Equine Hives: Easy Diagnosis, Often an Elusive Cause

Hunting down the cause of hives is often a challenge.
Share
Favorite
Close

No account yet? Register

ADVERTISEMENT

Hunting down the cause of hives is often a challenge. Domenico Santoro, DVM, is a dermatology resident at the University of Illinois Veterinary Teaching Hospital in Urbana. He explained that urticaria, the medical term for hives, “are flat ‘bumps’ that can arise very quickly on the body of a horse.” They are sometimes itchy, and other times not. In some cases the lumps, which can appear on any part of the body, might also ooze a yellow-tinged fluid.

Many different medications, such as antibiotics, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), or topical agents can be the culprit. Other causes range from a rapid change in temperature, stress, or an autoimmune disease. Santoro also noted that allergies can play a role as well; “a horse could be having an allergic reaction to food, flies, mosquitoes, or something in its environment.” Of course, just as in humans, horses can have a seasonal reaction to pollen or molds.

Just as some people are highly allergic to certain items (peanut butter or shellfish, for example) and carry an “epi-pen” for emergencies, some horses might also have life threatening allergic reactions which require immediate care. This is why it is critical to call your veterinarian as soon as you notice hives.

In these rare cases, what is of utmost concern is the horse’s airway. As you notice bumps on the skin starting to swell, the same type of reaction could be going on in the animal’s windpipe, causing difficulty breathing

Create a free account with TheHorse.com to view this content.

TheHorse.com is home to thousands of free articles about horse health care. In order to access some of our exclusive free content, you must be signed into TheHorse.com.

Start your free account today!

Already have an account?
and continue reading.

Share

Written by:

Learn more about the University of Illinois College of Veterinary Medicine at vetmed.illinois.edu.

Related Articles

Stay on top of the most recent Horse Health news with

FREE weekly newsletters from TheHorse.com

Sponsored Content

Weekly Poll

sponsored by:

Where do you primarily feed your horse?
276 votes · 276 answers

Readers’ Most Popular

Sign In

Don’t have an account? Register for a FREE account here.

Need to update your account?

You need to be logged in to fill out this form

Create a free account with TheHorse.com!