hayfever/skin sensitivity

[chriscross]

I am looking to buy a horse that gets hayfever in the spring which apparently doesn't effect her riding and also has sensitive skin/allergy/reacts to bites etc. Does anyone out there have experience of this and can they put my mind at rest. I know there are products on the market so would tlc be the answer to improve the allergy and coat? Or are there any hidden concerns I should be aware of in the future and should I proceed with caution. Can a vet really give good advice about this or not. I just want to avoid longterm problems. All advice gratefully received - thanks.

[judyl]

Hi Chriscross

I put a message on this board about a month ago about summer breathing allergies and got no replies at all. My horse has similar problems to yours and it can be a long term problem. The only advice I can give you is what I am doing with my own horse which is - I put garlic in her feed every day (which is supposed to help repel flies and help with blood and digestion). I don't know whether this helps or not as she still gets bitten by flies. I also put on loads of fly repellent (and none of them seem to work either!) I have just bought an Aerborn fly sheet which cost just over £40 (the Rambo fly sheet which includes a neck cover costs over £80). Whether this will work or not I don't know but I thought it was worth a try. When her breathing gets quite laboured I usually give her a course of Ventipulmin which you have to get from the Vet and I think that costs about £50 (I can't remember the exact price). The message I put on the board was to ask if anyone had any knowledge of whether herbal remedies worked or not so anyhow, I've now put Shade on NAF Respiraze which costs £45 a tub and after you've used the loading dose, a tub should last just under two months (I hope).

You can see from this reply that it can cost you a great deal of money but as long as my horse is happy and not under a great deal of stress, I think it's worth it. You now face having to make a decision as to whether you want to go through all the palaver of trying to treat these problems as they are not life threatening but they can cause the horse to be quite uncomfortable.

Good luck with whatever you decide to do.

Judy
:)