# Pollen Allergy???



## aimeetb (5 May 2011)

Ok things are never just straight forward are they?! Just as I think my filly and I are having a good spell this!!

Bit of advice and opinions please people.

Just moved yards to be closer to our new house incase of another horrendous winter and bless my little yearling, she has been an angel but the last 2 or 3 days i noticed she just wasnt herself a little irritated and on occasions i noticed a heave line (more clearly when she was a bit stresses like introducing her to her new stable - although she has calmed down in there quite well now). 

Also i had noticed that in the morning she has a very small amount of clear discharge from her nostrils and last night which was a bit of a give away (maybe) I noticed her scratching her nose on her front legs.

I called the vet about the heave line but he said if she seems well just watch her for a few days - so I have.

I am wondering whether it is a pollen allergy as this paddock is on 2 sides lined with hawthorn which she loves to have a munch on and it is quite laden with blossom.

Does that sound it to you guys??

I am obviously moving fields asap (saturday morn says farmer) and have orders some Global Herbs Pollen-X. 

Is there anything else you can suggest or anything else you think it might be??

I know I am a worrier but is this quite common and does it cause any long term damage? Should I be concerned for her future career?? 

**Off I go - Doom and gloom - I know!! 

Thanks for reading long as usual..


Aimee xxxxxxx


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## Dizzydancer (5 May 2011)

It does sound like pollen to me, it is meant to be very high levels at present. My horse has a pollen allergy, he has vaseline applied to his nostrils every morning and night, he also has a full face mask on with nose to try and reduce the pollen. I have just been advised when chatting about it in a local tack shop to try echinacea to boost his immune system, he also has piriton liquid in his feed a big splash every day.. He has ventipulmin for when he is bad.

ETS- i dont think it qwill have an effect on her future career, you will just need to find a way to manage it, and when you do begin working her, in the summer she may need a nose net.


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## aimeetb (5 May 2011)

Thanks for the reply, feel a bit better about it, just been looking at the Equilibrium Nose Nets, will see how she gets on when she moves paddocks away from the Hawthorn.

If it is the Pollen and it is because it is very high this year do you all think that she will have it every year now or is there a chance that its just because its quite high and years when it isnt so high might not bother her?? Not sure how it all works really I'm not allergic to anything other than vegetables LOL and never had an animal allergic to anything either!

xx


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## Ella19 (5 May 2011)

it will affect her to some extent, moving fields or area or local farmer crop rotation can also trigger it. equilibrium nets are fab!


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## aimeetb (5 May 2011)

Ella - she has just moved yards, not far away at all but she is on lower ground and there is hawthorn around her field that she has never been by before so think has started it as he does have her head wedged in the bush quite alot! 

She doesnt seem bad just scratches her nose a bit and seemed a bit tucked the other day (this heave line thing) with a teeny bit of clear snot but quite bright and normal in herself other than that but just want to move her away from all the pollen and see.

Just hope we can manage it with herbs and a nose net rather than all the meds she's only a yearling bless her!! xxx


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## vroutledge (5 May 2011)

Hi, my horse was diagnosed with hay fever a couple of years ago and it is apparently very rare in horses, i feed him herbal tablets from holland and barrets called ''New Era'' they are small sugary pills and i give my horse a hand full in his morning feed and he has been great since i started using them. i Hope this helps. (They are just small water type tablets all natural ingredients and suitable for horses my horse has had them since we found out about his hay fever)


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## aimeetb (5 May 2011)

vroutledge - thanks for that I'll look them up! 

There is hope then! LOL

xxx


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## vroutledge (5 May 2011)

No worries i hope they help.


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## dianeholmes (5 May 2011)

It depends on how bad the allergies are. I am sorry to be gloomy but I have just lost a 10yr old gelding to pollen allergy, or Seasonal Recurrent Airways Obstructive Disease as it is currently known. He ended up on steroids and two broncho dilators daily (two inhaled and one oral). 

You can get vaccinations made following a panel of tests - it is costly and the evidence is not great for it working for every horse. It maybe worth knowing what she is allergic to - the panel costs about £200. However beware as it is a lifelong vaccination programme of one injection a month!!!!!

Winston was scoped at the beginning of each spring and his condition was deteriorating with the neutrophilia increasing year on year. The drugs were not working for him.

The standard age for developing allergies is around 7-8yrs so your youngster is a bit too young!!

I would recommend getting to the bottom of this as I am afraid from my experience it will most certainly affect her career and reduce performance. It can be a nightmare to manage!
It could turn out to be something simple or a mild allergy. My friend's horse competes at a high level in Endurance and has pollen allergies - he usually develops a cough early on in the season and has steroids and ventopulmin and recovers enough to get back to his job.

I think I would want to know what I was dealing with to be honest.


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## Box_Of_Frogs (6 May 2011)

Would echo Dianeholmes. Hay fever in humans is an allergy to pollens and the same allergy in horses is, sadly very common indeed, it just isn't called hay fever. In horses, an allergy to pollens is very difficult to manage because, obviously, they can't go inside an airtight room away from the pollen. The allergy causes special cells lining the airways to start producing thick sticky mucus. It is this mucus that causes the progressively worse damage to the lungs. Be aware also that these cells have a "lifetime" of 3 months so a horse goes on suffering right up to Christmas. The sticky mucus that eventually lines the lungs causes a destructive, harsh cough and stops the horse being able to absorb enough oxygen. Most horses by this stage have a dramatically reduced tolerance for exercise, even just in walk. They often develop a heaves line because they are unable to breathe OUT without the help of their abdominal muscles.

In its earliest stages, most horses respond well to oral Ventipulmin which relaxes the airways. As things progress however, Sputolosin may be needed which breaks up the strands of sticky mucus. Eventually this may not work either and the horse may have to go onto inhaled ventipulmin and inhaled steroids. The horse may require antibiotics if the constant hacking cough that can be heard 3 counties away causes a secondary bacterial infection. The summer before last my horse had gone through all the above stages and was worsening year by year. This spring/summer may be his last due to quality of life issues, but my wonderful vets have started him on a trial of Cavalesse, a drug designed to help sweetitch horses but the manufacturers advise that it should have the same effect on pollen allergy horses. The only provisos are that you have to start them on Cavalesse 3 weeks BEFORE the expected start of the allergic reaction, and it has to be given at the same time every day. We're now smack in the middle of the danger period for Sunny but I can't comment further for another 3 weeks or so. I've been caught out before thinking he wasn't going to be so bad but all it was was that I had celebrated a few weeks too early and the same coughs and lung clogging was waiting round the corner.

Do please be aware that, unmanaged, Summer Pasture Associated RAO will get worse unless you can find a way to stop the progressive lung damage. As soon as I know if Sunny has been helped with Cavalesse I'll post on the Forum as it could be almost a miracle cure. Good luck.


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## aimeetb (6 May 2011)

Thanks for the replies everyone, 

I must say the last 3 or 4 times I've been there since I posted this she seemed fine, no discharge, not rubbing her nose and no heave line, I am going to get the vet anyway just to check her over after she moves fields in the morning but could it be a bit of a reaction as she has never been around hawthorn before but is going away now she is getting used to it or is it a case of - if they react to it they are definately allergic??

xxx


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## GinnieRedwings (6 May 2011)

Aimee, I think you are jumping the gun a bit. You don't actually *know* for certain what is causing the *very mild* symptoms you are describing. 

I wouldn't start pumping her full of stuff just now or even putting a face mask on her. I would do as you vet says, just observe her. Give her time to settle if she has just moved - it might be stress, she might have got a cold as stress might have lowered her immune system, she might be bothered by those horrid midges that seem to suck the life out of everything in sight at this time of year. She is only a yearling and you have a couple of years ahead of you to figure out how she reacts to what stimulus. 

If you still suspect pollen allergy, I would keep a diary showing time of year, what plants are in flower (my mare reacts worse to rape flowers and unfortunately my yard is just surrounded at the moment, but she works fine with an equilibrium net - doesn't have anything on in the paddock though, just DEET fly spray for the midges), what her symptoms are like. You'll then be able to figure out a pattern, if there is one, and then and only then will you know for certain what is wrong with her - if there is anything wrong with her.

Good luck x

eta - if she has just settled into the paddock she's in, I wouldn't change her again, it might stress her up again!


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## aimeetb (6 May 2011)

GinnieRedwings said:



			Aimee, I think you are jumping the gun a bit. You don't actually *know* for certain what is causing the *very mild* symptoms you are describing. 

I wouldn't start pumping her full of stuff just now or even putting a face mask on her. I would do as you vet says, just observe her. Give her time to settle if she has just moved - it might be stress, she might have got a cold as stress might have lowered her immune system, she might be bothered by those horrid midges that seem to suck the life out of everything in sight at this time of year. She is only a yearling and you have a couple of years ahead of you to figure out how she reacts to what stimulus. 

If you still suspect pollen allergy, I would keep a diary showing time of year, what plants are in flower (my mare reacts worse to rape flowers and unfortunately my yard is just surrounded at the moment, but she works fine with an equilibrium net - doesn't have anything on in the paddock though, just DEET fly spray for the midges), what her symptoms are like. You'll then be able to figure out a pattern, if there is one, and then and only then will you know for certain what is wrong with her - if there is anything wrong with her.

Good luck x

eta - if she has just settled into the paddock she's in, I wouldn't change her again, it might stress her up again!
		
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Hahahaha! Oh Ginnie, it never ceases to amaze me how quickly you work me out! LOL

I am over reacting I know, I have always loved my horses but this one..... well I just adore her, she is like a child to me and it kills me to think I am not doing the best by her so I watch her like a hawk and know every inch of her and her personality and if anything changes I am all over it like a particularly nasty rash! 

You are right of course, I should do what I have been told and just watch her before self diagnosing and giving her all sorts of concoctions! 

I am afraid on the paddock front I dont have much choice, although I do think it may stress her to begin with its for a good reason,she has been in semi isolation (just one horse next door to her) for a week, new yard rules and I am so proud of my little baby she has been so grown up about it all but cant wait to have her with some friends so hopefully she will settle quickly! 

Thanks again voice of reason! xxxx


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## odd1 (9 May 2011)

my horse suffers from pollen too, i start him on global pollenx in feb - was strange starting it so early when we still had snow but it gives it plenty time to get into his system before pollen becomes a problem, i also feed him the global airway plus and every couple of months during the summer i do a 2 week course of global restore
when its really bad i put vasline mixed with a small amount of vic rub up his nose, i have tried masks but he just pulls them off so gave up on that, i also use vasline/vic when riding, also i run a bit of electric fence round the field to keep him away from the gorse he likes to eat this and when its in flower there is loads of pollen, this has helped him alot 
its also an idea when pollen is really bad to turn out at night and bring in during the day so they are out of it as much as they can be
i cant feed him ventipulmin as he took a very bad reaction to it so have to try other things
oh - also if you can get your hands on some try a local honey and mix some in food, and i have also used a cough mixture, think it was honey, lemon & glyrcine (sp???)


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