Allergies

[Jumper]

Our Appaloosa mare has allergies.They cause her to breath heavily and lose a ton of weight.Last time her weight got down she almost died.We started investing in a senior feed that was easy to digest,had lots of vitamins, and she thinks is yummy.She gets 1 scoop senior and 1 scoop sweet feed.She is turned out with Concho to pasture every day and brought in at night.We supply them grass hay in the winter.Is there any thing else I can do or does anyone hve any information? :confused:

Jumper and her wholly buddies Splash and Concho :p

[Zoey]

Jumper
We have got a Welsh Section A pony who has COPD. We soak her hay every day and then drain the haynet. That's all she needs. Sometimes it plays up and we get Ventopulmin powder from vets but she hasn't needed that for ages.

[Sarah]

hello!

Is it dust and stuff the your mare is allergic to? If so the condition can be helped by keeping her out 24hrs a day (if that is possible) so that she is exposed to fresh clean air. If she has to be in at night, try soaking her hay as Zoey suggested (you need to soak it for about 30 mins) or feeding her haylage. Make sure she is on a dust free bedding system - rubber matting, dust extracted shavings, paper or something similar. Try to keep her stabled away from the hay barn, and make sure that you muck out properly every day, a deep litter system gives off ammonia which can irritate the airways. Basically, if it is an airborne particle allergy, you must do as much as you can to keep the dust out of her environment.

If it isn't dust that causes the problem, let us know.

bye!

[Jumper]

No, it's not the dust. Every spring and fall her allergies start acting up. We think it's the spores and pollen in the air, but we're not sure.
Now let me try to explain the housing situation a bit better.They are on pasture all day and brought in at night.We bring them into a corral with a 2-stall barn.The corral isn't really dusty at all. The stalls have a bit more Dirt for a cushion.I'm good about mucking every day. Should we invest in a more suitable bedding such as Wood shavigs? Any other ideas? :confused:

Jumper and her pals Concho and Splash :p

[Zoey]

Hi Jumper
If she does have a pollen allergy (which I know you are not totally sure about), other things such as dust can actually irritate the problem as there is a weakness there.
I use wood chippings and find them good but the ones with an allergy of any type have rubber matting (as Sarah said)with chippings round the edge to stop them getting cast and also to soak up any urine. The dirty bit is swept off the rubber matting and it is then hosed down to remove the ammonia (also as Sarah said!).
It's worth a go!