A Hivey Horse

My 5-year-old Quarter Horse mare has suddenly started developing hives/welts over the last few months.
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Q: I have a 5-year-old Quarter Horse mare that I’ve raised since she was a foal. Over the past few months she has suddenly started developing welts. She would have welts everywhere and have huge areas of edema (fluid swelling) under her belly and on her legs. We couldn’t figure out what was causing the reactions. She has been on the same bedding and feed her whole life, which is a mixture of alfalfa, Bermuda, and timothy hay. She has also been at the same location since she was born. Our veterinarian administered a corticosteroid shot–she would clear up for a day or two and then be covered in welts again.

We finally opted to have blood work done. It came back reading that she was highly allergic (positive) to Bermuda hay, oats, several weeds, etc., and that she was borderline allergic to alfalfa and timothy hay. We are limited to those three different kinds of hay here in Arizona. I asked my vet what I was supposed to feed my mare, being that she is positive and borderline for the types of hay we have out here, and he recommended alfalfa pellets soaked with water. While this has helped some, the hives haven’t gone away completely.

Is it possible for a horse of this age to all of a sudden develop allergies? She has been eating the same feed her whole life. I am desperate to figure out a better way to handle this

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Written by:

Jill Beech, VMD, Dipl. ACVIM, is a Professor of Medicine and Reproduction in the Department of Clinical Studies at the University of Pennsylvania’s New Bolton Center.

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