Horse with Allergies

Question
My Arabian gelding (22) has pretty bad allergies. He's in turnout right now, and in the last couple days his eyes are swelling, nose is running, breathing is more labored, etc.
We already know that he has RAO, and we treat him by soaking his hay. Our field isn't that dusty, but spring really sprung this last week, and hit him kind of suddenly.
This pollen allergy thing is pretty new for us though, he didn't have a problem last year. What sort of medications/treatments are available?
What can I do to help him? Switching barns is not an option unfortunately, as he needs to be in constant turnout.

Answer
Emilie:

How did you find out your horse has RAO. Do you understand what RAO is? Soaking his hay is only one of a long list of things to do for horses with such respiratory disease. How do you know pollen is involved? If he is breathing harder, it is also possible that he could have a respirtory infection or pneumonia on top of his respirtory disease that is causing the change in signs. he needs to be evaluated by a good equine vet to determine this. An equine vet will also be able to discuss other treatment options for you if it is a worsening of the same problem. Most medical therapy involves a course of systemic steriods to get things under control, then possible changing to an inhaler that contains a combination of a brochodilator and a steroid to keep things under control. I dont understand why switching barns cannot be an option. That may in fact be very effective. However, your horse should be outside as much as possible regardless of where he is. In my experience, most barns or stables would be very amenable to pasture boarding a horse and thats certainly not an uncommon thing for people to do even when their horse does not have such a problem. Therefore, i dont see why constant turnout is a prohibitive need to switching a barn.

I really think a vet should listen to your horse and do a complete physical exam and some blood work. Then he/she may be able to get your horse on the right treatment for what they diagnose. This may include a course of steriods then recommended regular therapy using an equine inhaler. hope this helps some. good luck and let me know if I can help any further.