Some horses can react badly to a change of feed in a number of different ways, due to having allergies or intolerances. From having a dull or scurfy coat to lumps and bumps under the skin or becoming fizzy or excitable, there are a number of signs to look out for that your horse may have an allergy or intolerance to different types of horse feed. For some, these intolerances and allergies can take weeks, months or even years to develop, which means that their once favourite food can easily become one to avoid. So, what are different allergies and intolerances and what are the symptoms? Let’s take a closer look, below.
Allergies and Intolerances
Typically, molasses, alfalfa and barley are all ingredients that can cause unwanted reactions for some horses. However, food allergies are rare and can be discovered through a simple blood test that can be carried out by your vet. However, intolerances in horses can cause both unexpected and unwanted reactions, including scurfy skin, lumps and bumps or itchy skin, excitability and even bolshy behaviour. Therefore, finding out which feed ingredient the horse is actually intolerant to can be really difficult. If the antibodies don’t spark a true allergic reaction, this may then not appear visible when the blood test is taken by the vet. Plus, please note that using calming supplements and soothing creams will not help to fix the intolerance, but will only disguise it.
It is therefore very important to find the root cause, as you don’t want to continue to feed your horse the offending feed ingredients, as this can actually worsen their health. If their reactions are worsening and you are becoming more concerned, you should firstly speak to your vet for help and advice. You may find that they suggest implementing an elimination diet to help to get to the bottom of the problem. This is an easy method to find out what is causing these unwanted reactions
This process tends to take between two and four weeks, which involves removing the suspected offending ingredient from the diet. If the horses improves then you will know which ingredient the horse is intolerant to.
The suspected ingredient should then be added back into the diet to see if it becomes worse again. This will then confirm that this was the root of the reactions.
What Is The Difference Between An Allergy and Intolerance?
An allergy occurs when the immune system reacts against a certain protein or protein-like molecule. The body produces excess histamines that result in symptoms, such as swelling of the mouth, lips and diarrhoea or hives that are more common. However, these symptoms alone are not necessarily indicative of an allergy to a food. Signs of a feed intolerance can include hives, dry, itchy skin, loose droppings and a tendency to colic, which can all be the result of management or environmental issues.
Horses with an uncomfortable gut can be unsettles, crabby and prone to colic, so you want to be able to eliminate what could be causing this as soon as possible to help to settle the situation. Ensure that your horse has a fully balanced diet and ad lib forage to help support gut health and well-being. However, if problems do persist then further diagnosis might be necessary.
If you would like to find out more or your horse is showing signs of allergies or intolerances, speak to your vet and an equine nutritionist as soon as possible.
