As many of you know...this is Berlin. She is a 28 year old 3/4 Trakehner, who is short and pudgy with a long dippy back. I could not ask for a sweeter girl. She canters to me when I call her and has been nothing but kind her whole life.
She has always had a very shiny, beautiful coat....
until the 1st of October when she came down with some serious hives.
(I had just sponged her off in this picture)
The vet came out to see her, she was given a shot of dexamethazone and I was left with dex pills and antihistamines. I'd get a grip on the hives then they would come back. Stripped her stall, did a vinegar wash, stopped using shredded paper....monitored exactly what she was eating....changed hay, blah, blah, blah. I was convinced that it was related to something in the pastures (she has been on them her entire life) or something she inhaled....or could it have been bug bites????? None of the horses (who eat the same everything and have similar bedding) had hives. I was hoping that the two hard frosts we had would make a difference. At that time she was down to 1 dex and I saw some hives coming back this past Sunday but not quite as bad as before. One of my "go to" horse pals along with Jill, a blogging friend, suggested worming her. It was time, so we wormed all the horses Tuesday morning. Did not give her any dex. By Tuesday night she was still covered with hives and looked like this, so I gave her the meds, and wondered if the wormer was making her break out more.
This morning when I got out to the barn, Karen said that Berlin looked great! What a shock. Almost all the hives were gone. Is this too good to be true or will they come back?
She has had no dex and seems to be holding her own. Fingers crossed that we can catch a break here. Thank you for showing such concern for my girl.
She has had no dex and seems to be holding her own. Fingers crossed that we can catch a break here. Thank you for showing such concern for my girl.
Jill got back from her trip to Seattle today and was busy catching up. I'm sure Moon was very happy to see her.
This afternoon I hauled my butt down to Agape. Just can't seem to get in a routine.
Switched pastures, then went out before dark to tuck in the girls.
So far, so good with Berlin. I will be so grateful if she still looks like this in the morning.
Leftovers for dinner. Sorry Annette and Grey Horse could not be here to join us.
Night all.
14 comments:
Fingers crossed for Berlin looking normal
In the morning! Why must my pigpen horse love the mud so much? :)
Sweet Berlin. I hope those hives stay away. Do you think that maybe with her age, her immune system can't fight off whatever the heck is causing them?
That is really good hearing about Berlin! Trust all goes well, now.
That is really good hearing about Berlin! Trust all goes well, now.
Neck threadworms aka Onchocerciasis? If so, you would need to follow up with wormer again soon to knock them out completely - until all her symptoms subside. They say it might get worse before it gets better with itchiness as the worms die off...
I have read about this back in college, and research then said they can be pretty resistant during their cycle if you dont catch it at the right time with the right wormer - I think its equimaxx that suppose to really whomp them...if you havent already, you can read more about it here
http://www.merckmanuals.com/vet/integumentary_system/helminths_of_the_skin/onchocerciasis.html
and youre not the only one with this issue - http://thehorsesback.com/fight-against-neck-threadworms/
If this is the case with her, YAY! Because you can actually get her on a different schedule of worming to really keep them at bay and control them...I know that most vets are advocating worming now every 6-8 weeks as long as the flys are out...
Oh I do hope that is the end of the hives for poor Berlin. Hug B
So glad Berlin seems to be better.
I had an off the wall suggestion I was going to suggest if the hives were still a problem. Lyme disease can wreak havoc with the immune system, and when Pie had it, he had some odd skin lesions that went away immediately with treatment. Cornell now has a new, very accurate blood test for Lyme, and treatment with oral doxycycline is cheap and easy. Just a thought.
The timing also made me think of Lyme - ticks are most active in the late spring and early fall - they like the cool temperatures.
Lori, can they do allergy blood testing for horses like they do for dogs? That might help. Hope it's all better now for good!
Fingers crossed for Berlin. Hope this is the end of the hives for good. She's such a sweet beautiful girl.
Dinner looks good, yum. I'd really enjoy that potato salad. Have you ever had warm German potato salad? It's very good, of course,I know this from personal experience.
Interesting! You know, there may be something immune boosting you could give her. Not a bad idea.
Oh, I do hope you have found the answer and that Berlin won't be plagued by hives. I'm keeping my fingers crossed for her, since she can't really cross her hooves!
Fingers crossed for Berlin. Here's really hoping those hives stay away.
Oh no we hope all of Berlins hives go away and stay away. Maybe Prednisone is the answer if they come back
Lily
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