Endurance.Net Ridecamp Archives

> Please Reply to: Jeanne Pepper pepperja@xxxxxxxxx or ridecamp@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
> ==========================================
>
> How ironic..after 40 yrs of owning horses I end up with one with an 
> apparently chronic condition & NO,it's not my thin skinned,delicate 
> Arab, but my 3 yr.old moose of a mustang.This morning he's actually 
> bleeding on his belly from itching.He's already lost most of his 3 
> foot long mane from rubbing and his belly is a mess from girth to 
> sheath.This has all errupted in the past 3 weeks.Tried the vinegar 
> baths, the spot on repellant and started flax yesterday.But the 
> question remains..WHY HIM??I don't even have a fly problem,remove 
> all poop from their 1/2 acre paddock.Weather's been cool & foggy for 
> the past month so haven't needed fly masks ,the hanging fly traps 
> are barely active.Obviously he's allergic to the bites so how is all 
> this topical stuff & flax gonna help?The type of midge causing the 
> reaction doesn't seem to be repelled by the same stuff the other 
> flys are(haven't seen these midges but they must exist or he 
> wouldn't have this problem)It's depressing to read the other posts 
> from people who've been dealing with this for years with no 
> improvement.This horse was scheduled to begin work under saddle this 
> fall but I can't imagine girthing him up in this condition plus he's 
> pretty cranky (understandably!!)Has anyone tried allergy shots?Do 
> they even have such a thing for horses?Blankets aren't an option 
> ,he's just to physical,rolling,rubbing & playing all day.Any help 
> for poor itchy Amigo out there?pepper


From what I've observed with my horses, it is a combination of 
genetics (the itchy ones are close cousins) and a general allergic 
reaction to probably multiple things in their environment, with the 
fly saliva just being the last straw (in dogs it can be a single flea 
bite -- and I noticed the dogs were scratching the most when my 
co-workers were complaining the most about *their* allergies).

Supplementing with Platinum Performance (ground flax) has really 
helped (I was giving it anyway and noticed that my usually ratty 
looking itchy horses, weren't), but for a real flare up calling the 
vet out to give a shot of long acting steroid seems to stop the 
allergic reaction quickly.  My vet says several horses in his 
practice that were really bad cases are being controlled by daily 
Azium in their feed as a last ditch effort.
--


Lynn Kinsky, Santa Ynez, CA
http://www.silcom.com/~lkinsky/

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