| My Morgan mare Malaki is allergic to just about | | | | horse's neck swells as much as hers does and is that |
| everything; dust, wood oil, mold, mildew, corn, | | | | tender, they won't lower their head to graze or eat |
| vaccinations. I used to think she was just a "special | | | | their hay. A hay net comes in handy under those |
| case" to put it mildly. But horses with allergies are | | | | circumstances for a short-term fix. But it makes more |
| commonplace. I don't know when the increased | | | | sense to try and do everything possible to avoid the |
| frequency of horse allergies all started or if allergies | | | | problem of your horse's extreme vaccination |
| have plagued horses forever. I wonder if Roy Rogers' | | | | discomfort. Shots in the hindquarters seemed the way |
| horse Trigger had allergies, or Dale Evans' Buttermilk? | | | | to go, but again, only if the antihistamine is given in the |
| What about Man O' War? Or Seabiscuit? | | | | same area. Vaccinations in the hindquarters and an |
| Exterminator? I wonder if they even had vaccinations | | | | antihistamine in the neck did not help at all in Malaki's |
| back then. | | | | case. |
| Allergic symptoms to vaccinations vary in horses. | | | | My recommendation, based on experience with this |
| Some will show localized swelling in the injection area. | | | | mare, is to have your veterinarian give the extremely |
| Some will break out in hives all over. Some will get | | | | allergic horse their required vaccinations in both hind |
| rock-hard lumps that last for days and even weeks | | | | quarters, and to have them split the antihistamine |
| and be tender and sore. Some will go off their feed. | | | | equally and administer it in close proximity to the |
| Malaki falls into the "all of the above" category. | | | | vaccinations injection sites on both sides. That way |
| It's wise for owners of horses with mild to extreme | | | | even if your horse still experiences some soreness |
| allergies to have their veterinarian give their horse an | | | | and tenderness, it's at least "behind their way of |
| antihistamine injection when they are vaccinated. In | | | | thinking, so to speak" and should not prevent them |
| addition, I have found over the years that precisely | | | | from lowering their head to graze and eat their hay. |
| where that injection is given, is equally as important as | | | | This practical application seems to work best . |
| the injection itself. | | | | If your horse shows signs of respiratory distress after |
| Vaccinations on both sides of the neck with only one | | | | being vaccinated, with or without an antihistamine, call |
| antihistamine injection given on one side of the neck | | | | your veterinarian immediately. |
| didn't work for my extremely allergic mare. If the | | | | |