Eye Allergies in my old guy's eyes - The Horse Forum
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post #1 of 6 Old 08-27-2017, 04:20 PM Thread Starter
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Eye Allergies in my old guy's eyes
I have a 32 year old Arab. He's always had some eye irritations due to dust and smoke, but this year seems to be worse. I know that older horses have a less then ideal immune system, so I figure that is one of the reasons why his eyes are worse. He wears a fly mask with a great deal of contempt, but I make him wear it. So, my question for the forum is; Are there any over the counter allergy meds for humans that I could use on my horse. Any advice is appreciated.
pamysue is offline  
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post #2 of 6 Old 09-05-2017, 01:54 PM
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In addition to the mask you may want to keep a sterile saline solution on hand to rinse them. I have used both Walmart Equate Sterile Saline Solution or Farnam Clear Eyes which you can get off the Stateline Tack website or at TSC. If you feel he needs an antihistamine you need to talk to your vet. There are some that can be used in emergencies but the dosage for a horse is much higher than human and is not something you would give on a regular basis.
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post #3 of 6 Old 09-09-2017, 02:13 PM
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Like QtrBel, I also keep a bottle of saline in my med kit-the kind you use for contact lenses. The horses don't particularly like it, but it does flush the eye out cleanly.

I know many horse owners that will crack open capsules of Benadryl for the occasional episode of hives or other allergic reactions. It does work quite well but obviously it takes quite a few to do the job! You could probably get a horse dosage from your vet quite cheaply.
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post #4 of 6 Old 09-09-2017, 11:17 PM
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My Paso gelding is much more reactive to pollen and bugs than the other horses. My vet recommended we start him on Tri-Hist granules next spring about 2 weeks before the bugs get bad.
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post #5 of 6 Old 09-10-2017, 02:14 PM
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If you have localized swelling from random bug bites the benadryl gel works well. When my mare had a severe reaction on a weekend we were advised to give multiple bottles of liquid children's benadryl over the course of the weekend. It works in a pinch but you are better off with something specific to horses if there is an on going issue.
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post #6 of 6 Old 09-10-2017, 08:02 PM
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Has a vet seen him?

I'm not convinced it is just "allergies". What exactly is wrong with his eyes?

Benedryl is safe and is 1 pill per 100 lbs. Probably 8 or 9 for an Arab...twice a day. I know horses that are on it per vet's say long term. But he really needs to see a vet especially at his age as there are SOOO many issues that could be real problems as well as him needing proper treatment. I wouldn't want to put an older horse on OTC treatments without the vet's ok anyways. ERU comes to mind.

If he has a weak immune system then you should be addressing that anyways... This isn't something to shrug off or guess at.

IME allergies don't bother the eyes the way they do in humans anyways.
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