Barley allergy ?

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poggio

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Just wondered if this was common or whether anyone had come across it before.
My boy moved to livery a few months ago and was on bog standard H+P cubes + Alfa + sugarbeet + salt&oil. But his workload significantly increased so started needing more/change in diet as well as something to keep the condition on. The yard feeds Barley to all liveries, and it is included in the price, I've used straight grains before so didnt have a problem changing to it and to be fair he looks super on it. However, when he first changed over it coincided with me clipping him out fully, the next day he had a rash all over his body - similar to the rash we get from bubble stingys but bigger bumps. He was fine in himself, temperature fine etc etc and after a week or so and some hibiscrub baths they disappeared. We thought it may be a clipping rash, or reaction to the detergant his stable rugs were washed in, so just played it by ear. Once again though, workload has increased and he was looking a bit on the lean side so just upped his feed again - same thing has happened. Not covered his whole body this time, just his neck and some on his quarters. This time they seem quite itchy as he's rolling a lot and a few have gone a bit scabby.
Have cut the feed down again so wondered if there were any alternatives I could consider feeding. I know the soaked oat diet is popular but seems quite a lot of work when you're always in a rush/cant get to the yard. Don't like feeding all sorts, want to keep it as simple (and as cheap!) as possible, he's generally a good doer but is in full work and gets fit very easily. My other one is fed on Blue Chip and Baileys no.4 which costs a fortune so don't really want to be going for brand names again!
 
My Friends horse had the exact same reaction when on barley. As soon as she was taken off it it would clear up no problem but lumps would reappear again if she was ever fed it.
 
I have heard of barley causing problems too.

Why not just get a bag of rolled oats and add that to the feed. It is a more suitable feed for horses than barley, really. Barley is for fattening cattle. Just start with a small amount and see what happens. You could go for Tiger Oats which are higher in oil, but they are probably more expensive too.

I give my very lazy horse a few oats, it just gives him a bit more engergy without going crazy. His main diet is forage - Dengie Hi-Fi Lite, with a little unmolassed sugar beet pulp, Bailey Lo-Cal balancer.
 
I will probably be shot down in flames for this, but ... I was told by a nutritionalist that straight barley fed with sugar beet created a toxin! This could account for the rash along with giving too much protein in his diet.

I always swear by fibre, fibre and more fibre
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A good glug of veggie oil in each feed will give him slow release energy and keep his coat gleaming.

If in doubt, always consult a nutritionalist - Spillers and D&H are really helpful.
 
My mare had a similar reaction when we went away for 3 weeks - probably caused by stress but the blood tests showed she had an allergy to Oats, not that she was being fed them. The vets can do a blood test to check for allergies if you are concerned/haven't already had this done.
 
My horse has just been diagnosed with an allergy to barley, along with lots of other things. He came out in lumps. He's 14 and never had the problem before, just suddenly came on.
 
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