Anyone flying to Antalya, Turkey anytime soon?

mariaandefe said:
ongoing hives. when the allergy started he was fed on pelleted feed and meadow hay, carrots, apples and parsley.
the pelleted feed contained (barley, maize, wheat, and rice bran and a bunch of additives). he no longer eats his pelleted feed as many people have seen it coming up with mouldy patches.
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so no alfafa.

I would start from scratch.
Maybe bath him in hibi scrub
then buy really simple feeds start removing things till you work out, he could be allergic to a type grass in the field, also cherry trees can cause hives so can cereals can cause them. Insects can but not the season for them. anything you wash numnahs or fleeces etc. Pollen also can but again not the season. Mold could if there is any in the hay or field, maybe also if you have any plants he has started to eat which you don't know about. That would be my thought, or if he has had a wormer or
injection recently
I just googled hives, as one of my liveries got them, we cold hosed him and they went but with him I think it was insect bite as it was the summer.

You probably have google it but this came up
I myself has got a allergy issue recently 5 weeks ago and i without going into detail, have got hive type things everywhere sore and itchy so going to do a allergy blood test to find out what has caused this on me. If you have a vet they could do a blood test to see if anything shows up.


From google***

Hives, also known as urticaria, in horses can be caused by a number of factors, including allergic reactions, physical stimuli, and medications.

Allergic reactions
  • Insect bites or stings: Bites from flies and other insects can cause hives

  • Food allergies: Certain diets, especially cereal-based diets, can cause hives

  • Environmental allergens: Pollen from plants, trees, and bushes, as well as dust mites and mold, can cause hives
Physical stimuli

  • Temperature extremes: Heat, cold, and sunlight can cause hives
  • Exercise: Intense exercise can cause hives
  • Stress: Stress can cause hives
  • Pressure on the skin: Pressure from tack, soaps, or leather conditioners can cause hives
Medications
  • Reactions to medications: Some medications can cause hives as a side effect

  • Vaccines: Some vaccines can cause hives as a side effect
Other causes

  • Vasculitis, which is inflammation of the blood vessels in the skin
  • Ringworm
  • Pemphigus foliaceus
Hives can vary in size, number, and severity. In severe cases, hives can lead to anaphylaxis, a life-threatening allergic reaction.
 
ILuvCowparsely said:
so no alfafa.

I would start from scratch.
Maybe bath him in hibi scrub
then buy really simple feeds start removing things till you work out, he could be allergic to a type grass in the field, also cherry trees can cause hives so can cereals can cause them. Insects can but not the season for them. anything you wash numnahs or fleeces etc. Pollen also can but again not the season. Mold could if there is any in the hay or field, maybe also if you have any plants he has started to eat which you don't know about. That would be my thought, or if he has had a wormer or
injection recently
I just googled hives, as one of my liveries got them, we cold hosed him and they went but with him I think it was insect bite as it was the summer.

You probably have google it but this came up
I myself has got a allergy issue recently 5 weeks ago and i without going into detail, have got hive type things everywhere sore and itchy so going to do a allergy blood test to find out what has caused this on me. If you have a vet they could do a blood test to see if anything shows up.


From google***

Hives, also known as urticaria, in horses can be caused by a number of factors, including allergic reactions, physical stimuli, and medications.

Allergic reactions
  • Insect bites or stings: Bites from flies and other insects can cause hives

  • Food allergies: Certain diets, especially cereal-based diets, can cause hives

  • Environmental allergens: Pollen from plants, trees, and bushes, as well as dust mites and mold, can cause hives
Physical stimuli

  • Temperature extremes: Heat, cold, and sunlight can cause hives
  • Exercise: Intense exercise can cause hives
  • Stress: Stress can cause hives
  • Pressure on the skin: Pressure from tack, soaps, or leather conditioners can cause hives
Medications
  • Reactions to medications: Some medications can cause hives as a side effect

  • Vaccines: Some vaccines can cause hives as a side effect
Other causes

  • Vasculitis, which is inflammation of the blood vessels in the skin
  • Ringworm
  • Pemphigus foliaceus
Hives can vary in size, number, and severity. In severe cases, hives can lead to anaphylaxis, a life-threatening allergic reaction.
Click to expand...
thanks for your help! and sharing your story, i tried starting him from scratch and nothing changed, however this week he was doing much better on 5 predi tablets until i added a supplement, i removed the supplement im really hoping he will get better soon 🙏
 
mariaandefe said:
Great thanks! My dad will land in Heathrow when he comes back to England.

Shame its not cheap I plan on doing these parasite tests 4 times a year.

It’s a shame i find this out only now :/
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No idea whether you are genuine or not (hopefully you are!), but:
bloods taken in UK by 8.00am, Fed Ex courier by 8.30am, and were inside relevant lab in Germany that same evening.
It’s certainly possible to do what you want, but unless you’ve got a diplomatic bag, you MUST abide by the current regulations, and a casual ‘mule’ could not legally take these samples for you.
Hope the horse improves.
 
Exasperated said:
No idea whether you are genuine or not (hopefully you are!), but:
bloods taken in UK by 8.00am, Fed Ex courier by 8.30am, and were inside relevant lab in Germany that same evening.
It’s certainly possible to do what you want, but unless you’ve got a diplomatic bag, you MUST abide by the current regulations, and a casual ‘mule’ could not legally take these samples for you.
Hope the horse improves.
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wait i’m soooo confused. i have the sample bags, they are empty. i want to take a fecal sample and a saliva sample, however they would be in turkey (non eu country as well) which makes this 100x harder. and i would need these samples in the uk within 6 days, what could i do?
unless, the lab i wanted to send to all of a sudden don’t take samples from outside the uk, however when i called them a week ago they did?
so right now, im just stuck in the middle of nowhere.
 
Exasperated said:
No idea whether you are genuine or not (hopefully you are!), but:
bloods taken in UK by 8.00am, Fed Ex courier by 8.30am, and were inside relevant lab in Germany that same evening.
It’s certainly possible to do what you want, but unless you’ve got a diplomatic bag, you MUST abide by the current regulations, and a casual ‘mule’ could not legally take these samples for you.
Hope the horse improves.
Click to expand...
I also plan to sending this same horses blood for a serum allergy test to Italy ( i think it is) however this will be done through my vet and a courier (like you mentioned). i just never thought that saliva and fecal samples were the same story as with bloods 🤦‍♀️🤦‍♀i have never been more confused
 
mariaandefe said:
1) i don’t speak turkish to be able to speak to livery yards/stables/vets well. the vets do speak english, however very poorly.

the vets recommend that i feed my horse only oats and there is no turnout here. i think that should tell you why i don’t speak to ‘livery yards’ or ‘vets’ here.

i would provide more information if you ask 👍
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You only feed your horse oats. Really????
 
Spirit7 said:
You only feed your horse oats. Really????
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noooo of course not. my horse is one of the only horses who eats a well-balanced diet. but yes sadly, the majority of the horses only eat oats, or they eat oats with a high protein balancer.

i work together with a redmills nutritionist!
i was answering to the person who decided to slander me for not talking to my vet or livery yards here.
 
The saliva tests can take longer, I can’t remember exactly how long but it was a couple of weeks I think according to the leaflet that came with mine. However if you look on the Westgate website it does say:

Equisal test kits are only available in the UK at present. For queries outside the UK please contact the EquiSal laboratory direct: enquiries@equisal.com

Maybe try them?
 
mariaandefe said:
1) i don’t speak turkish to be able to speak to livery yards/stables/vets well. the vets do speak english, however very poorly.

the vets recommend that i feed my horse only oats and there is no turnout here. i think that should tell you why i don’t speak to ‘livery yards’ or ‘vets’ here.

i would provide more information if you ask 👍
Click to expand...
1st of all feeding straights is normal in Some countries they are a lot harsher in general than in the UK where we tend to be fluffy.

Regarding your issues. Yes the samples are a bio hazard. However a lot of the time it will come down to quantity/volume. ( Biohazards etc require a un number.)


I would speak to some one in turkey who can translate for you and get them to ask the question to a vet. However the likes of DHL etc will transport
One of your issues will be what is classed as a liquid aswell.

Westgate equally should be able to give you the answer
 
jhoward said:
1st of all feeding straights is normal in Some countries they are a lot harsher in general than in the UK where we tend to be fluffy.

Regarding your issues. Yes the samples are a bio hazard. However a lot of the time it will come down to quantity/volume. ( Biohazards etc require a un number.)


I would speak to some one in turkey who can translate for you and get them to ask the question to a vet. However the likes of DHL etc will transport
One of your issues will be what is classed as a liquid aswell.

Westgate equally should be able to give you the answer
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i know that feeding straights is normalised in some countries. i personally don’t agree with it, my horse requires a more balanced diet.
what i will plan to do, is give westgate a call tomorrow i will see what they say. i have also resorted to a university and i will be speaking with my vet once i get an answer from a veterinary uni i wrote to. we don’t have a local vet here; the vets are 14hrs away and they tend to not care much unfortunately.
what also makes this more difficult is that i live in a non eu country too..:
 
Bobthecob15 said:
The saliva tests can take longer, I can’t remember exactly how long but it was a couple of weeks I think according to the leaflet that came with mine. However if you look on the Westgate website it does say:

Equisal test kits are only available in the UK at present. For queries outside the UK please contact the EquiSal laboratory direct: enquiries@equisal.com

Maybe try them?
Click to expand...
i will try find out now how long the saliva tests can take. i will probably end up finding someone in turkey who can do a fec but a saliva test is most likely not doable here…
i will give them a call tomorrow too..
 
mariaandefe said:
I also plan to sending this same horses blood for a serum allergy test to Italy ( i think it is) however this will be done through my vet and a courier (like you mentioned). i just never thought that saliva and fecal samples were the same story as with bloods 🤦‍♀️🤦‍♀i have never been more confused
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He’s turning into one very expensive horse!
Sorry if already been explained, but if the Equisal was for tapeworm, might it not be better to also use the bloods to test for that? (vet just draws extra) using same Italian lab, maybe? Or local Turkish Uni / lab? Reduce your international transportations.
(By the way, feeding oats; whole, rolled or bruised; was absolutely standard for working horses in Britain until relatively recently)
 
Exasperated said:
He’s turning into one very expensive horse!
Sorry if already been explained, but if the Equisal was for tapeworm, might it not be better to also use the bloods to test for that? (vet just draws extra) using same Italian lab, maybe? Or local Turkish Uni / lab? Reduce your international transportations.
(By the way, feeding oats; whole, rolled or bruised; was absolutely standard for working horses in Britain until relatively recently)
Click to expand...
the italian lab is just for allergy testing unfortunately. the equisal is both a fec and tapeworm test. i asked a vet uni here and i will ask my vet, but i highly doubt it they do any of these test. i will be giving just about everyone a call today
as for the oats, i think oats were a staple in every country until recently. can’t say i haven’t fed my horse oats and a balancer, however when i found other feeds and brands i switched to low starch and low sugar feeds
 
mariaandefe said:
the italian lab is just for allergy testing unfortunately. the equisal is both a fec and tapeworm test. i asked a vet uni here and i will ask my vet, but i highly doubt it they do any of these test. i will be giving just about everyone a call today
as for the oats, i think oats were a staple in every country until recently. can’t say i haven’t fed my horse oats and a balancer, however when i found other feeds and brands i switched to low starch and low sugar feeds
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Equisal through Westgate is tapeworm only, fec is different, that’s a poo sample looking for eggs and worms. I’m not sure if you knew that or not apologies if you did!
 
Bobthecob15 said:
Equisal through Westgate is tapeworm only, fec is different, that’s a poo sample looking for eggs and worms. I’m not sure if you knew that or not apologies if you did!
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no i know what a fec is, i just don’t know what or who it’s for. i brought it from westgate. i bought a tapeworm and a fec from westgate
 
I can pretty much guarantee someone in Turkey will be able to run a FEC. You literally only need a microscope and a McMaster slide (which cost under £50) and some commonly available (or even homemade) salt floatation solution. It is about the most simple test in the whole of veterinary medicine. Any of the equine welfare charities will be running them for the equids they are responsible for, and vet clinics however rudimentary should be capable of running them in-house. No need to battle with import/export certification to send a faecal sample to the UK. However I do feel that running this test will not be of any particular use for solving your allergy problem, so I wouldn't get too hung up on it for this reason.

Tapeworm testing however, whether blood or saliva, will need to go to a laboratory. If there are no labs running this test in Turkey then you will need to export your sample to a country that does run the tests, along with the correct paperwork for transporting a biological sample. It shouldn't be relevant that Turkey is non-EU, as the UK is not EU either. Again, I'm not sure you are getting hung up on the right things here. Whilst knowing a horse's worm burden in never a waste of time, I am not convinced this will be related in any way to the urticaria (hives).

I have found a paper on worm prevalence in horses in Turkey, carried out by the Vet School in Van (Turkey), so they are definitely capable of testing samples. It also concludes that while nearly 70% of horses had some level of worm burden only 2.9% (ie. fewer than 3 in 100) horses tested positive for tapeworm, so it is not very common at all.
 
Just quickly read through but wanted to add, I regularly send animal faeces and sometimes animal saliva samples for my job and whilst it isn't illegal, you need import/export licences to be able to send. We use a specific courier company and it can run up to the thousands to get temperature controlled shipments and (as we've recently found...) it can sometimes take months for customs documents to be approved for sending.
 
Sorry i can't help with where to send samples to, but I can tell you my horse was like bubble wrap from hoof to ear with hives. I wish I got a picture of him at that time, I was so distressed I didn't think of it. In his case it turned out to be a reaction to mosquito bites that came just before and during rainy periods in Summer. He became overly reactive to these bites until we worked out the cause. Rugging in summer fixed this and now many years later he can go a without rug. I don't know if he built up resistance or if he was just hyper reactive at that time, but it's no longer a problem for him. OP I hope you get to the bottom of what is causing your horse's hives. I totally understand how upsetting it is when they are bad.
 
Bu
mariaandefe said:
wait i’m soooo confused. i have the sample bags, they are empty. i want to take a fecal sample and a saliva sample, however they would be in turkey (non eu country as well) which makes this 100x harder. and i would need these samples in the uk within 6 days, what could i do?
unless, the lab i wanted to send to all of a sudden don’t take samples from outside the uk, however when i called them a week ago they did?
so right now, im just stuck in the middle of nowhere.
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But the Equine Hospital in Istanbul appears to do parasite testing.
 
Lurfy said:
Sorry i can't help with where to send samples to, but I can tell you my horse was like bubble wrap from hoof to ear with hives. I wish I got a picture of him at that time, I was so distressed I didn't think of it. In his case it turned out to be a reaction to mosquito bites that came just before and during rainy periods in Summer. He became overly reactive to these bites until we worked out the cause. Rugging in summer fixed this and now many years later he can go a without rug. I don't know if he built up resistance or if he was just hyper reactive at that time, but it's no longer a problem for him. OP I hope you get to the bottom of what is causing your horse's hives. I totally understand how upsetting it is when they are bad.
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yes, it is quite upsetting and his case was so severe…i honestly have no clue what he could be reacting to. i’ve changed stable from an indoor to an outdoor, changed bedding, changed feed/done an elimination diet, i can’t really control the insects :(
he is rugged at night, so i don’t know if it could be insects
 
Gamebird said:
I can pretty much guarantee someone in Turkey will be able to run a FEC. You literally only need a microscope and a McMaster slide (which cost under £50) and some commonly available (or even homemade) salt floatation solution. It is about the most simple test in the whole of veterinary medicine. Any of the equine welfare charities will be running them for the equids they are responsible for, and vet clinics however rudimentary should be capable of running them in-house. No need to battle with import/export certification to send a faecal sample to the UK. However I do feel that running this test will not be of any particular use for solving your allergy problem, so I wouldn't get too hung up on it for this reason.

Tapeworm testing however, whether blood or saliva, will need to go to a laboratory. If there are no labs running this test in Turkey then you will need to export your sample to a country that does run the tests, along with the correct paperwork for transporting a biological sample. It shouldn't be relevant that Turkey is non-EU, as the UK is not EU either. Again, I'm not sure you are getting hung up on the right things here. Whilst knowing a horse's worm burden in never a waste of time, I am not convinced this will be related in any way to the urticaria (hives).

I have found a paper on worm prevalence in horses in Turkey, carried out by the Vet School in Van (Turkey), so they are definitely capable of testing samples. It also concludes that while nearly 70% of horses had some level of worm burden only 2.9% (ie. fewer than 3 in 100) horses tested positive for tapeworm, so it is not very common at all.
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yeah i highly doubt his hives are due to parasites, however i just want to get it out the way as well. i have heard a few cases here in turkey where horses were allergic due to parasite infestation.

its just the fact that i’ve done quite literally everything and changed quite literally everything possible and he’s still reacting to something. he was doing much better this week on only 5 prednisolone tablets until i gave him a supplement (probiotic from linseed oil)

if anyone has any other suggestions pls let me know 🙏

and could you also possibly send me a link of the vet school?
just a heads up, a lot of the turkish websites are old and most of these places have been closed or abandoned.
 
mariaandefe said:
yeah i highly doubt his hives are due to parasites, however i just want to get it out the way as well. i have heard a few cases here in turkey where horses were allergic due to parasite infestation.

its just the fact that i’ve done quite literally everything and changed quite literally everything possible and he’s still reacting to something. he was doing much better this week on only 5 prednisolone tablets until i gave him a supplement (probiotic from linseed oil)

if anyone has any other suggestions pls let me know 🙏

and could you also possibly send me a link of the vet school?
just a heads up, a lot of the turkish websites are old and most of these places have been closed or abandoned.
Click to expand...
Sorry no links, but know of a filly which always came up with little lumps, mostly on head and neck, AFTER being wormed.
The wormer was ivermectin, and that filly did arrive with a high redworm burden from the stud where my friend bought her (could see worms in droppings)
Two vets got involved, and their view was that subcutaneous worm burden (microfilarae?similar name) were being successfully expelled, and the hives were the reaction.
The Equvalan product information did say something about this, anyway, ultimate decision was not to use ivermectin again. Her hives took a long time to totally subside, several months each time, but they bothered my friend more than the filly.
Today, blood testing exists for both tapeworms and for any encysted redworms - FEC tests will not show either of those problems, so if you can send bloods for testing in Turkey or on the mainland, that would help. Good luck.
 
mariaandefe said:
yeah i highly doubt his hives are due to parasites, however i just want to get it out the way as well. i have heard a few cases here in turkey where horses were allergic due to parasite infestation.

its just the fact that i’ve done quite literally everything and changed quite literally everything possible and he’s still reacting to something. he was doing much better this week on only 5 prednisolone tablets until i gave him a supplement (probiotic from linseed oil)

if anyone has any other suggestions pls let me know 🙏

and could you also possibly send me a link of the vet school?
just a heads up, a lot of the turkish websites are old and most of these places have been closed or abandoned.
Click to expand...

Van Yüzüncü Yıl University - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org en.wikipedia.org

www.yyu.edu.tr
 
Exasperated said:
Sorry no links, but know of a filly which always came up with little lumps, mostly on head and neck, AFTER being wormed.
The wormer was ivermectin, and that filly did arrive with a high redworm burden from the stud where my friend bought her (could see worms in droppings)
Two vets got involved, and their view was that subcutaneous worm burden (microfilarae?similar name) were being successfully expelled, and the hives were the reaction.
The Equvalan product information did say something about this, anyway, ultimate decision was not to use ivermectin again. Her hives took a long time to totally subside, several months each time, but they bothered my friend more than the filly.
Today, blood testing exists for both tapeworms and for any encysted redworms - FEC tests will not show either of those problems, so if you can send bloods for testing in Turkey or on the mainland, that would help. Good luck.
Click to expand...
understand! thanks so much, i’ll have to find a nearby country for testing, as Turkey has no other type of blood testing other than normal blood test & biochemistry. which is so annoying!!! thankfully, me and this certain horse will be moving to the netherlands in a year or so, however if these hives persist then i cannot leave the country, so we have to fix those first, it’s so upsetting and distressing and he’s so miserable, i feel awful :(
 
mariaandefe said:
if anyone has any other suggestions pls let me know 🙏
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I would try a proper exclusion diet. You chose to use meadow hay which, while it is only one product it can actually contain multiple species of grass along with many other plants, you don't even know what all the species of plant are that are contained in it. Rye grass is a known allergen and is one of the things which is included in allergy testing in the UK. My horse was switched to alfalfa as he didn't have this in his feed already so it was known that it wasn't the cause. My vet advised me to do an exclusion diet containing only one actual plant species not one product.

I have also known liver problems to lead to very sensitive skin and reactions to products which were previously OK. It's a bit odd that your vet recommended that you give your horse human liver drugs for no reason. Are you sure that the previously run blood tests included liver enzymes, here in the UK routine blood tests don't look for liver function unless specifically requested for some clinical reason. Is it worth running bloods again specifically for liver enzymes?
 
nutjob said:
I would try a proper exclusion diet. You chose to use meadow hay which, while it is only one product it can actually contain multiple species of grass along with many other plants, you don't even know what all the species of plant are that are contained in it. Rye grass is a known allergen and is one of the things which is included in allergy testing in the UK. My horse was switched to alfalfa as he didn't have this in his feed already so it was known that it wasn't the cause. My vet advised me to do an exclusion diet containing only one actual plant species not one product.

I have also known liver problems to lead to very sensitive skin and reactions to products which were previously OK. It's a bit odd that your vet recommended that you give your horse human liver drugs for no reason. Are you sure that the previously run blood tests included liver enzymes, here in the UK routine blood tests don't look for liver function unless specifically requested for some clinical reason. Is it worth running bloods again specifically for liver enzymes?
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they done a full biochemistry blood test to check all his organs, his blood is completely fine.

for one some time i did give him plain alfalfa and oats, and still nothing changed
 
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