My horse has hives, I've had him allergy tested, tried benedryl, and a few other medications...?

Question

My vet prescribed dexamethasone for him, and it does make them go away, but I don't like to keep him on them. They disapeared for a while (four months, or so) and then came back, for no apparent reason. He does not seem to mind having them, they range in size from a dime to large lumps that go all over his body. They don't seem to itch, or pop up for any particular reason. I thought for a long time that he was alergic to a certain type of plant, but I don't believe that's it any more. This has been going on for quite a while, about 2 years. The time of year doesn't seem to affect how many hives he gets, or how severe they are. My vet is stumped, and a few other vets I've talked with are equally unsure. I've been doing some reasearch, and heard about "Cough Free"...does anyone have any suggestions, or any similar cases?

Answer 1

One of my TB's developed hives this summer. There must be something in the field or the atmosphere that is causing it but we have been unable to pinpoint it. He has had blood tests etc and so I just put him on Tri-Hist granules which you can get from your vet and it's fairly inexpensive. It's an anti-histamine similiar in type to Zyrtec or Claritine for humans. It will control the allergy symptoms and prevent the lumps. Just as in humans, it can sometimes be difficult to find the cause and you may just have to accept the fact that you may never know but Tri-Hist will control the symptoms.

Another point to consider is rice bran, this is a major cause of allergies in horses and may be in your feed. You could have had the horse on the same feed for years but it is still possible for them to develop allergies from it. I would check your feed bag labels.

Answer 2

We have a mare out at the ranch I work at with what sounds to be a similar problem. They don't seem to bother her, and they are located on her shoulders and down her legs. The owner and vet tried everything, and they too were stumped. So now, they are just apart of her. The horse is still used for lessons and such. It seems to just be superficial.  

Answer 3

This sounds the same as protein overload. You get a few or broad covering of these. He may be getting too much protein from the grass/clover/lucern. Take note if it is coming after wet weather and a growth spurt in the grass.

To lesson its effect you can keep them off grass till mid day.

Good luck. I did see a remedy to enable the horses to be ridden if around the saddle are - but sorry I can't remember what it was.....

Answer 4

Yeah, a mare at my barn gets those too. Mostly in the warmer months but not always. Finally after all the tests we did similar to yours, we found out that certain bugs she reacted to caused her to break out in hives. Not necessarily an allergy to the bug itself, but to the liquid or the fluid that they sometimes let out when biting.

Make sure certain foods he's eating aren't causing a reaction as well. Also the stall bedding can be a factor. If you use shavings/wood chips your horse may react to the dust in it and it can irritate his skin. Try straw, or grain bedding. Water down his hay if it isn't already. Just minimize the amount of dust he is exposed to because you never know what lurks within it.

Hope I helped a bit. (Keep fly sheets, fly spray, and fly masks to help minmize your bugs as well just in case that is the factor)

Good luck :)

Answer 5

Make sure u get rid of watever is causing it, alergies but im not sure.

it could be something from next property in the wind or a new weed of some sort. even in the water who knows.

Watch out if ur giving him hard feed or anything like that i would stop or cut down at least for a while and see what happens.

If there has been alot of rain there or near by a plant could have come up.

Sometimes the air in the barn contains significant allergins and should be high on your list of possibilities. Turn out into a pasture with a 3 sided shed should be your next step. It may take 3 or 4 weeks before improvement is seen and just brief exposures to the barn air result in symptoms if this is the cause. Also the allergin may be the horse itself, autoimmune disease is not uncommon in horses.

Could be a seasonal thing as well.

Sorry i dont know how to get rid of then but thats some thing u could look out for.

Answer 6

I've had my horse for 6 years and last summer he started getting hives for no apparent reason. They were bad and the vet had to come out and give him a steroid shot so they would go down. Eventually I realized if I sprayed him with anything (fly spray, show sheen, even if I put those medicated fly wraps that sit above the hooves ...) and then he sweat he would break out in hives. He didn't have to sweat a lot, even just standing in the paddock if it was hot out. So now I have to be really careful about that. I had to make my own fly spray with vinegar, water, and like an ounce of regular fly spray and cold hose him off right after I was done working. I stopped using products like show sheen entirely because it's just not worth him getting hives. Try to keep a journal or something about what you do each day and if your horse got hives that day and then look for any similarities that could be the culprits. Good luck with that!