HIVES!!!!!!

[charlotte79]

my mare has started breaking out in hives everytime she sweats , the only thing i can think may be the cause is that she has been on grass pellets since the end of summer, they are high in protein and i've heard this can be a cause. has anyone had any issues with hives, not only must they be very uncomfortable for my poor mare but i can't ride her for days on end. she lives out and has a hunter clip. any help appreciated Thanks

 

[ticobay831]

sure its not insect related, my lad suffered terribly years ago, spent 12 months trying to find out cause and it turned out to be hornetts!!!!! it started in November. long story but have diary if you wanna read it..

 

[charlotte79]

that would be wonderful if i could. its so frustrating and it seems to be getting worse. she only breaks out after a hard session, if we walk the block then shes fine. it started when i took her hunting for the first time this year, the next morning she was covered, since then its been after every long ride/hunt. i've now taken her off the grass pellets so will have to wait a few weeks to see if that helps. thanks

 

[ticobay831]

there are so many coinsidences maybe it could be shes getting bitten because shes been sweating, if you know what i mean.. i spent all the time on the phone to feed specialists searching the nett, it really got me down, but my vet was fantastic and was very patient with me..lol
I thought it was food related and poor lad went without lots of things, even thought it was grass, as i said turned out to be bloody hornetts and they were in the attic part of his stable, god did i feel bad when i found out. il pm you the diary

 

[Spotsrock]

Mine's allergic to apple flavoured hi fi but ok on alfa a or apple flavoured chaff. I'd check feed if u changed anything recently.

 

[charlotte79]

thats an interesting diary.....i really know how you felt. my poor mare is bad today, i had to get some danilon from the vets as the welts were all over her. she doesn't seem to be too itchy just really hot. did you notice any hair loss with your boy?? my mare has 6 or 7 little bald spots appearing just smaller than a 5p, this bothers me also as she had a sarcoid as a 4yr old. I'You must've been so relieved to find the cause!!! be great to hear back

 

[ticobay831]

The lumps would somtimes weep a clear syrum i had to use hibiscrub and get it off it would form a small scab, the hair woild sometimes come off then but other than that no the hair didnt come away, did you see the pictures, it breaks my heart to see them now, i cant believe how bad he was poor lad, it took over my life, it was awfull, it probably bothered me more than him to be honest..

There is a talk next month on skin conditions and a couple of other veterinary things in Stratford, the great Derek Knottenbelt will be speaking, if it wasnt for that man i would have gone out of my mind, he was fantastic and helped keep me sane, along with my vet who was also brilliant...
If you ever feel you need a chat, i would be quite happy to talk to you, i know what you must be going through, i can message you my number or email address

 

[ticobay831]

what rug is she wearing my lad had to be fully clipped out and only had a cotton sheet on, his stables were inside a barn so he wasnt too bad, he had to sponged down everynight, i found that used to help take them down a bit, they got infected a couple of times as well, hot and itchy so he had to go on a corse of antibiotics, which seemed to help, try and keep her cool if you can, its amazing how warm they keep themselves i was scared to death my boy would be freezing but he never was .

As i said it may be a totally different thing than mine was but i guess a hive is a hive, whatever the cause :-/

 

[charlotte79]

what rug is she wearing my lad had to be fully clipped out and only had a cotton sheet on, his stables were inside a barn so he wasnt too bad, he had to sponged down everynight, i found that used to help take them down a bit, they got infected a couple of times as well, hot and itchy so he had to go on a corse of antibiotics, which seemed to help, try and keep her cool if you can, its amazing how warm they keep themselves i was scared to death my boy would be freezing but he never was .

As i said it may be a totally different thing than mine was but i guess a hive is a hive, whatever the cause :-/

funny you should say about the rug, as its only after she gets hot out riding it happens i was thinking that maybe she was overheating, she lives out in a med weight full neck, with a hunter clip. had to have the vet this morning as she was worse again, shes always lived out in various rugs and got hot etc which makes me wonder if it could be that. i guess its trial and error of elimination but it takes its toll especially as she is unrideable after each breakout!!