Allergy testing?

WelshD

WelshD

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My section A suffers from sweet itch. He came to me from a very midgey field and with sweet itch rugs, steroids, an injection and various potions stopped the itching and healed up nicely

He has itched his face again recently but not to any bad extent like before but he has never really itched at the classic sweet itch so he has a reasonable mane and tail

Someone on here mentioned allergy testing and this appeals to me rather than letting me assume he has sweet itch for the rest of his life (he is only three)

I will give the vet a call on Monday but in the meantime if anyone has experience of this, costs involved, how it works and how reliable it is I would be interested to hear. Thanks.
 
I had our pony allergy tested last year (oh year before now lol) as she was rubbing her neck and shoulders and had lumps all over (did other checks and ruled other stuff out 1st) she doesn't have classic sweet itch and her mane and tail are fine. The tests were really interesting. They do a normal test to see what level of response the horse produces just from the needle and that's the norm for comparison for the other tests, then the other reactions were looked at a few hours later. I can't remember the numbers exactly but say normal was 30 bad reaction was 100. My pony had some reactions that were double the 'allergic reaction' number! And the site for those needles were incredibly swollen! What it did do for me was confirm what her bad allergies were and what to do. She's fine with pollen and dust etc it's the biting midges horseflies etc that she has a problem with. One full summer and autumn on I've not had a problem, she wears a masta bug rug, I have some fly stuff from the specialist but hardly use it as she's not ridden so has her rug on. I left her A few days in the summer without her rug on and noticed the lumps coming up.
Beyond the results showing exactly what the reactions were caused by the advice from the specialist was great and it was on insurance, I could keep claiming for a year had I had more issues last summer (she obviously now has an exclusion!) think if you're paying its about £500? Might be wrong though. If you have any questions let me know
 
Sorry no help but that's interesting.
I think well worth paying for so you know exactly how to treat it.

Plus as previous person said you may be able to claim the costs of the tests on tod insurance.
 
We found that when we stopped any molasses, or other refined sugars (as opposed to just the sugar in fruit) in the diet of our TbxWelsh D her 'sweet itch' stopped. We stopped the sugars for other reasons and then stopped any grains, again for behavoir reasons. It did occur to us that perhaps the old namers of horse illnesses knew a thing or two :)
 
You could consider hair analysis via kinesiology. I had my mare tested for supplement advice. My son has just been tested for intolerances as he suffers badly with ezcema. It cost around £25.
 
My pony went through allergy testing some years ago. I think it was around the £500 mark. I would suggest you go through with it as it can point you in the right direction in terms of how you manage the pony in the future. Good luck
 
Just one other thought that has no horsy bases but is interesting, if you allergy test your horse and allergy to pollens comes up then be careful feeding apples and pairs. Sounds mad but apples and pairs can mimic birch pollen, I know as I've got hay fever and have a bad reaction if I eat them (cooking helps so apple crumble is still on the menu!) it is in the human allergy type websites from the NHS, it's not something I've come across for horses but you never know (obviously nothing o do with midges and Mossies, only pollen type reactions). I've now got a good excuse not to eat fruit lol :D:(:D
 
As a pedantic scientist I really only hold score with IgE testing for a definitive answer and I would imagine it is probably quite expensive. Skin prick tests can be useful too but really IgE tests are better. I don't dispute allergy testing can work, I only urge you to tread carefully and not let yourself be fooled by pseudo science which seems to abound with some so called allergy tests.
 
Jesstinsel said:
As a pedantic scientist I really only hold score with IgE testing for a definitive answer and I would imagine it is probably quite expensive. Skin prick tests can be useful too but really IgE tests are better. I don't dispute allergy testing can work, I only urge you to tread carefully and not let yourself be fooled by pseudo science which seems to abound with some so called allergy tests.
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is the york test a IgE test? if so with dogs its around the £400 mark and apart from getting the blood sample and the vets visit i dont see why the cost should be any different for a horse.
 
JingleJools1234 said:
is the york test a IgE test? if so with dogs its around the £400 mark and apart from getting the blood sample and the vets visit i dont see why the cost should be any different for a horse.
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I don't know. I can google but if they took blood then quite possibly. I don't know things by their commercial names, just what the test is actually doing :o I'm the same with wormers. Find it easier to remember the active compound than the trade name. No idea why.

£400 sounds like quite a lot to me. I'm probably a skin flint :o
 
I'm not sure, I've just pulled mine out it was a referral by my vet for Rutland house, specialist in veterinary dermatology, MA VetMB MRCVS?!!:confused::D it was £415 December /2011 and pd for by insurance (though if you but a only with sweet itch I presume they have an exclusion)
The only real benefit to you is knowing if pollen is a factor so you know if pony needs antihistamine? I know a pony that this works for (expensive though)
 
A friend of mine had her INCREDIBLY itchy SI-symptom horse tested via the vets (so probably IgE?) which found that he was allergic to a whole range of cereals and most GRASSES, not midges at all. He rubs himself raw, poor thing, and is much improved on straw and alfalfa.
 
One of my husband's clients had an incredibly itchy horse - it had to be kept out 24/7 in an electrified area to stop it scratching itself raw. The vet's were perplexed and she spent literally £000's on various tests over an 18 month period. He hated being groomed and touched. She was at the point of pts and I suggested she feed the horse a tablespoon of salt a day in his feed. She did this and after 2 weeks he is back to the horse he was the year previous - no more itching and back in a stable.

This website is very informative and it suggests that if your horse has a potassium inbalance then access to a salt lick alone is inadequate and that it needs the forced fed salt as well as access to a lick to balance the potassium overload. I feed all of mine salt in their feeds daily.

http://www.calmhealthyhorses.com/metabol/colic.html
 
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