Shavings allergy????

J

Jazzyb

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Hi All

Has anyone ever had a horse / pony that is allergic to shavings?
We have a pony on the yard that keeps coming up in lumps all over her body when she is stabled. The lumps soon dissappear when she is turnt out and they only happen when she lays down on the shavings.

Is this an allergic reaction to shavings or will she be like it on all types of bedding?

Thanks all :-)
 
No idea if it is or not, but the thing to do would be to change bedding and see what happens. It's a process of elimination, so if it still happens, try changing something else, only one thing at a time or it will be pointless.

does she get fed anything when she's in that she doesn't get when she's turned out? Hay? Haylage? Feed? A lick block? Does she get rugged - washing powder allergy? Does she get over hot in the stable? Could it just be that being stabled stresses her out?

There are a hundred variables it MIGHT be, start with one, like the bed, and work your way through. It's a long haul, but worth it to make her comfy.

Good luck!!
 
I really have no idea! I guess it would be trial and error as far as other beddings are concerned.

Do the shavings have any treatment in them? ie eucalyptus oil or something similar?
 
Are the shavings ' proper ' ones? I mean are they from a company such as snowflake? Sometimes if the shavings are collected from a local timber merchant, the wood they use could have been treated and this could cause a reaction.
 
Her bedding has been changed from using cheap shavings to bedmax and the same is still happening. She is only fed Hay when she is in her stable.
I have been looking on the internet and the lumps that come up seem to be the same as hives.
We have narrowed it down to being the shavings or the hay as everything else has been taken out of the stable. They lumps come up all over her body and then when she is turnt out for about 7 hours the lumps dissappear but them come back up when she has been in her stable.

We are going to try feeding her hay in the field tonight to see if she is allergic to that. If not then we will change her bedding to straw, is that a good idea or should we try paper bedding?

Thanks all
 
When I was having problems with allergies I ended up having Frankie tested. He like yours had hives (urticaria).

Amongst other things various forms of wood were triggers so I moved him off wood based bedding (i had tried shavings and pellets) onto straw and he improved.

It didn't complete solve the problem as he was reacting to lots of things in the environment and what worked completely was moving yards.
 
I wouldn't be at all surprised.

I'm convinced that Beau is allergic! I switched him to shavings a couple of months ago and he promptly came up in mudfever like symptoms-still has patches. He was the same when I first got him and was on straw, having never been stabled before.

I daren't change him again to anything else cos he's bound to come out again in bumps so am stuck on Hunters!
 
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