Buying a horse that has suffered from photosensitisation

B

buzzles

Well-Known Member
Joined
13 January 2007
Messages
1,054
Location
Ireland
Visit site
Would you buy a horse that has suffered quite severe photosensitisation (sp!) (brought on from buttercups), and if you did would you expect to pay less than the horse is worth because it has suffered from photosensitisation.
 
I am sorry but in no circumstances would I consider a horse which had suffered from photosensitisation.

Many years ago I bought a lovely grey mare who developed photosensitisation the following June.

I was told that this had been brought on by buttercups. I was told to remove her from the buttercups and she would be fine. Away from the buttercups the terrible rash cleared up within a fortnight. I was told that it would be safe to return her to her field once the buttercups were over and I did so.

All was well untill we had some really sunny weather at the end of September. When I checked her one evening her face had a decidedly blue tinge to it but the colour was back to normal by the following morning. That afternoon however i went to ride and found her staggering around the field in a type of stupour. She pushed against me as if trying to hide her face from the light. I called the vet immediately and he sedated her, saying that he thought that she might have a chance. I and 3 others spent untill 3am the next morning trying to prevent her rolling down a bank as she struggled to get up. At 3 am she died.

Sorry for the gruesome tale but i would not like you to go through what I did.

Incidently a friend of mine also had a pony who suffered from photosensitation on his face and legs - the rest of him was black. He also died.
 
I'm really sorry for the loss of your mare, that sounds a horrible thing to go through. Actually I have a horse on schooling livery and the owner is selling him. He got a severe rash from the buttercups at his owners place and so came to me as I don't have any buttercups. He then got really bad sunburn on all his white parts (he's colored). It's only just cleared up now and I'm managing it well, like I said he's not on buttercups, he goes out at night and wears suncream and a UV protective rug. The owner is selling him as he's too green for her but is looking for quite a lot for him and I think it will be difficult to sell him as he has had, and is now prone to, photosensitisation.
 
I think I'd be expecting the horse to be practically 'given away' cheap due to the nature of the condition and the enourmous amounts of management needed and the way it prevents you from doing lots of things with said horse.
 
No, I wouldn't as my pony developed this condition and, although he wore boots on his white legs in the summer to prevent the sun getting to them, he had to be put to sleep 2 years later as his liver was badly damaged.
 
My horse is sensitive to the sunlight but lives out all summer with a Rambo protector (UV rug) in a well shaded paddock, will post a pic tomorrow

He showed no signs until 2 yrs after i bought him, he is difficult to manage due to him also being allergic to horse feed and grass and hay... the list goes on, he does have outbreaks occasionally but i manage these as best as i can (will post a pic of this tomorrow also)

so would i buy him knowing he had these problems maybe not, would i part with him now - no way (even though i have been offered £12,000 for him!)

Not sure if this will help you in your decision or not is it only buttercups that the horse has a problem to or sunlight as well? does s/he have any other allergies?

Trust me is heart breaking when they have an outbreak, frankie has literally itched himself until he bleeds hence why he wears the UV rug all the time as it also protects his skin from his teeth. he has to have long acting antihistimine injections every 6-8 weeks and intravenous ones when he has an outbreak.

Good luck in your decision!
 
ok here are the pictures

UV Rug
n511914222_70314_9105.jpg


in this one you can see where the cream has come through
n511914222_74449_8011.jpg


and his skin after his last reaction in June
n511914222_74448_7772.jpg
 
Thanks AimeeC, the horse has a rug like that which he wears whenever he's out, although he's turned out at night so he's never out in the sun for long. It's a horse I have on schooling livery and the owner is selling. He got the first outbreak from buttercups and then a few weeks later severe sunburn, the vet said that the cortisone injections which were used to treat the initial allergic reaction probably thinned the skin and also contributed to the sunburn. He has no other allergies, he's been on haylage, hay, cubes, coarse mix and is in a meadow with a good mix of grasses and herbs (although no buttercups!) so I don't think he will be prone to other allergies. Also theres been no sign of the sunburn or rash returning so I think it would be a fairly easy case to manage as it's just a case of no buttercups and avoiding strong UV light. However I still think it should be reflected in the price and prospective buyers should certainly be told he has suffered from it and how to manage it. Although reading some of these posts I think I would be put off buying a horse with photosensitisation!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top