HIVES

[Kelsey - Vandy's Farm]

Hey Everyone,

My stallion, Checkers has hives bad. He had them two days ago. The vet said to give him banamine so I did. It didn't work so he had us pick up a shot of Dex yesterday and said to give banamine for 3 more days. Today he had almost no hives but they came back about 15 min after I gave the banamine. I rinsed him down and that seemed to help some. But, now he is itching like crazy. I'm waiting for the vet to call back. He said he couldn't have anymore Dex because it causes minis to founder. Any ideas? Benedryll? How much? He is about 33", maybe 250lb. He has never had hives before. No change in food. Maybe he got bit by something....

Thanks,

Kelsey

 

[Eagle]

I am not familiar with Dex, is it an anti inflammatory? you could try with antihistamines as it could be an allergic reaction. I would also give him a good bath to wash away any pollen etc. Has his routine or food changed in any way?

 

[LittleRibbie]

do you have fire ants in your area? I had a horse roll in a fire ant hill and it ended up looking like hives and he was itchty for about 3 days. just lots of oatmeal washes

 

[Kelsey - Vandy's Farm]

I'm not familiar with Dex either....this is the first time I've used it. We do have fire ants but I haven't seen any around his stall. He is stalled and it is completely matted.

We could try the benedryll...I'm just not sure how much?

These are definitely hives...They have gone down and come back

Can you get Oatmeal Shampoo anywhere?

 

[Jill]

I gave benedryl before, but it's been a long time ago and I do not remember how much. I gave the chewable / flavored kids kind.

 

[drmatthewtaylor]

Hives are a symptom of an allergic reaction, but they are a nonspecific sign, which means they don't tell you what the allergic reaction was to.

Antihistamines are likely not potent enough to to make them go away, but are pretty safe and can be given with other drugs. Little disappointed that Banamine was tried as it is even less effective than antihistamines and has more side effects, especially when combined with steroids.

Dex is dexamethasone and is a steroid. Although it can lead to founder as well as other side effects, I think its bad side effects are over rated. Unfortunately, it is likely the best choice in this case.

As we do not know what the allergy is to, remove EVERYTHING from his air space and put in new/different (which includes the entire barn).

Here is a short list of things that are possible allergens;

flies

ants

bugs

hay

straw

shavings

fly spray

fungal infections

Oatmeal shampoos/conditioners can be used, but they only last a few hours so they need repeated frequently.

Dr Taylor

 

[fourluckyhorseshoes]

This stuff is pretty good if you can find it at a small feed store:

http://www.marystack.com/aaaaaaafoa.html

 

[valshingle]

You can get Benadryl gel, a topical form of Benadryl. This is a human product. Depending on how many hives he has, you may go through a lot of it. But it does work great for me.

 

[Marty]

Just a thought for you?

Have you shaved your horse recently?

I had a mare that broke out in tiny bumps all over the place and I could not figure out why. I finally found that she was allergic to the clipper oil I was dipping my clippers in. Since then I now use alcohol.

 

[valshingle]

Just a thought for you?

Have you shaved your horse recently?

I had a mare that broke out in tiny bumps all over the place and I could not figure out why. I finally found that she was allergic to the clipper oil I was dipping my clippers in. Since then I now use alcohol.

Same thing happened to me, too. The horse was so allergic to corn in his feed that the least little trigger gave him hives. The first time it happened was after clipping. Then it happened periodically. We had him allergy tested and voila' - he was allergic to the feed!

It was an easy fix after that.

 

[Katiean]

A couple of years ago I switched my hay to Teff hay. One mare coilced 3x's, one mare got hives real bad and lost a bunch of weight real fast and two were not affected. I got rid of the hay at 1/2 the price I paid (to get it moved fast). Changed back to Orchard grass and the mare with the hives cleared up in a day or two. Good luck with your boy.

 

[Kelsey - Vandy's Farm]

Thank you everyone! Nope he has not been shaved recently

But, there are these strange red and black bugs...they aren't ants but they live in hills like ants. They look like beetles...

 

[Riverrose28]

The red and black, large ant looking bugs you are discribing sound like red velvet wasps, they live in the ground and do sting, but I doubt they are causing hives. The most common thing that causes hives this time of year is believe it or not, FLY SPRAY. Since the flies are bad this time of year we humans tend to use it often and don't rinse it off very often. Other things to consider are any thing airborn or that he comes in contact with that you havn't noticed before. Try giving him a bath and rinsing with aveno oatmeal.

 

[Hosscrazy]

Hey Kelsey -

Glad you called your vet - not sure who you use, but there are some terrific vets in your area. Here's an interesting article that came out today in TheHorse.com. One of our horses had hives a few weeks ago, which cleared up quickly on its own. Please keep us posted.

The Horse.com - A Hivey Horse

Liz

 

[Kiss This]

My mare had hives & I put her on antihistamines which helped but not enough then I gave her predef which is an injectable I think steroid every other day for 3 injections & it cleared it up. She may have 2 bumps now.

 

[Minimor]

For allergic reactions I used to use an antihistamine (injectable)that I got from my vt--can't even remember the name of it now. It worked okay but wasn't spectacular. I now use Predef-2X--like Dex it is a corticosteroid but from what I've read about it, it is safer than Dex--it actually has many uses, one of which is treatment of allergic reactions. It is extremely effective and works very quickly. Because of its wide range of uses it is one of the must-haves in my medicine drawer.

 

[Melinda Dean]

Do not know if this will help but this was my experience years ago.

I brought home a new Hackney pony. It was summer time and of course there were biting insects around. I had never had a horse have a reaction before, so I sprayed him all over with the horse spray I had used for many years on my big horses.

A few hours later, near dusk, I noticed he was just standing still, head down, very depressed looking. As I walked closer, I saw he was covered, head to hoof in hives. All sizes. Even the eye lids had hives. I quickly shampooed off the spray and continued to run cold water on him. After about 20 minutes, the hives began to get smaller. I called my vet, explained what I had done. To be honest, it was so many years ago, I do not recall if he told me to use some "Azium" (Spelling?) powder I had on hand or not. He was fine by midnight, and he never had that reaction again. Of course, I never use that brand on him again.

I did learn to closely read spray bottles for warnings about ponies, foals, and old horses. And I always test with a small spray site if I switch products.

Good luck . I hope you can find out what is causing the reaction. I know it hurts to see your horse uncomfortable.

As a Nurse, and allergy hive sufferer myself, I know cold does help to slow down the histamine attacking the site and causing the hives. Cold showers and a cooling fan may provide a little comfort, without affecting the medications you use. This heat could be making it worse than if the hives showed up in cooler weather.

 

[SNDFarms]

I'm not familiar with Dex either....this is the first time I've used it. We do have fire ants but I haven't seen any around his stall. He is stalled and it is completely matted.

We could try the benedryll...I'm just not sure how much?

These are definitely hives...They have gone down and come back

Can you get Oatmeal Shampoo anywhere?

You can give Benadryl - Most vets recommend 1 x 25mg tab per 100# of horse weight.. So if your guy weighs 250# then 2 1/2 Tablets crush up in feed would work just fine..

However, they make a quick dissolve favored strips in 25mg dose.. That is what I give to my horses when needed.. But the tablets work fine as well crushed up in feed.

Hope that helps..

 

[Kelsey - Vandy's Farm]

Thank you!

He hasn't been fly sprayed, clipped or bathed lately.... just chillin in his stall or the round pin. We did bring a friend's mare into breed. My mom jokes that he's allergic to her. haha

The hives have gone down and he isn't as itchy today.

 

[Kelsey - Vandy's Farm]

Now, THAT would be a new reaction!!!

I've heard of stallions not liking certain mares -- but "allergic!!"

Your mom has a great sense of humor!!

.

hahahaha

Yes.....we joke about everything in our house