Allergy Panel Test Results . . . (long)

Thoraint · 05-23-2007, 01:13 PM

Hi everyone,

All I can say is WOW. I haven't posted for a while here on the forum but anywho, our horse (my daughter's mainly but he's part of the family), well ever since we got him, last May, he's had small colic attacks and always was very skinny and very hard to put weight on. On May 4th, Joe (the horse), he had colic again for the first time in 8 months. So we called the vet and she came out, made him feel better, and sent some of his blood off to Texas so they could test it for any allergies that he could have and what could be causing him to colic. As of last week, he was on 6 sour cream scoops of Phase 4, 4 1 ounce scoops of Cool Calories, and 3/4 of a cup of soybean meal. And for hay he was getting 3 flakes of grass mix with alfalfa and 2 flakes of straight alfalfa. Well we waited for the results and here they are. I am completely shocked.

Joe is allergict to:

Timothy
Orchard Grass
Clover
Alfalfa
Carrots
Apples
Corn
Flaxseed
Pyrethinin (sp?) the ingredient in most fly sprays
COB (corn, oats, barley)
Phase 4 (a mix of grain and alfalfa)
Cool Calories (dehydrated corn oil)

He has to have a major diet change. We have to wean him off all of his hay that we just bought him and sell it. Oat hay is the only kind we can give him. We have to be careful about letting him out on certain types of grasses. Wean him off all of his grain that he is getting now and give him slowly up to 2lbs of Beet Pulp soaked and he can have watermelons, rinds and all, for treats. He is going to get Rice Bran after he is off the Cool Calories to build up fat and that is it. Our vet said it is very unusual for a horse to have this many allergies to all of these at once. She said it was similar to a person with Chron's(sp?). She also said that because of his allergies, the lining of his stomache gets inflamed and thickens so he cannot absorb all the nutrients he needs. We were not expecting it to be this huge but at least we know to make him better and enjoy his life.

Here is a picture of the big guy. He is a 16.3hh TB x QH x Paint ad is 9 years old. This picture was taken at the beginning of April and then he started to lose weight again after that.

What I was also going to ask is that anyone in B.C. or Alberta that knows where to get Oat hay please let me know because we can't find any in our area, and we've asked around to friends in B.C.

Thanks

Elaine

oveywon · 05-23-2007, 02:00 PM

Fntsyfrm · 05-23-2007, 02:48 PM

wow, this is very interesting...how much did that test cost?? How long do the results take??

oveywon · 05-23-2007, 03:55 PM

Thoraint · 05-23-2007, 06:19 PM

The test cost about $250.00 and it took 2 weeks to get the results back. I'm glad we did it and now we know that we can prevent so much more. He didn't seem allergict to any of it though, no rashes, itching, or swelling anywhere, just that he wasn't gaining weight when he was eating alot of food. We are in the Kootenays and this is the only horse around here that we know of with this many allergies. Oveywon, where are you located?

Elaine

oveywon · 05-23-2007, 07:43 PM

sugarsgal · 05-23-2007, 08:27 PM

WOW, I'm just going through all this with my mare Sugar. I had the vet out today and we talked about running the allergy test but it's going to cost me $500 or so then another $100 per vial of antigens/serum to counteract the allergens. I've been dealing with Colic and the itchy bumps for about 1 year and itchy bumps/skin seemed to have gotten worse this year.

I had the skin biopsy done last October and it came back that she has allergies to bug bites as well as an unknown.

About the Crohn's comment, that is how I described Sugar to my vet as a joke but he said it was simular

Also with that not absorbing part this can cause alot of problems as well. Sugar isn't absorbing Selenium properly and the mineral panal showed other minerals being low but not crutial like the Selenium was. Not absorbing nutrients in the guts breaks down the immune system and triggers everthing off balance. I have Crohn's so I kind get the whole absorption/diet thing.

Sugar starts cortosteriod (sp?) treatment this week and if no improvement in 5 to 6 weeks he wants to do this allergy test.

StefanieLeann14 · 05-23-2007, 08:45 PM

I know what you guys are going through. We had our dog tested and shes allergic to EVERYTHING! She has been on the shots for atleast 6 months and they have made a HUGE difference. So it might be worth the money if their allergies are really bad.

05-23-2007, 01:13 PM
Thoraint Weanling Member Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Nelson, B.C. Posts: 269	Allergy Panel Test Results . . . (long) Hi everyone, All I can say is WOW. I haven't posted for a while here on the forum but anywho, our horse (my daughter's mainly but he's part of the family), well ever since we got him, last May, he's had small colic attacks and always was very skinny and very hard to put weight on. On May 4th, Joe (the horse), he had colic again for the first time in 8 months. So we called the vet and she came out, made him feel better, and sent some of his blood off to Texas so they could test it for any allergies that he could have and what could be causing him to colic. As of last week, he was on 6 sour cream scoops of Phase 4, 4 1 ounce scoops of Cool Calories, and 3/4 of a cup of soybean meal. And for hay he was getting 3 flakes of grass mix with alfalfa and 2 flakes of straight alfalfa. Well we waited for the results and here they are. I am completely shocked. Joe is allergict to: Timothy Orchard Grass Clover Alfalfa Carrots Apples Corn Flaxseed Pyrethinin (sp?) the ingredient in most fly sprays COB (corn, oats, barley) Phase 4 (a mix of grain and alfalfa) Cool Calories (dehydrated corn oil) He has to have a major diet change. We have to wean him off all of his hay that we just bought him and sell it. Oat hay is the only kind we can give him. We have to be careful about letting him out on certain types of grasses. Wean him off all of his grain that he is getting now and give him slowly up to 2lbs of Beet Pulp soaked and he can have watermelons, rinds and all, for treats. He is going to get Rice Bran after he is off the Cool Calories to build up fat and that is it. Our vet said it is very unusual for a horse to have this many allergies to all of these at once. She said it was similar to a person with Chron's(sp?). She also said that because of his allergies, the lining of his stomache gets inflamed and thickens so he cannot absorb all the nutrients he needs. We were not expecting it to be this huge but at least we know to make him better and enjoy his life. Here is a picture of the big guy. He is a 16.3hh TB x QH x Paint ad is 9 years old. This picture was taken at the beginning of April and then he started to lose weight again after that. What I was also going to ask is that anyone in B.C. or Alberta that knows where to get Oat hay please let me know because we can't find any in our area, and we've asked around to friends in B.C. Thanks Elaine __________________ Jumping is just flat-work in the air

05-23-2007, 02:00 PM
oveywon Started Join Date: Mar 2005 Posts: 2,169	.... Last edited by oveywon : 07-20-2007 at 09:55 AM.

05-23-2007, 02:48 PM
Fntsyfrm Yearling Member Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Massachusetts Posts: 823	wow, this is very interesting...how much did that test cost?? How long do the results take?? __________________ Life without horses is not a life.

05-23-2007, 03:55 PM
oveywon Started Join Date: Mar 2005 Posts: 2,169	... Last edited by oveywon : 07-20-2007 at 09:56 AM.

05-23-2007, 06:19 PM
Thoraint Weanling Member Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Nelson, B.C. Posts: 269	The test cost about $250.00 and it took 2 weeks to get the results back. I'm glad we did it and now we know that we can prevent so much more. He didn't seem allergict to any of it though, no rashes, itching, or swelling anywhere, just that he wasn't gaining weight when he was eating alot of food. We are in the Kootenays and this is the only horse around here that we know of with this many allergies. Oveywon, where are you located? Elaine __________________ Jumping is just flat-work in the air

05-23-2007, 07:43 PM
oveywon Started Join Date: Mar 2005 Posts: 2,169	... Last edited by oveywon : 07-20-2007 at 09:55 AM.

05-23-2007, 08:27 PM
sugarsgal Started Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Ontario, Canada Posts: 2,750	WOW, I'm just going through all this with my mare Sugar. I had the vet out today and we talked about running the allergy test but it's going to cost me $500 or so then another $100 per vial of antigens/serum to counteract the allergens. I've been dealing with Colic and the itchy bumps for about 1 year and itchy bumps/skin seemed to have gotten worse this year. I had the skin biopsy done last October and it came back that she has allergies to bug bites as well as an unknown. About the Crohn's comment, that is how I described Sugar to my vet as a joke but he said it was simular Also with that not absorbing part this can cause alot of problems as well. Sugar isn't absorbing Selenium properly and the mineral panal showed other minerals being low but not crutial like the Selenium was. Not absorbing nutrients in the guts breaks down the immune system and triggers everthing off balance. I have Crohn's so I kind get the whole absorption/diet thing. Sugar starts cortosteriod (sp?) treatment this week and if no improvement in 5 to 6 weeks he wants to do this allergy test. __________________ There is no such thing as an Ignorant horse, there are only Ignorant people!

05-23-2007, 08:45 PM
StefanieLeann14 Long Yearling Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Missouri Posts: 1,420	I know what you guys are going through. We had our dog tested and shes allergic to EVERYTHING! She has been on the shots for atleast 6 months and they have made a HUGE difference. So it might be worth the money if their allergies are really bad.