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Re: [RC] Allergies, etc. - heidiWhile I agree in the acute stages, IF this mare requires occasional injections to remain desensitized, then the question is indeed relevant. Of course it is relevant because it involves injecting substance (subcue) into a horse before a ride. I could probably skip that day...but am still wondering what AERCs policy is on the subject. I haven't looked in depth at the protocol you are planning/using, but usually at some point, the shots diminish in frequency. I'm in no way saying that this IS how AERC would look at it, but my personal "take" on it is two-fold--one, that while she needs daily injections, you are both in violation of the drug rule and putting her in a position of making the treatment far less effective by subjecting her to stress. Once she reaches a maintenance point where the injections are no longer daily and where her allergic situation is stable, then I don't see any problem. At that point, I'd just time injections so that they are at least 48 hours or so before a ride. You are not injecting a "drug" per se, but you ARE performing an "invasive" treatment. FWIT my vet said in no way does this treatment interfere with my horses ability to be an endurance horse. He has done endurance rides years ago as well as vetted rides so I trust his judgment on this one. Does the treatment interfere? No. Does it enhance her performance (in the sense that a stimulatory drug would)? No. Does using her for endurance during initial treatment make the treatment less effective? Probably. If she were my mare, I would not want to do an endurance ride on her until the treatment was well advanced and having its intended effect--drug rule or no drug rule! Heidi what do you mean by acute stages? This has been a chronic problem...it just didn't flare up over night. I'm using the term "acute" in its medical sense here--meaning any time the problem is in an exacerbated or active state. While the problem is indeed "chronic," the times that she is miserable are "acute episodes." Allergies in horse can not be that rare. I've seen other horses that itch and scratch. Surely this topic has been raised before with AERC. While they are not rare, they aren't just everyday problems, either. I've dealt with allergic client horses, but can't say I've ever dealt with an allergic endurance horse personally. (At least not food allergies--I've had two that had contact dermatitis associated with neoprene.) I've heard of a few with some specific allergies, but they are readily controlled by just avoiding the particular food/substance. I could forgo the shots and treat the symptoms of the allergies...which I think what most people do. EYe washes, fly sheets, masks and spray take care of a lot of the problem but it is a twice a day regime. Frankly the shots will be easier in the long run. And likely a better solution for her as well. The treatment time for the initial hyposensitization is 293 days. After that she goes on maintance shots. Do you consider the hypsensitization period the "acute stage?" See above for definition of "acute." No, the desensitization period is a treatment period. BTW this is horse is not a prospect. She is my horse who happens to do endurance. That's what she will always be. Answer me this. If she tore a suspensory ligament, even though she is "your horse who happens to do endurance," she would stay home from rides until she was healed and rehabbed, wouldn't she? So why not stay home and rehab through a metabolic disease as well? I submit that the time out of the sport is just as important for getting through metabolic issues (and yes, immune disease IS a metabolic issue that affects other metabolic functions) as it is for soundness issues--if not moreso! How well she works through this will depend a lot on how ideal you can make her life during the desensitization process. Heidi ============================================================ Prudence and focus will carry you a long way on a horse. ~ Frank Solano ridecamp.net information: http://www.endurance.net/ridecamp/ ============================================================
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