Hives!!!

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Philly22

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Hey everyone,

Just over 2 weeks ago my horse broke out in hives all over his body. He wasn't at all bothered by them, i could see he wasn't lying down at night, i soon found out it was due to a weed leaning on the electric fence causing it to click, so this would of caused him stress.
After removing the evil weed he started to lay down again at night, (i also gave him some piriton which got rid of all the hives) Just over a week later they came back again! I can't see any reason as to why, nothing stressful has happened to him, he hasn't been in the field, he's been enjoying his rides, no clicky electric fences... So i'm stumped. They aren't itchy either.
The only thing that comes to mind is i changed his feed a few weeks before initial break out, but i assumed if a reaction was going to happen it would of happened the next day, and if it IS his feed he would have the hives constantly.. His feed is 16 Plus and molichaff veteran mix by the way..

PS. The only reason why i haven't called the vet is due to the fact he doesn;t appear bothered by them in the slightest.

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Are you in an area where we have had loads of wet weather? It looks fairly dry on your pic. There looks to be conifer trees bordering your field, do you get a lot of flies and biting midges?
I ask this because my horse came out like that about four years ago when we had a very warm humid summer. He also got mud fever, cracked heels and rain scald all at the same time.
When I spoke to my vet about it, he suggested a Cushings test. I was shocked because he hadn't got any of the the signs of PPID but he tested positive.
PPID suppresses the immune system and they are then prone to skin infections etc. He was also full of worms, even thought he had been regularly wormed along with all the other horses on the yard.
Your horse is a typical age when Cushings could be an issue, sorry but it's worth finding out beforehand so you can take precautions against autumn laminitis.
 
Defo not cushings, he got all clear. But thanks for reply :) He still has them, vet is due at yard next week so i'm gonna collar him and ask him what he thinks. Any other suggestions at what could be the source of this? He's not at all stressed, and they aren't fly bites - not at all itchy or irritating
 
Have you tried turning him out in a fly rug? My mare gets terribly bitten without her rug at the moment, but they don't appear to be itchy. Are there any nettles or similar in your field that he could be rolling on and which are causing an allergic reaction?
 
I have had the same problem recently with one of my horses, 3 out in the same field but only one covered in hives and he had a fly rug on, but not bothered by them.
 
I mentioned the flies because I think my horse had an allergic reaction to their bites.
He has also had a reaction to barley many years ago but his skin came out in wheals - sort of shallow, large flat swellings, particularly bad under his belly so I'd check out feed ingredients.
It may not be just one thing, it could be a combination of things together.
 
Have no checked feed for Barley, will have a look tommorow. They have defiantly died down now, barely noticeable. I don't think flies/mozies are the issue. He lives in a stable but can walk out onto a small concreted area. His direct neighbour hasn't had ANY bumps on him at all, if it were bites he'd be the same.
He does have a fly rug but haven't been putting in on him as 1) hasn't been going out in a field recently due to weather and boggy mud.
2) I get worried a fly could get trapped inside and upset him.
3) the first time he wore it, he sweated buckets!!

But thanks all for help and suggestions :)
 
My poor boy is covered in them at the moment, have no idea why, nothing has changed at all. He is wearing a fly rug all the time to help just in case its contact/fly related. He is bothered by them though and is really sensitive when you touch them, he also is not peeing so I have the vet coming out today to see him :-(
 
My boy is suffering too! About 2 weeks ago came out with them allover his neck, quarters and girth area. Vet gave him steroid injections and they seemed to improve. But then on Thursday last week they flared back up and there literally wasn't an inch of him bump free! Vet seems to think it's hypersensitivity to fly bites - he's never had this before but hey ho nothing would suprise me with him! Initially we thought it was some kind of contact dermatitis from the pollen and / or buttercups in the field, but now he's in a different field and they still flared up. Not sure if it's related but the night before they flared back up it absolutely lashed down with rain? Vet advised fly rug during the day, I've also been giving him antihistamines and he's looking relatively normal at the minute. Fingers crossed it's the last we'll see of them :rolleyes:
 
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