Tuesday, July 3, 2012

Equine Supplement And Know About Allergies Of The Horse

By Mark Givens


A good equine supplement is ideal for your horse's health and could even stop allergic reactions. There are distinct responses that your horse can get depending upon the type of allergic reaction that he has. So for instance, if he is allergic to hay dust, he might develop respiratory problems, if he's stung by a wasp and it is allergic to wasp venom, then he can come out in lumps and have trouble breathing; if he is allergic to a drug, he could also develop breathing problems, come with an elevated temperature and also develop anaphylactic shock. Hives or Urticaria is an allergic reaction in horses and it's also often tough to diagnose what has induced the allergic attack.

Unfortunately, it can be hard to diagnose an allergic reaction, as each of these symptoms can have some other causes, besides allergies. For instance, a throat infection could cause coughing, or a lung infection could result in breathing difficulty and decreased energy. Diagnosis is additionally complicated by the proven fact that there might be a postponed reaction in between exposure and a visible reaction. For example, the signs of skin allergies may appear 12 hours after exposure to the allergen (the compound the horse is allergic to). Consequently, one may need veterinary assistance to determine if the symptoms are caused by an allergy or some other cause. In some instances (especially in the case of skin allergies) the veterinarian may take a tissue sample for analysis to find out if the issue is allergic and if so to help identify the cause.

Insect bites can cause problems. Sensitivity related to midges or gnat bites is a very common difficulty, even though allergy symptoms to mosquito bites are also reported. The most frequently affected areas are the back, ears, mane, and tail. Itching can be a characteristic feature of such types of allergies, and horses will usually caress their manes and tails until the hair is sparse within these areas. Initially, separated bumps might appear, with larger hives developing, too.

Most kinds of allergies respond initially to predisone, a synthetic corticosteroid. Prednisone is easily changed to the more absorbable prednisolone by the liver, which makes it the drug of choice by many veterinarians. Prednisone is usually administered through either injection or as a topical cream. Corticosteroids are often used to treat allergies due to their success in lessening inflammation. But cortisone alone treats only the symptoms, not doing anything toward removing the cause.

A good equine supplement is right for your horse. Some components provided for use in forming diet plans for horses are suspected of leading to 'allergy type' tendencies. Just as with anything - excesses can be dangerous, for example too much iron can interfere with the utilisation of other nutrients, so care must be taken when utilizing seaweed within the ration. As all feed goes by through the digestive system it is broken down into simple sugars so it may be assimilated. Horses developed to digest the variety of sugars present in grass and plant material. But an excess of sugar has been thought, by some, of causing a reaction, suggesting that if an excessive amount of molasses is fed it may cause a problem. However molasses has been discovered to be a very helpful part of many rations for generations of horses and would seem to result in no problem when given with discretion. A well balanced ration designed from materials which were proven by horses through the years, and providing all necessary nutrients, should steer clear of most allergy-type responses, provided not fed to excess.




About the Author:



No comments: