How to feed my allergic horse

Question
HI..I have had my 8 year old mare for almost 3 years.  Up until November 2008, I had been feeding her the same thing.  Grain and alfalfa/grass mix.  All of a sudden she's got hives.  I tried to figure out what it was with no luck so I got an allergy test done by my vet.  To my surprise she was allergic to quite a few things.  Bluegrass/June grass, orchard grass, timothy grass, rye grass, pig weed, cocklebur,waterhemp, kochia/firebush, cottonwood/aspen trees, juniper/cedar trees, pecan/hickory trees, hazelnut trees, cladosporium, cephalosporium, phoma, pullularia, penicillium, oats, cedar shavings, fire ants, and wheat pollen.  I initially let her out in the indoor arena 24/7. She only got hay cubes to eat. ( she seemed to be fine)  It then got bitterly cold ( I live in northern Minnesota) and I started bringing her in at night.  I started feeding her hay ( not 100 sure what types of grasses), Nutrena Safe Choice, and a little bit of the mix grain from previous.  I was having a hard time believing that she was allergic to all this stuff, just out of no where.  SO now..she has no hives, but seems a little sluggish.  Could this still be part of the allergy issue, and if it is what I am feeding her, what can I change it to?  HELP!

Answer
Dear Amy,

I is hard to know whether this sluggishness is due to allergies or not.  It is likely that at this time of year the allergen load so to speak is lower than say in spring and so her body is better able to cope than it may be later in the spring.  You may want to start supporting your mares immune system now in the hopes of making it as strong and able to cope during allergy season as possible.  Check the labels on the feeds you are feeding to see whether they have ingredients in them that she is allergic to.  I am hearing of more and more horses with a lot of allergies and I like you have a hard time comprehending why this is and how they can suddenly have these issues after years of no problems.  I do think that it can be environmental, ie. being exposed to new things and I also think there is an immune system component that may be helped with different diet choices, for example not feeding corn oil which is pro-inflammatory.

If you are interested in discussing possible ideas for supporting her immune system further I would be happy to do a consult with you.  You can find out more on my web site.

Best regards,
Clair Thunes, PhD
Independent Equine Nutritionist,
Equilibrate Equine Consulting,
www.equilibrateequine.com
clair@equilibrateequine.com