FYI: Horse Allergies and Vaccines

[TikiGator]

A must read for those of you who have horses with allergies.

Tis the season, I have been reading quite a few threads on various BBs about people inquiring on their horses possibly having allergies. I thought I would set up a thread to answer some questions about horse allergies. Not that I am an expert, but I have been thru the ringer with allergies and I hope I can post the information that I looked SO HARD to find last year...and perhaps I can help another horse out there that is as miserable as my horse Jeopardy ("Jep") was last year.

I think the problem is lack of knowledge. Horse owners don't know that horses can have allergies just like we can. And even if they know their horse has an allergy, they don't know that there IS something you can do about it. The first sign of an allergy (to an owner) is usually itching. The common response from vets and other horse owners is "summer itch" saying it is from the bugs: cullicoides (no-see-ums) and mosquitos. However that is not always the case.

First of all, something which may suprise a lot of you....most people (as I did) think allergies are caused by a weak immune system. So they automatically start trying to give their horse's vitamins and supplements to boost their immune system. But it's NOT....it's actually caused by an over-reactive immune system. An allergy reaction is the body's over-reaction to a certain stimulus. I found this out because Jep was diagnosed with EPM in 2006. Which IS caused by a weak immune system.....so naturally he was put on injections as well as supplements to boost his immune system (which is still has to be on, so he doesn't relapse)....the vets think that because we boosted his immune system to outer space, all of a sudden his allergies started showing up.

Everyone has allergies. You can allergy test a non-symptomatic horse and find out he's allergic to 5 different things. But just because a horse is allergic to something doesn't mean he will have a reaction. Sometimes they need to have a high exposure to the stimulus in order to have a reaction, or a reoccurring exposure (over and over) in order to have a reaction.

Last year Jep was miserable. He would itch 24/7. He would rather itch than eat. I'd drag him inside to feed him dinner, he would take a bite, then go back out to itch while he chewed. I couldn't ride him, he was so busy trying to get the saddle to itch his back I couldn't get him to focus 2 seconds on what I was asking him to do. I would have a student grooming her pony in the aisle of the barn, Jep's head would be over the stall wall checking everything out and he would literally be falling asleep--and jerk himself awake--similar to a kid in school that just can't stay awake.....because it was literally up all night itching and was soooo tired. I put more stitches in that horse last year from him getting hurt itching on things---he split his ear wide open on a splinter on the side of the barn trying to itch his head, he cut his face on a board on the fence while itching, he got his leg cut wide open rolling too close to the fence. This horse would roll for 20 minutes straight, trying to itch his back.

I seriously, no joke, had called THREE of his vets and discussed the option of putting him down over this. I cried everytime I went out to the barn. My horse was MISERABLE. If the horse had a gun he would've shot himself. I couldn't live to see him so miserable. I know when I get into an ant pile, or go out on a boat and get covered with mosquito bites, I know how miserable I am....it just was breaking my heart to his him have to be that way 24 hours a day with NO relief in sight. And yes, I tried EVERYTHING from horse lotions, creams and ointments, to Dex shots, benedryl, hydroxizine (Rx), Antihist, some ching-chang really $$$ imported herbal supplment, to human products such as Gold Bond Powder, benedryl creame, BELIEVE ME I spent HUNDREDS just on products to try to stop his itching. NOTHING worked. And it especially became difficult when he had open sores, lotions and ointments can sting when applied to open wounds, so that even limited my options even more.

My LAST RESORT was an allergy test and allergy shots. I work at a small animal clinic, we do all of our cat/dog allergy testing thru Nelco Labs. I have seen "equine" options on the form, and decided to give them a call. They said it was worth a shot although they don't do a ton of horses (as it is rather new in the equine world). I consulted with a few of the vets that had worked with Jep, they really couldn't give me a great recommendation because they hadn't had a lot of patients do allergy testing, and all of the studies show the testing can be inaccurate. But at this point, I was willing to try ANYTHING. So I had the allergy test done for our region, and he came back allergic to everything under the sun .....palm trees, a few weeds, pollens, grasses, molds, birds (feathers), alfalfa, soy, wheat, I mean he was allergic to a TON of stuff. First to go was the T/A he was on (alfalfa)....yes it was HARD finding a feed that didn't have alfalfa as a main ingredient (and he went NUTS on oats) so I found him a beet pulp based feed. And put him on timothy and coastal hay.

I have Jep on allergy shots now, same as what people get. The serum is made specifically for him, with the allergens he is allergic to. Every horse is different as far as dosing goes--you start off with .1cc every 3-5 days, then go upto .2, then .3 and so on until you finish the first vial. Then you start the 2nd vial and it sort of was a trial and error game finding the correct dose for him and how often I needed to give it to him.

He was getting .5cc once a week, and the night before he was supposed to get his dose he would start itching, so now he gets .6cc once a week and I haven't seen the horse itch yet this month.

It is a miracle drug for him. He can't live without it.
Allergy testing/vaccines were the last resport and thank god they are working a miracle for him.


Here are a couple photos of him back in October of 07. Granted it's hard to see "depth" on camera--he had raised welts ALL OVER him, and bloody sores although they are hard to see because 99% of the time he was covered in sand from itching .....but, he looked HIDEOUS....you all can get the picture of how miserable this horse was. His skin turned into elephant skin--thick and wrinkley, his hair (the hair he had left) was like straw, dry and thick. He had NO mane, barely any forelock left, and the only reason he had ANY tail was because I did try to keep it wrapped with vetwrap at night, although by morning it had been rubbed off.

October 2007:















Here he is recently, May 2008....having been on allergy vaccines for 7 months. His coat SHINES (even when he's dirty!!! ) He has dapples when he's in the sun (sort of have to see it when the sun hits him at the right angle). And you can see in the photo of him trotting to the left that his mane as grown back so nicely.








He is a totally different horse. As some of you who know me, know how important this horse is to me. I've had Jep since he was 7 months old. I raised him, broke him, trained him, fought EPM with him, fought thru allergies with him.....and finally I am able to start training for shows with him. Now, just to take note, we have not gone thru an entire summer yet on the allergy vaccines, so I do hope that they continue to work as the summer moves on. I will keep you all posted.

I thank you for taking the time to read my thread, and if you all find it informative, perhaps one of the Mods can set it up as a Sticky () for future reference of others who are battling allergies with their horses.

Thanks everyone
Laura and Jep, Tikigator Farm

[BarnBum]

Thanks Laura- That was awesome !!

[oveywon]

What is his (Jep's) worst time of the year (e.g. July is my horse's worst month)?

How were his test results broken out? (e.g. mine were neg, borderline, borderline-positive, postive, and highly reactive).

What did his tests show that he was most allergic too?

Did the lab or your Vet work with you on the final dosing (I understand the ramp up) or did you just estimate it yourself. (My horse will get 1 cc (of two separate vials = 2cc) every 2 weeks during his peak season and backs off to once a month off season-- he's been on it for about 10 months now).

My Vet used Bio-Medical Services. I need to call them because I'm not really sure if maybe a more frequent smaller dose might be better. I'm not getting the astounding results that you are (although it is helping), but it doesn't sound like mine was a bad off as yours was initially either. Glad to hear it's working so well for you!

[gbarmranch]

What a great thread.. Thank you so much for taking the time to put up all this information.. I may make it a sticky if you guys want..

[TikiGator]

Originally Posted by oveywon

What is his (Jep's) worst time of the year (e.g. July is my horse's worst month)?

Hi oveywon! I couldn't tell you because he was miserably itchy the entire spring/summer/fall until I started the vaccines.

Originally Posted by oveywon

How were his test results broken out? (e.g. mine were neg, borderline, borderline-positive, postive, and highly reactive).

Negative, LP (low positive), and HP (high positive). Again, just because he tested LP or HP to a stimulus does not mean that stimulus was causing a reaction. That's the tricky part. If he's allergic to 10 things, just ONE of those things may be causing a problem, or, 9 of them maybe. And it really doesn't matter if it's a LP or a HP...even a LP can cause a reaction.

Originally Posted by oveywon

What did his tests show that he was most allergic too?

Here were his results for the Southern Atlantic Panel (FL is included in that region):

Grasses
Meadow Fescue (LP)
Bahia (HP)
Perennial Rye Grass (HP)

Weeds
Pigweed (LP)
Sage (LP)
Scale (HP)
Greasewood (HP)

Trees
Mulberry (HP)
Pepper Tree (HP)
Palm (HP)

Molds
Alternaria (LP)
Helminthosporium (HP)
Cladosporium (HP)

Inhalents
Birds/Feathers (LP)

Biting Insects
Culicoides (LP)

Food
Alfalfa (HP)
Wheat, Whole (LP)
Soy (LP)

Originally Posted by oveywon

Did the lab or your Vet work with you on the final dosing (I understand the ramp up) or did you just estimate it yourself. (My horse will get 1 cc (of two separate vials = 2cc) every 2 weeks during his peak season and backs off to once a month off season-- he's been on it for about 10 months now).

No, I figured out his final dose on my own. I went up the ladder and when i got towards the end of the vial, and onto the new vial it was trial-and-error. I had him on .5cc weekly for about 3 weeks but every saturday night he would start to itch, so I upped him to .6cc and so far (knock on wood!) he's been great. The nice thing is that you can adjust it. If all of a sudden summer gets here and he starts to itch I can up his dose.

Originally Posted by oveywon

My Vet used Bio-Medical Services. I need to call them because I'm not really sure if maybe a more frequent smaller dose might be better. I'm not getting the astounding results that you are (although it is helping), but it doesn't sound like mine was a bad off as yours was initially either. Glad to hear it's working so well for you!

Yes it just depends on your horse. It's a royal PITA trying to figure out the correct dose as every horse is different. some horses do better on one big dose twice a month, others do better more often on a smaller dose. I keep it simple (for myself) and do it once weekly and I found a dose that holds him off for 7 days.

I can tell you though, check to make sure it's nothing in the food. The vaccines do not work for food allergies. At one point a couple months ago I got curious and put him back on T/A. Within 48 hours he was itching again. So I KNOW the alfalfa had a lot to do with his itching, not all, but a lot. So make sure there's nothing in his feed or hay that he's allergic to.

[JosieGirl]

Just wanted to say - what a great story - and I hope the success continues. I'm sure there will be many people on here who will find it very informative.

[gbarmranch]

Originally Posted by JosieGirl

Just wanted to say - what a great story - and I hope the success continues. I'm sure there will be many people on here who will find it very informative.

Well, a sticky it will become.. super information and easily explained..

[GreyDot]

That was incredibly informative! Thank you so much for taking so much trouble, and telling a story that really needed to be made public. Could you possibly give some detail, please, on how a vet administers the allergy screen?

[oveywon]

GreyDot....it's just a blood test (they pull blood and send it in). From the blood responses they formulate a serum and you start giving your horse a tiny amount (.1cc) each day gradually increasing the dose. Eventually they spread out to 1-2 cc/month or "more often as needed". The more often as needed is where you're really on your own to figure out the best dosing. The idea is to "desensitize" the immune system to what it's hyper-reactive too. I feel it's much safer than steroid treatments. I had allergy shots when I was a kid and found they really helped me.

Thanks TikiGator -- it's great to have someone also doing immunotherapy to compare notes with. I'm actually surprised to see yours tested LP to culocoides (sp?)..so did mine but I'm pretty sure that is what causes many of his problems. Food can be ruled out because it's seasonal (other than the pollination aspect of grasses). Does your horse get a rash anywhere? Mine gets small bumps all over his face and forehead, nowhere else. Really weird.

[GreyDot]

Thanks for the info, Oveywon! I was curious, though, what exactly the tests were... how the blood was analysed, and what the analytes of interest were. In humans, we look for a specific response to applied allergens. So, since this is not done with horses, I was wondering exactly how the blood was analysed. Thank your for the protocol, though! I had allergy shots as a kid, too... saved me from getting a rash in chlorinated pools

[TikiGator]

Originally Posted by oveywon

GreyDot....it's just a blood test (they pull blood and send it in). From the blood responses they formulate a serum and you start giving your horse a tiny amount (.1cc) each day gradually increasing the dose.

Actually there are 2 different ways to screen for allergies. Jep's test was a blood draw. Some vets say the blood draw test is not as accurate as the skin test. There is a skin test they do (like people) that is Sub Q BUT......#1 it does NOT test for food (and as it turns out alfalfa was a HUGE part of Jep's problem) and #2 Jep HATES NEEDLES (he is a very well mannered stallion, but if you pull out a needle he turns into a man eater, and good luck getting a twitch on, yes, he's THAT BAD). He would NOT have stood there for an hour's worth of needles poking him, and I was NOT going make them twitch him for an hour (and they said you can't sedate them during the test because it alters the results somehow) So I opted for the blood test.

The allergy vaccines go Sub-Q (right under the skin) it's sort of hard on a horse because they don't have a big subcutaneous layer like a dog, the only real place you can do it is the neck, you just pinch the skin and put the needle right underneath.

Originally Posted by oveywon

Thanks TikiGator -- it's great to have someone also doing immunotherapy to compare notes with. I'm actually surprised to see yours tested LP to culocoides (sp?)..so did mine but I'm pretty sure that is what causes many of his problems. Food can be ruled out because it's seasonal (other than the pollination aspect of grasses). Does your horse get a rash anywhere? Mine gets small bumps all over his face and forehead, nowhere else. Really weird.

Actually, if you think about it, culicoides which are no-see-ums cause reactions in most humans. If we did a blood test on you, you would show up positive to them as well. But that doesn't mean it causes a HUGE reaction. Does that make sense? I had actually donated some of Jep's blood and serum to Cornell University as their Immunology department was doing a study on equine reactions to culicoides. I sent his blood as well as Louie (a gelding who is Jep's cousin). They sent me back results (which took a LONG time to get back) and gave me a percentage on how allergic/responsive they were to the insects. I cannot remember the exact results, I'd have to go find the paperwork, but both horses showed a low response to them. So when you get a mosquito bite and get a reaction, it may be just a little red itchy bump, but it IS a reaction.

Same goes for poison ivy. I personally am no allergic, I can touch it, rip it out of the trees, etc and never have a problem. If my dad touches a branch that touched it, be breaks out BAD. So, same deal.

You guys are SO very welcome. Like I said I was at the end of my rope last year, in tears everyday, and I would've done anything to read a thread like this. So I am so glad I can provide some insight to this common problem.

[oveywon]

Yeah, I understand gnats would typically cause a response in humans and horses.. and I understand all the various levels that "Sweet Itch" can affect a horse. I understand allergies and the immune response and how it differs between individuals.

My horse gets a seasonal face rash. The vet believes it is definately allergic because it responds almost immediately to Azium. The rash is bad in the summer and disappears in the winter. The onset of the rash coincides with gnats floating in the water trough. I've had the blood testing and have a similar panel of results (as you) with him responding to nearly everything in his environment at various levels. We started the shots 10 months ago so we're just a bit ahead of you in the therapy. I'm also facing my first peak season with the 6 months therapy believed to be necessary for maximum effectiveness. Was your horse suffering 12 months a year?

I've not known anyone that has done the skin testing. There is research that indicates many false positives in the blood analysis do occur (depending on how you define a false positive). I'm getting ready to test again in July and compare this years responses to last years.

[GreyDot]

This is extremely interesting, and something I'm going to follow up with my vet on Tuesday (poor man doesn't even know what's coming ). Would you guys mind if I asked the price ranges for such blood testing and shots? Just a 'ballpark' figure for diagnosis and subsequent treatment would be great, and will give me some sort of budget guidelines... Of course it may be very different here, but at least it'll be some kind of baseline for comparison.

[oveywon]

GreyDot -- my initial test was $300 and the refill sets are $250. I would estimate you need 2 refills per year if all was standard dosing. We're just now entering into my horse's bad season so I will increase his shots to try to find that optimum dose (coordinating with vet and lab). We'll probably go through the serum at a faster rate so I'd estimate 3 refills per year ($750) to account for the peak season.

That sounds like a lot, but if it does work, it really is a drop in the bucket compared to all the other lotions, herbal remedies, supplements, fly sheets, long nose/eared masks, etc. I've not seen the drastic improvement that Tikigator has, but I do see improvement. I'm hoping we can just tweak the serum and the dose a bit and maybe get there. The horse's system will change as he ages so I'm figuring it will be a constant process.

I'm allergic to many of the same things as my horse. I can't imagine having to live constantly in grass, tree pollen, and bugs that you're allergic too. I'm so happy for any relief I can bring him during allergy season and I don't want to go the steroid route.

I started giving my horse a Stud Muffin for every shot in the neck he had to take (and they're little, tiny TB needles). He loves to see me coming with those needles now.

[oveywon]

Originally Posted by GreyDot

Thanks for the info, Oveywon! I was curious, though, what exactly the tests were... how the blood was analysed, and what the analytes of interest were. In humans, we look for a specific response to applied allergens. So, since this is not done with horses, I was wondering exactly how the blood was analysed. Thank your for the protocol, though! I had allergy shots as a kid, too... saved me from getting a rash in chlorinated pools

Sorry I missed this.
Maybe this explains what my particular lab does...
http://www.bmslab.com/index.php?pid=2 It's kind of greek to me.
Many of the (what I consider reliable) vetmed sites bring out a lot of problems with the testing and really don't consider it too effective.

As far as the specific allergens that are "applied"...they begin with a regional panel of common allergens..... it's very generic. You can modify the panel if you suspect something, but it's not like our dermatology/allergy clinics tailor human testing to identify a specific allergy.

[GreyDot]

That's exactly what I was looking for on both counts, Oveywon! Thank you! It makes sense now... it's done by ELISA (enzyme-linked immunosorbant assay), which looks for specific proteins or antibodies in blood. In the test, blood serum is exposed to proteins or antibodies for certain proteins (like whatever panel is being run). Specific antibodies will bind to specific proteins, like little locks and keys. If you're exposing the serum to antibodies, then you're looking for proteins. If you're exposing it to proteins, then you're looking for antibodies. I'll have to look into it a little further, to see exactly what they're looking for. It's an interesting approach, to me, because I'm more familiar with the old-fashioned sub-Q tests that were done on me many years ago. I have run ELISA assays myself, as it's a fairly common procedure, so I think I'll check to see exactly what the test protocol is, because we are set up for running enzyme assays in our lab... so I might be able to cut a lot of costs there. It's just a question of how much particular reagents cost - but we can now get custom-designed antibodies for relatively low prices, engineered to the specific protein we want to identify or quantify, so it's not anywhere nearly as difficult as it was years ago!

Dot NEVER used to get sweet itch until he started to develop melanoma, about a dozen years ago. Even though he is gray, he was never what I would call 'thin skinned', as many grays are automatically considered, and flies never really bothered him. However, it was at that point that I noticed the tail rubbing start. Paradoxically, my friend's gray Trakehner mare started about the same time... but her melanoma also appeared areound the same time. Their tails would look appalling if they were given the opportunity to scratch - but fortunately, they were on pasture most of the time so it wasn't a problem. In addition, after we moved to AZ, he started to get small scabs on his face - which I thought were of fungal origin, and treated (successfully) as such - but I have a feeling they may be linked to an allergic response, as they only appear during the summer months. Obviously, the presence of cancer does mess up the immune system - so after reading TikiGator's OP everything more-or-less fell into place. It's nice to have the possibility of a solution, because the poor boy really suffers when his tail itches!

TikiGator and Oveywon - thank you, both, for all the information. This was incredibly helpful! It would be awesome if you could you post updates on how both of your horses are doing - how you're modifying the dosages and the serum - as a sort of mini-blog. I bet there are lots of horses that can be helped by this method. You're right, Oveywon, that initial outlay eliminates many other costs.

Very nice to be able to apply my work to my horsey's well-being

[oveywon]

Thanks for explaining GreyDot -- l

You may be the first person that has described a face rash that sounds similar to what my horse gets. We initially thought it was fungal as well but it did not respond to fungal treatments. The Vet put him on Azium for a few days and it immediately started clearing up. That is what made her conclude it was an allergic rash. Neither she or I like the idea of long-term steroid treatments -- so I go other routes.

Please keep posting what you're doing and finding as well.

This site (below) has a lot of the research on allergies posted. I'm particularly interested in the Field Study done by the REACT Equine Allergy Clinic in 1997 (UK) that describes an "provacation-neutralization" therapy (as opposed to incremental desensitization). I just stumbled on this and haven't received the Field Study yet, nor do I have an update as to whether there have been any problems surface since. The description of the study is about 1/4 down the page if you'd like to look at it.

http://www.tekstotaal.com/itchinfo.h...he%20Literatur (sorry, I can't seem to get you right to the article - but click on the link to "scientific literature - abstracts and articles" and scroll about 1/4 way down looking for REACT Equine Allergy Clinic Field Study".


Here is another 2000 discussion on the lab analysis aspect. I do keep up with this site and I think the general opinion of the moderator is that the blood testing and immunotherapy is still of questionable efficacy.

http://www.horseadvice.com/horse/messages/21/5810.html

[GreyDot]

Oveywon, it's interesting that you mention Azium... that may be one simple way to test for allergic responses, too - a 'quick & dirty' way. Azium is nothing more than a synthetic analog of prednisolone - a steroidal drug - but is much, much more effective. It is anti-inflammatory, and will definitely calm allergic responses. So, if a horse responds to Azium when it's given for itches, rashes etc., then further investigation of an allergic condition might be warranted - as opposed to general mosquito bites or whatever, which will just keep appearing regardless of whether Azium is given or not. It's cheap, and only small quantities are needed - so it's probably not a bad idea to try it even before a full allergy panel. How long did it take for Azium to start working in your horse's case? TikiGator, was Azium something you tried for Jep, too?

I've had a look at those web sites and the info they provide, and it's very interesting. I'll see if I can look them up in peer-reviewed industry journals, because that would put a seal on the authenticity and reliability of their protocol and results. There are soooo many studies of different kinds out there, and I'm bombarded with stuff like that every day - so it really pays to filter them at least somewhat. I do have access to scientific literature through the university library - which is not available to the general public because subscriptions are obscenely expensive - so if I come up with something, I'll post it here.

It's nice that the mod still keeps an open mind about whether IT is the way to go - although my personal experience (avoidance of a rash on my butt whenever I used to go into a chlorinated pool ) tells me that it definitely works. Healthy scepticism, though, especially in the sciences, is a good thing. Personally, I think it's wonderful that horses are finally starting to benefit from all of the advances in the biomedical sciences.

[oveywon]

Azium seemed to bring him very quick relief for the itchy, watery eyes and the rash began to subside almost immediately as well. We only kept him on it for a few days and the difference was significant.

[DustyTrailsHorseRescue]

We used the spectrum group Tested for Region SouthWest

B= Borderline P= Positive here goes:

Grasses:
Orchard P
Bermuda P
Timothy P
Johnson B
Bahia P

Weeds:
Rag P
Pig B
Lambs quarters P
Mash Elder P
English Plantain P
Sage P

Trees:
Cottonwood/Aspen P
Juniper/Cedar P
Elm B
Pecan Hickory P
Mulberry P

Fungi:
Cladosporium P
Stemphylium P
Cephalosporium P
Trichoderma P
Phoma P
Epiccocum P
Alternaria B

Foods:
Corn P
Molasses B
Oats P

Indoor:
Jute/Sisal P
Wool B

Insects:
Mosquito P
Horse Fly B

Grains:
Corn Pollen P