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  Discussion on Hives and rain ?????
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Member:
gsmangus

Posted on Monday, Dec 3, 2007 - 5:53 pm:

Dr. O - it is Susan Mangus again and WOW have we had something WEIRD happen with our 2 horses with hives. Remember the stud has been bothered since last year, and 2007 since August, and our 3 YO show filly since mid September. Nothing seems to work other than Dex. Last Tuesday we made an emergency trip to the specialist vet as the 3 YO had warm front hooves and a digital pulse. X-rays show her to be OK but we quit the Dex, continued hyDrOxyzine and started aspirin (that for 2 weeks). Colt had his last Dex 11/25 and we decided to hold off on more Dex and see if he could shake this on his own. By Sunday AM they were both really "bumped-up", +/- 80% of their bodies, the colt worse. We turned everyone out even tho it was raining, as it was 62 degrees. They stayed outside in the rain most of the day. By 4:00PM when we brought them in 85% of the bumps were GONE !! By 8:00PM 90%+ gone!! By Monday AM they were both just about normal. It was like someone waved a magic wand - if we had not seen it we would NOT have believed it, it happened so fast. Monday horses also outside most of the day (sunny and cold). By 4:00PM the colt was starting bumps and the filly had them on her rump. (It is early evening right now so we have not done the last night-time check yet). So the question seems to us to be, what did the rain wash OUT of the air this time of year OR what did it wash OFF the horses? We intend to wash/hose them down tomorrow.. and I am calling the equine specialist vet but I would REALLY like to know what your take on this is. We can't believe it - the bumps went away so fast... and now back. PS: in the meantime we also bought totally new feed and also a 10 day supply of distilled water for the 3 YO. Husband put a water filter on the barn line using TWO filters...but I don't think that is it after what has now happened out in the rain !!?? We have now changed everything except the air.

Susan Mangus
Moderator:
DrO

Posted on Tuesday, Dec 4, 2007 - 5:37 pm:

There is another explanation Susan. Cold water is therapeutic for hives and this is stated in our article on hives. Cooling the skin seems to rapidly and effectively interfere and even reverse the effects of hives. I know because I have a mild yeast (bread or beer) allergy that in combination with a anything that warms my skin, warm room or warm clothes for example, causes me to break out pretty badly. A cool shower fixes it everytime.
DrO
Member:
gsmangus

Posted on Tuesday, Dec 4, 2007 - 6:06 pm:

Hi Dr. O - Thank so much for the quick reply - you spoil us all with your fast answers !! Yes we knew that (the benefits of cold water), but in the past the hosing did not seem to have a great effect - altho I must say that our "town" water in summer is "cool-ish" at best. Now this time of year it is colder. Today Tuesday 12/4/07 the 3 YO filly has only a small patch of bumps along side her tail only on one side (about 12" x 8"), the colt has the "orange peel" skin look. We will go ahead tomorrow and hose both horses and see what happens. Back where we lived in NYS we had the opposite problem - our well water there came out of the ground SO cold we had the occasional horse act colic-y after a cold water hosing ! Thanks again for your help - I can't tell you how astonishing it was to see the bumps almost disappear in front of our eyes on Sunday. My husband says if this happens again during warm weather we will take water with ice in it and sponge off the horses - and see if that helps.

Susan K. Mangus
Member:
gailkin

Posted on Monday, Dec 10, 2007 - 4:14 pm:

Susan, I recently had both my horses break out in head to toe hives for the first time. I bought some hay from a grower in the valley and bought two types of grass hay. I fed the first type mixed with two others I had been feeding. They didn't like it much, but ate it. Then we went up to our ranch and I took a bale of the other stuff since there is lots of food on the ground and they only get a little flake at night. After the 5 hour trip they were fine and happy. I fed a flake of the new stuff at night and the next morning both of them were just covered with hives. Their heads were so swollen and they itched all over. Luckily I was able to call my hay guy up there and get hay I know I can trust from him. I raked up all the bad stuff and burned it and started the good hay after two days. It took all week for the hives to get better. I didn't give them cortizone because it depresses their immune system. They weren't allergic to anything in the pasture. We trailered home and fed the good stuff for dinner. Then my husband feed the previously okay hay from the same dealer for breakfast and my more sensitive horse broke out in hives again. I had my vet come out and do acupuncture and massage and just the fussing seemed to make my gelding feel better. The hives cleared in about a week. The hives on both horses oozed fluid after a few days and formed scabs which took awhile to go away. It was a really scary experience. My good hay grower said that that kind of hay can absorb lots of nitrates and has been known to poison cattle. I don't know what exactly was in the other guy's hay, but it is the only time in nine years that my horses have had hives. Could there be something in the feed that your are giving them. Once the reaction is started, then even a bit of the bad hay on a different bale could trigger a reaction. I have gone back to feeding ground flax seed to up their immune systems in general and they are both fine now. It was very cold at our ranch (25 degrees) and I didn't blanket them because of the hives. The cold weather didn't seem to help much. I hope you find what is causing your horses' problem. It is so hard to see them uncomfortable with the hives. Gail
Member:
gsmangus

Posted on Monday, Dec 10, 2007 - 5:14 pm:

Hi Gail, we also have bought some different hay and started feeding it 12/08. Both horses are used to alfalfa so the grass hay was a big comedown for them! The colt is eating it right up but the filly gave me looks as if to say "You have to be joking!". So far just some minor hives - but we have had cool rainy weather and the daily turnouts in the rain seem to help as D. O mentioned above. We bought enough grass hay for 3 weeks - figuring we would see an improvement, if any, by that time. Other than the air, the hay was the only thing left to change and we held off because this is the same hay farmer we have dealt with for years with no problems. See how it goes - thanks for the note - the more information I can get the better. Our vet comes Wed. for shots and we are going to have him pull blood for a CBC on both horses to see if anything in their bloodwork is out of wack.

Susan K.Mangus
Moderator:
DrO

Posted on Tuesday, Dec 11, 2007 - 8:10 am:

If we assume it was the hay responsible, Gail's episode sounds more like a toxic episode than an allergic episode. I do not know what the toxin might have been but it is not consistent with nitrate poisoning.
DrO
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