Breathing - allergies how do you cope - long!

SO1

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I moved yards about 18 months ago - I have a sensitive pony who has to live out and he was very unhappy at my old yard.

Found a lovely new yard and we moved a year last July. He loves it, it has transformed our lives for the better and we are both very very happy - it would be perfect except he is allergic to something on this yard.

He did not have this at the old yard but it is in a different area I moved house in order to keep him at current yard.

It is not an all year allergy - it first started last September when he had a allergic asthma attack which I originally thought was due to a fly spray - called vet who said put him back in field and if he was not right in an hour call him back - he was fine and then thought nothing of it - till it came back with a vengence in November when he moved on to the winter grazing.

He lives out and does not have hay so it is not dust or hay. He was on ventipulim for 6 weeks and I also put him on global herbs airways plus till March. He was fully recovered from mid December until a week last Friday when he had another attack.

This time it was really bad - he had a temperature and fluid in the lungs so needed antibiotics, ventipulmin and danillion for 5 days. He is much improved and breathing ok at rest and when ridden in walk.

He is now much better and is fine in rest in the field. He is very lively, bright in himself and greedy and seems happy - he wants to trot and canter but it takes a while for his breathing to return to normal again and he gets more puffed out than he used to. He is back on the airways plus and I am also giving him global herbs restore.

I don't want to move yards as he is so happy here and it has been very hard to find somewhere suitable for him, but I don't want him to suffer from allergies either - though someone once said to me that allergies often bother the owner more than the horse!

How do others cope with allergies? I am hoping now he is back on the herbal supplement that he will continue to improve and this will stop another relapse once he goes on to the winter grazing (I did originally think it was something in the winter field but now I am not sure).

I was going to put him back on the breathing supplement at the beginning of October in preparation for him moving onto the winter grazing in November where I though he was allergic to some plant. However his allergy has started earlier this year. It is is just 6 weeks a year we can cope with that but if each year it is going to start earlier then it is not looking good.

How do others cope with allergies - this seems to be autumnal so I am thinking fungal spores rather than pollen? Do you end up having to move yards to get away from the allergen or have you coped?
 
Have your vets suggested a skin test to identify the allergy SO1? They test a load of common allergens all at the same time by applying a tiny bit of each substance to a teeny bit of skin. They then look for allergic responses to each substance. It is then possible to produce a personalised "antidote" to the allergen that is causing your ned's reaction. They make it into syringes which are stored until your ned needs the next one which is then injected. A livery at my yard bought a lovely mare who had an assortment of odd allergies. She has her own "strain" of antidotes (that's not the right word but it's too late to remember what is) that she is injected with every so often - it's working a treat. I'm not sure how much this costs but it's worth investigating if it will help your horse. It might be possile to have it done on your insurance. Have a word with your vet - if you need any more info, I can get the details from the lady at my yard x
 
The girl who has the stable next to me has is currently having this treatment for her horse who has a skin allergy but my vets said this does not work for breathing allergies unfortunately.
 
my horse ,who has some sort of breathing condition has been put out on loan to see if he copes better in another area. it got to the stage where he was finding it hard to carry out any schooling for more than 20 mins and an hours hack was enough for him. he seems fine in himself in all other ways so i decided to do this to see if it is just something in my field that is causing his trouble. he copes well if he is kept on naf respirator. the vet has said to me that due to the lung having old scarring he won't improve but there are many ways just to keep him comfortable. also that he can only be usefull as a happy hacker. his loan parents have said that his breathing has been fine so far so i'm just keeping my fingers crossed x
 
Once the alveolae are senitised it can take a good long time for it to come back to normal and they can be hypersensitive. If you have ever had a really bad chest infection you may have experienced this. We have had similar experience. Consider using Salbutamol and a horse-haler if you need symptomatic relief. Soaking hay will help. Stress of change - even if it exciting and happy change - can make it temporarily worse. Herbals will support, but when they are wheezy you need a bronchodilator
 
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