Allergies and a six year old rider

O

oakleafequine

New User
Joined
14 February 2016
Messages
4
Visit site
Hoping someone on here might have some ideas.

My daughter is six and loves riding, however she suffers from multiple allergies and one of those allergies is Horses. It seems to depend on what kind of horse she rides, previously we found that she suffered more with a bay than with a white horse, but now we've moved and this seems to have flipped, so now she can't ride the current white horse but seems "better" with a bay, but none the less she is still suffering quite a lot.
We have given her gloves to wear which helps, but wondering if anyone else has experience with this.

It's heartbreaking to see her in tears ten minutes after starting her lesson.

We have considered giving her anti-histamine prior the lesson, and of course I suppose we could just tell her she can't ride, but I fear that given all the other stuff she is having to opt out of this might well be the final straw for her.

Thanks in advance
 
I know how your daughter feels. I am also allergic to horses, but now own 3 of them. I take anti histamines every day, but have found over the years I have become less allergic the more time I spend with horses.
I would let your daughter keep riding but give her anti histamines before riding and for a couple of days before so that they are in her system.
Hope this helps.
 
another couple of things to try..........a hepa face mask, you can get "funky" ones, just say we are trying this to see if it helps with the riding lessons. this will show if it is inhalation allergy and also glasses similar to swimming googles to help with the eyes. if this works then you can try them with the other stuff she has to opt out of.

does it matter if the pony is clipped or hairy, the reasoning the clipped one might produce less horse dust as a trigger?

if you can get away with antihistamines that would be good.

but a little and often exposure to horse will eventually help, similar to the theory about peanuts.

found these

http://healthyairmask.com/index.php?route=product/category&path=20_106
 
Last edited:
My other half used to be terribly allergic to horses and just being near mine he got the typical puffy runny eyes, sneezes and rashes up his arms, he used to take antihistamines but now has built up a resistance to it and doesn't seem to be allergic at all :)
 
It won't be the colour it will be something to do with the dander levels probably. Likely one that's clipped out will be less of a problem as there will be less "stuff" to irritate her.

I was allergic to a lot of animals as a child and I'm not now. Exposure does help. I would give her antihistamine and avoid inside situations with the ponies as that will make it worse. Gloves and not touching her face with her hands before thorough washing will also help. Plus a change of clothes straight after.
 
FfionWinnie said:
I would give her antihistamine and avoid inside situations with the ponies as that will make it worse. Gloves and not touching her face with her hands before thorough washing will also help. Plus a change of clothes straight after.
Click to expand...

As another person with allergies I agree with this. Antihistamine eyedrops are good too, I couldn't manage without mine.
 
The poor little thing! My daughter started being allergic to horses (and other things) about the age of 4. We had always had horses and she had a little pony since she was 2 - we couldn't get rid of him it would have broken her heart. We went down the antihistamine route. You need to find one that doesn't knock them out though as different children react differently. Around the stables, we changed from hay to farm grown (not too rich) haylage and dust free bedding. Gradually the allergy to horses reduced and 20 odd years of happy riding, competing and horse owning later, she still owns a horse and often looks after other people's!
I hope you can find a way for your daughter to continue riding.
 
Thanks all, the masks look like they might be a fun way or reducing the aggravation and of course the anti-histamines, not sure about the goggles I don't want to make her feel too different and kids can be quite cruel. We'll see how it goes, we did chat to a GP about it all, he was somewhat nonchalant, but did seem to think that anti-histamine might help.

Thanks again for the tips etc.
 
I'm allergic to horses and quite a lot of other things. When I was about 12 I had a course of injections to help with my dust allergy. I was injected with increasing amounts of dust. I don't think they are allowed to do it anymore, but it follows a homeopathic principle of treating like with like.
My horse allergy has all but gone now, through exposure I think, but I still react to rabbits, Guinea pigs and hay!
I was worried when I had my children that they'd have allergies too, if they did I would contact a homeopath as I'm pretty sure they could help.
 
My youngest son is allergic too. I think it's the dust in their coats, sometimes he's ok, other times not. Now he's getting older he seems to have built up an immunity. I've been quite hard with it and resisted giving him antihistamines unless he's been really bad.

One thing I do encourage him to do is wash his hands if he's been touching them. That seems to prevent his eyes from streaming. There is a breed of horse that has a curly coat that is supposed to be non-allergic.

I hope you find a solution to the problem but I think trying to build up an immunity if possible is worth it.

http://www.creeksidecurlies.net/hypoallergenic_curlyhorses.htm
 
nicelittle said:
I'm allergic to horses and quite a lot of other things. When I was about 12 I had a course of injections to help with my dust allergy. I was injected with increasing amounts of dust. I don't think they are allowed to do it anymore, but it follows a homeopathic principle of treating like with like.
My horse allergy has all but gone now, through exposure I think, but I still react to rabbits, Guinea pigs and hay!
I was worried when I had my children that they'd have allergies too, if they did I would contact a homeopath as I'm pretty sure they could help.
Click to expand...

There is nothing remotely homeopathic about the treatment you had. I also had the same thing for house dust mites when it was available.
 
When I was a child I was dreadfully allergic to horses, one touch and my face would swell and I'd get these big water full blisters under my eyes. I was like it for years. It was horrid so wanting to touch and my Nan going in to hysterics that I would never be " married" because my face would stay swollen ........ I grew out of it. I found that it went away, mostly, after I started being around horses a lot( thanks Mum) . Once I had my own pony it pretty much cleared up. I still get itchy eyes when other people's horses moult but that's it. I am still bad with cats and rabbits but I still pretty much ignore it and go in for a stroke.

In my case I found that it was other people's reactions that got me down, not the actual allergic reaction, my Nan for example, I was too busy riding the pony to really care what I looked like. Left alone, rather then a big fuss made, I did ok. Now a days there are medicines which help reduce the affect. I'd give done of those and then pretty much let her get on with it and make no fuss at all about it.
 
Thanks, yes its definitely a dander thing, we breed Gun dogs and we have chickens, ducks, sheep, lambs and cattle on our place... all no problem. Dust mites are bad and when she was first born it was everything, wheat, dairy, nuts, sesame, dust mites, legumes, soy, sesame and fish!
Now she can have cooked dairy, wheat and soy, legumes and fish so we're getting there slowly! Yes I try not make a fuss about it and am quite tough with her, we're in high summer here, so the hay fever is full on right now, hopefully once the colder weather starts things will settle back down again. I do like the look of those curly coats, this is similar to the Wire haired pointers , they are often far better for people with allergies.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top