Thanks Exvet!!

[Kirby's Keeper]

Thank you Exvet for explaining how antihistamine use can cause some horses to develop anhidrosis. Kirby has Cushings so he already has trouble adjusting his body temperature.

Poor Kirby really suffered last summer with periods of not sweating. I was having to routinely hose him down to bring his core temp down so he wasn't having to pant. He was on antihistamines to control his allergic reactions to tick bites.

This past winter I had a conversation with Exvet regarding antihistamines and she mentioned that they can cause anhidrosis. I decided to not give him any at the beginning of spring as his immune system seemed to be back to normal. This summer has been abnormally hot and humid for an extended period of time her in Ontario. Temps in the mid to high 30C (90F) and with the humidity into the low 40C (105F). Normally we would get a few days of this but we are getting weeks of it. Thankfully Kirby is sweating! Not hugely but enough. I still go over on the really hot and humid evenings to hose him down before he gets his supper and brought in for the night. Makes both of us feel good

Thanks again Exvet! One of the reasons that I love this board.

[Josette]

Thank you Kirby's Keeper and Exvet for posting this information - very good to know for understanding possible problems when treating our horse. Although my guy is not on antihistamines - he does have Cushings and recently had hard a time with this extreme heat / humidity. I'm always checking his sweat status and cold water hose him too. We did start him on that supplement One A/C which may be helping some too.

[exvet]

So glad the information seems to have helped. I know how frustrating these things can be; so, any can of positive effect is awesome. My stinker is still doing well on a completely holistic approach to his allergies - the second spring/summer in a row he's kept all his hair and the first one I've (so far) not had to use any steroids. Still an otherwise disgusting summer weather-wise.

[Kirby's Keeper]

Exvet, it is good to hear that your Stinker Pony is doing well. Nothing worse than an itching, balding horse. They are so miserable and I feel so bad for them. I can't imagine dealing with the heat in Phoenix. Kirby's immune system is back up and running. He isn't reacting to the tick bites and he is virtually parasite free according to his fecal counts. He is on Prascend for the Cushings so it is helping his endocrine system function more normally. He also gets a Vitamin E/selenium supplement which has also helped his skin and coat. Fingers crossed that continues.

Josette, dealing with Cushings is tricky. I'm glad to hear that the One AC is helping your guy. There are so many things that can influence the hormone levels and they can change with the seasons or stress. I find that Kirby not only has trouble keeping cool but also keeping warm. He now has a whole collection of blankets and sheets for fall, winter and spring. He is better dressed than I am. In early summer I give him a trace clip to help him stay cool. His summer coat is a bit longer than his normal summer coat but it isn't full on shaggy like other Cushings horses. I don't do a full clip since I don't want to fully take away his fly and sun protection. Doesn't make sense to clip him naked and then have to put a fly sheet on him. So far, so good.

[redsoxluvr]

So glad the information seems to have helped. I know how frustrating these things can be; so, any can of positive effect is awesome. My stinker is still doing well on a completely holistic approach to his allergies - the second spring/summer in a row he's kept all his hair and the first one I've (so far) not had to use any steroids. Still an otherwise disgusting summer weather-wise.

What does everyone recommend for summer itchies? My Holsteiner is new to me this year and he is the first horse
I have had that gets that awful funk and hair loss all over his face. He struggles with the heat so he stands with his head in the misters
constantly. I don't think that is 100% the cause as he was losing his hair before. He's also itching on EVERYTHING. I
feel like I am fighting a losing battle with his skin.

[exvet]

Depends whether the hair loss is due to a fungal infection or is atopy/allergy related. On the East coast I treated a lot of skin infections that were due to fungus or dermatophilus specifically. Mild cases are often treated with medicated shampoo and management changes while more serious cases may require more aggressive, systemic therapy. The biggest challenge is making sure everything the horse contacts has been properly decontaminated so as to not re-infect.

As for allergies/atopy, I use a combination of a more holistic approach after doing allergy testing, the hyposensitization injections, medicated shampoos, along with reducing exposure to those things I could control (the cat, who would have thunk that I would have a pony allergic to the dam barn cat?!!! along with Palo Verde trees and dust mites unfortunately - barn cat moved indoors, palo verde were cut down and turning over bags of feed quickly which doesn't eliminate but may reduce the load) and antihistamines (until I learned about the link between certain ones and anhydrosis). For the last 8 years up through last year I would always have to treat at least one serious flare up with dexamethasone - tapering dosage regimen. This year, at least so far, I have not given dexamethasone even once and more importantly to me (and the stinker pony) I haven't even been tempted. He's kept his entire hair coat without any sores or hair loss from rubbing/scratching for 2 years in a row since going to 'my concoction'. It's possible he's becoming more tolerant to the palo verde but I seriously doubt it.

My concoction is daily MSM, Flax seed oil, vit E supplement, Platinum Performance Skin and Allergy for horses and Histall-H or Antihist-H (which has no synthetic antihisamines in it). I still keep a bottle of dexamethasone around just in case. Amazing what I do for a 'free' pony who no one can ride or drive......though suffering through being my only riding animal for a couple of years and taking me through PSG as well as being the baby sitter to at least two stallions and many babies/weanlings - I figure I owe him.

[redsoxluvr]

Thanks for the suggestions, exvet. My Holsteiner already is not a great sweater. This is his first summer in the Valley so he is standing in front of a mister most of the time. I'll give the Platinum Performance stuff a try.

[exvet]

Yeah, fortunately the ones I have are all still sweating but Ace stopped eating this morning. The extreme heat is brutal. He's still drinking, sweating and pooping and has a normal temp.

I had a non-sweater who fortunately didn't have allergies but the 1-AC did help along with the misters and fans.

I'm going to try to postpone picking up my new horse to next Sunday. Not only is it not fair to bring him into this extreme heat I'm worried I might get stuck on the I-17 in a deadly heated parking lot. Hopefully the breeder will let me leave him with her another week.