Hives!!!!

Subject: HIVES!!!!! Today at 9:21 pm

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Hi y'all,

Hope y'all are off to a good start with the show season!

I have a huge problem and hoping someone can help out. My gelding broke out with hives 2 weeks ago and I don't have a clue why. At first I thought it was the new hoof conditioner since that was the only new thing I had used. He got a stereoid injection on 3/26 and they were gone by the next mornng. Ten days later it started again. I took him off of his grain, free balance mineral supplement and had already stopped with the hoof conditioner the week before. This was last Wed. That day he got some sort of stereoid in pill form; 8 pills on Wed, 6 pills on Thurs. and they were gone Thurs. On Thurs. morning I started him on Platinum Performance which my vet had recommended. Yesterday afternoon the hives were back! This morning they are twice as bad and my vet is out of town till tomorrow.

I don't have any grass in my pasture right now because W. Texas has been so dry. He's usually out 24/7 unless the dirt storms are really bad or when it was 5 degrees out like in Feb. I really don't have any weeds growing in the pasture. He has been on the same hay which I picked up out of the hayfield as it was being baled last June. He's been on 2lbs of Nutrena Safe Choice a day for over a year & a helf. The only odd thing is that he is stripping the mesquite bushes on the other side of the fence on the neighbors property. I have now hacked them all off.

Does anyone have any ideas or suggestions? My vet said he doesn't think the mesquite is an issue and that he could be allergic to something that has always been here. He also said we can't keep using the stereoids since it can make him founder. My gelding is miserable and I don't know what to do for him.

It is very possible that he has developed a sensitivity or intolerance to an everyday item that he has been around his whole life. It may have been causing a very small immune system reaction that his body was fighting reasonably successfully and so it had gone unnoticed. Unfortunately, once the body decides that the substance in question is now a source of danger because of the antibody levels that have built up - you now have hives. Your vet may do a test (or series of them) to find out what he is allergic too. Another thing that he might do is to draw blood to see if your horse's blood counts are normal, if the hepatic levels are normal, etc.
As far as comfort for your horse - get him out of the sun, get him clean of repellents etc, Make sure that his skin and coat do not get too dried out. A body wash made up of a few ounces of a cooling linemint (and a little vitamin e if you have any) sponged on daily or as needed may help with the itching somewhat.

Oops. I saw the other thread on this and replied before I saw this one.

Thank you both for the info. I have since found out that his grandsire has multiple allergies. They suggested an allergy test to come up with an antigen shot they could give him. My vet didn't seem to think most allergy tests did much.

The hives he has now are like large hematomas on his belly, between his front legs and his knee. I have not been able to get rid of them for more than a day at a time. Today it looks like maybe the Platinum is kicking in since he is starting to loose the last of his winter coat and starting to look shiny with bumps. Can you tell me where you get the Tri Hist?

Thanks again!

I order my TriHist through one of my veterinary suppliers. Not sure who, I'd have to look.

Allergy testing on blood is somewhat controversial as to how accurate it is. But it is somethign to go off of. The better way to test for allergies is an intradermal skin test. You'd need to find a veterinary dermatologist. And you'd have to take him off his steroids and antihistamines and shave a section of him for the test. Allergy desensitization shots can work wonders in some animals. But you have to commit to about a year's worth of therapy before you see much effect. Pluses and minuses of all the options. Hives are tough!