My Horse Has Allergies

Who knew that horses could be allergic to the very things they're surrounded with every day?

You don't really think of horses being prone to allergies. I mean, I take Zyrtec on the daily, but my horse? This is the second one that I've had with allergies. The first one was our sweet Diva. She's gone now, but the poor mare was allergic to pine, alfalfa, molasses and even oats! That's tough on a horse in Louisiana!

Thankfully, one our trusted vets advised us to do allergy testing. There are actual companies that develop specific allergy medications, delivered via shots, in increasing amounts to help battle the things you can't help but have them come in contact with. Except last time, my mom, a retired RN, was the one delivering the allergy shots.

This time around, our Haflinger, Honey, is the one who's allergic and it's manifesting as severe issues with her ears. She was imported from Austria, so being in the United States is a big change for her. But we've owned her now for several years and these allergies have apparently slowly developed since last August. We found out Friday that our poor girl is allergic to mosquitos, horse flies, barn dust, certain types of hay and a few other assundry things. But this time around, I'm the one delivering the allergy shots. I had to give her two subcutaneous shots tonight for the first time solo without the vet onsite to coach me. Talk about stressful! But I'm happy to say that I did it and all is well.

Have any of your pets ever developed allergies? Please, do tell, so I don't feel like the only one!