Allergy

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timmyhorse

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My horse has had urticaria (lumpy rash) for several weeks, blood tests have shown he is allergic to molasses, barley, rye, mould and mites.

Has anyone experienced anything similar and if so any tips/advice?
 
step one is to remove anything identified as causing allergic reaction, the lumps might not go straight away, once there is a sensitivity there is a possibility of continued reactions. Your vet can advise on anti histamines and possibly anti inflammatory steroids in the short term (although these have potentially serious side effects)

Simplify your regime and minimise stress and extremes of heat and cold.
 
Hi,
when you say 'lumpy rash' please could you explain in more detail what its like, my horse has had raised lumps over parts his body for the past two weeks, hes been on antibiotics and antihistamin, vet said it was dermatophalis or somthing like that, just wondering if it could be a similar thing to what your horse has. ive got to get him clipped so i can wash him in hibiscrub to stop the infection spreading
frown.gif

Debs x
 
it looks a bit like nettle rash to start with but then as it gets worse the lumps spread, become more of a donut shape and weep a clear liquid. He was given antihistamines initially but they didn't work so he then had anti biotics and steroid injections which do clear it for a time.

I also washed the lumps which were weeping and my vet advised me that if I use hibi scrub I should dilute it to make sure the skin doesn't get more irritated.
 
The clear liquid is serum which gathers under the skin and forms the lumps. There is a school of thought that urticaria in horses is not itchy in the same way as it is in humans, but your horse's lumps would only weep if they had been scratched quite hard, so preventing any infection in them is the right thing to do, but very mild treatment is needed, flush with tepid water and then dress with wound cream rather than use a stronger chemical.
Cool water on the lumps is very soothing, and try not to rub or touch them too much
 
Two of my mares had this problem shortly after I started to include sunflower seeds in their feed. It was a protein rash on the neck and cheeks. The rash went a few days after I discontinued them.

Have you changed his feed recently?
 
mmmmmmm some of the lumps have sort of merged to make a bigger flatter lump, only a few have weeped a tiny bit but then the smaller lumps have gone wihtout any discharge at all. I must admit it looked more like an allergic reaction to me when i first saw it but im not a vet, so now im totally confussed, im going to give the vet another call and ill try and get some pictures.
Debs x
 
Does sound very like my horse's problem so probably worth another chat with your vet. Best of luck with it, I know how frustrating it can be!
 
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