For those of you who have not received the November/December issue of Trail
Blazer Magazine, the subject of the "Cybertrail" article this month is
"Veterinarians on The World Wide Web". It's perfect, finally a place to go
and find all the web sites to find out all sorts of information on our
animals!!!
I am currently experiencing a problem with one of my horses. The young one
(4, Arab, Gelding) is breaking out in hives. For the last two years he has
been extremely sensitive to fly bites in the SPRING. However, now it is
FALL and he has broken out rather badly, three episodes to date. If he
recives a dose of dexamethasone (steroids), the hives will clear up for
about a week. He has had two doses of dex, and I don't feel comfortable
giving him more. We have run several blood tests, including thyroid, and
everything is normal. His vital signs are all completely normal, and I can
still ride him. In fact, he did a 25 mile endurance ride and completed with
excellent vet scores. Another weird thing, when he went to the ride, the
bumps cleared up. So that leads me to believe it is something in his
environment. He is getting oat hay. Does anybody have any ideas on what it
could be, or have had a similar case? I did find bot eggs on his legs -
could that have anything to do with it? My next step will be to do more
tests. I'm told I can do some allergy testing, and/or a biopsy. These
tests will cost a lot of $$ and still may not find the answer, and I am
worried to death that we might find the 'wrong' answer. I would appreciate
hearing any advice or experiences. :-)
Happy Trails,
Karen
in Gardnerville
& Weaver
& Rocky who is covered with bumps (again!)