allergies

Question
I have a 21yr old mare that has sensitive eyes flys and dust will cause uvitis and ulcers this last winter my first winter owning this mare Timothy rye fescu hay seemed to do the same thing to her the mix was almost 75% Timothy my vets cant gibe me a 100% without testing fo you have any ideas

Answer
Hello Miranda,

Thank you for your question.  Some horses can be so reactive to allergins of all types, and your vet would be the best to determine exactly what your horse's specific issues are.  Having said that, overly reactive horses can be sensitive to so many irritants that it can be difficult to eliminate them all from your horse's environment...so general allergy treatment is the only way to ease the symptoms.  

I would suggest that you look into a fly mask for your mare which will keep the flies from irritating her and also cut down on the dust and sun getting into her eyes.  Grapeseed extract is an excellent over the counter anti-histamine for horses...and I simply love it, having used it with tremendous success.  You can get grapessed extract for horses from Basic Equine Nutrition, a supplement company out of Canada who makes fantastic products.  It can be quite expensive but you feed a very small amount, and horses don't hesitate to eat it.  

I would still encourage you to discuss this with your vet and involve them if possible as they may find other underlying issues with which they can help.

Thanks, Corlena