[RC] Sluggish horse part III - Claire NystromThe thyroid tests came back on my mare and she actually has a slightly high level of thyroid hormone and her insulin and glucose levels are normal. I am still waiting for the Lyme disease test results. I am just not able to ride her hard enough to keep the extra pounds off because of her exercise intolerance and breathing problems. It is looking more and more that allergies are causing her breathing problems as it is a yearly, seasonal problem. Once we figure out if she needs to be treated for Lyme or not, I'm going to get allergy testing done and then try allergy shots. My vet told me that it is especially concerning that she does have breathing troubles under the age of 10 (she's a 9 yo. mustang/tb cross and has had problems since age 7), as these horses are usually unrideable by the time they hit 15 or 20. I am just hoping that the allergy shots are effective for her and solve the problem (apparently, horses are immunologically different than humans and they have a lower success rate than for people even though they can work). I am fairly upset about the whole thing as I might have to think about finding a new home for her with a new job that might be better suited to her physical capabilities. I can only afford to have one horse and really, really want to be able to do more than what my mare is capable of. I got her out of a field as an unhandled 5 yo. and have put tons of training into her. She's always had 24/7 turnout so has not lived a lifestyle conducive to developing these problems at such a young age. She was totally fine till age 7 and then the breathing problems started. I was just wondering if anyone else had ever tried allergy shots with their horse and if it worked? I've been trying to do research on it on-line and haven't found very much helpful information. Thanks, Carol -- Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming- WOW- what a ride!! =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Ridecamp is a service of Endurance Net, http://www.endurance.net. Information, Policy, Disclaimer: http://www.endurance.net/Ridecamp Subscribe/Unsubscribe http://www.endurance.net/ridecamp/logon.asp Ride Long and Ride Safe!! =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
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