Help! My horse is allergic to black gnats?

Question

I have a mini horse that I believe is allergic to black gnats. There is no grass in his turn out area so it can't be weeds. He eats the same hay as he would if he was in the barn so it's not that either. The only thing that is different from his stall in the barn and the turn out area are the gnats. They are everywhere! We have tried almost everything to get rid of them and nothing is working! My horse has had a golf ball shaped bump under his chin for 2 days now and just last night his bottom lip started swelling up a little bit. I gave him 4 benadryl last night, but it isn't going to permanently solve the problem. I spray him with Bronco spray for black gnats everyday and put a fly mask on him to protect his eyes. I can't leave him in the barn all summer and I'm running out of ideas. Short of putting him in a bubble I don't know what to do. Has anyone used immunotherapy on their horses? How much did it cost? Was it worth it? Any help is appretiated!

Answer 1

Yup, I have this same problem. I've had the assistance of several vets for this problem. You may need to call a vet if your horse is actually swelling. Just like humans, it can be deadly if their throat swells. When the allergic reaction is this bad, you may want to give him steroid shot. You will need the vet to do this, as they will want to actually see the problem before giving him steroids. You don't want to give a steroid every year, it would damage organs, but once in awhile it does give your horse the relief he needs while you tackle the "environmental" problem. To reduce the problem of the "black gnats" or "no see ums", you must worm your horse with ivermectin, twice, ten days apart. If you make this part of your spring and fall routine, it will cut down on his exposure and reaction to the bugs. Also, don't turn him out at dawn or dusk as this is when the gnats are at their worst. Use good fly repellants and change the kind of chemical often. The flies build a resistance to just one kind of spray. And, it helps if you actually apply the repellant with a rag or sponge, rubbing it into the hair. I like the ones with oils that "stick" to the hair, the effect lasts longer. You can also spray your horse down with cold water to relieve the itching and swelling. But if it's as severe as you describe, I'd get a vet to look at him and maybe give that steroid shot, it usually gives relief for one year. That will give you time to get ahead of the bugs!

Answer 2

I know haflinger ponies often have some sort of allergy in the summer that has to do with flies or gnats... A friend of mine used to bring her horse to a pasture close to the sea, where the flies just aren't so common. If she would leave him in her pasture at home he would get bald spots from the scraping against wooden posts and you can only keep the flies of for an hour or so with repellent so that's not really a solution either... She ran out of ideas completely aswell and the poor horse just had to learn to live with an annoying itch in the summers, if he wasn't by the sea.





Good luck!



PS You can read more about summer itch here: http://www.equiworld.net/uk/horsecare/veterinary/sweetitch/index.htm

Answer 3

Get a good fly spray or Avon Skin so soft. Bronco doesn't work where I live. It is a waste of money.

I like these ones. They do very good.

EquiSect Fly Repellent , Flys-X Insecticide, Absorbine DuraGuard. Good luck.



There are stall fly misters.





http://www.jeffersequine.com/ssc/products.asp?CID=1&mscssid=MSF6812QXVSW8MA1BW1A7LKKJ3E97X00&BrowseList=380&dept_id=851



Fly sheets



http://www.jeffersequine.com/ssc/products.asp?CID=1&mscssid=MSF6812QXVSW8MA1BW1A7LKKJ3E97X00&BrowseList=380&dept_id=384









*****EDIT****

Chickens! Theu help sooo much with bugs!! I have 28 horses & chickens are great with helping fly & bug control!!!! I have them all the time.

Answer 4

Just black ones?



You have a racist horse.