intermittently. Like two times a week. Tempature Normal, no hives, etc. Then overnight she began to run a 104.5 fever and had really cruddy sounding lungs. My vet hospitalized her for IV antibiotics for a week. His opinion was that she has allergies. She's home now under very careful care and although her temp remains normal, she just isn't acting like she's back to normal. Has anyone had any luck with a ongoing supplement to keep her allergies at bay, or else better?

Answer 1

Wet hay. Don't use shavings or sawdust for bedding and try a nose net in the field.

Apparently garlic can be helpful

Good luck.

Answer 2

Did your vet suggest doing sensitivity testing to see just what allergens were causing the allergy?  That way, you can try to take steps to minimize your horse's exposure to the allergens.  Hay dust is a very common problem.  Is this horse stalled at night?  Is the hay stored in the barn?  If so, I would try to see about 24/7 turn out.  We had a similar situation with one of my geldings, and the vet asked me if I had a good reason for keeping him in at night.  I thought, and told him "Nooo...don't guess so..."  and he told me to "Throw his fat black a^^ outside."  Made a huge difference for him.  Soaking the hay helps as well.  As far as medications, you can ask your vet about trying Tri-Hist, and if that doesn't help, ask your vet about ventipulmin.  It's a bit pricey, but it sure helps a lot of the time with respiratory issues.

Answer 3

Have you ruled out a sensitivity to hay dust?  That is quite common and will start with just a cough before moving on to a complete and sometimes very serious respiratory infection.  You can get around that by wetting down the hay, using hay cubes, or replacing some of the hay with beet pulp.

Answer 4

There are many products on the market for Equine Allergies. Many are available from your vet but some are "Over The Counter".

I've used Ani-Hist in the past for two of our mares with spring pollen allergies and it really seemed to help. Has an expectorant (Guaifenesin, same as Mucinex, Robitussin ect for humans) as well as an antihistamine (Pyrilamine Malealte)

http://www.jeffersequine.com/ssc/product...

It's non-prescription and actually pretty cost effective. One canister usually costs around $15.00 and lasts for roughly a month.