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ICHO

Allergy Information and why Curly horses are hypoallergenic             http:ichocurlyhorses.org

Why are People Allergic to Horses?

By Loretta L. Nielsen, Ph.D., former ICHO Director of Research
An allergen is a protein or other substance that causes an individual to have an immediate allergic reaction mediated by IgE antibodies. The horse allergens comprise a group of at least 16 proteins named Equ c X, where X is a number, in a class called lipocalins. Most mammalian allergens are lipocalins. Equ c 1 is the predominant allergen in horse dander, although the reason it is so highly allergenic is not currently understood.
Felix et al. (1996) separated horse antigen proteins by size and tested their reactivity with serum antibodies from people allergic to horses. Twenty-three horses from seven different breeds were groomed and the dander collected, sieved to remove large particles, and defatted. According to the authors, the dander was from 5 Swedish Halfbreds, 5 Halflingers, 5 Arabian/ Thoroughbreds, 5 North Swedish Horses, 2 Bashkir Curlies, and 1 American Trotting Horse. The proteins were extracted and separated by size. Serum (the liquid, antibody-containing part of the blood left after all the cells are removed) was collected from 20 human patients with demonstrated allergic reactions to horses and incubated with the separated proteins under conditions where a detectable signal was released from proteins that reacted with antibodies in the ‘allergic’ serum.
The horse dander extracts had 5 to 15 distinct antibody-binding proteins from each horse. No particular allergen pattern was unique for any breed and the two curlies had different reactivity patterns. It’s important to note that this study was done in Europe and there are some reports that Europeans and North Americans can have different allergy profiles due to exposure to different allergens in their everyday environments. In addition, the results in this study must be considered preliminary due to the small number of horses studied, the lack of any lineage information about them, and the loose definition of “breed” used by the authors.
The allergen missing in the hypoallergenic Allerca cats is not a lipocalin. The Allerca cat has all the same lipocalins of every other cat, but lacks another type of allergen that other cats have called Fed d 1. There does not seem to be a horse version of the cat Fed d 1.
Most allergies to horses seem to be caused by proteins secreted onto the horse’s hair, not the hair itself. In theory, allergy-causing lipocalin gene variations that are less allergenic could be physically located close to the dominant curly gene on the same chromosome such that they’re usually inherited with the curly gene, but not always. This could explain why some straight-coated offspring of Curly horse parents may be hypoallergenic to some people with horse allergies, but that’s just speculation on my part. More on this fascinating topic in the future!
Bibliography for Further Reading:
Felix, K., et al. 1996. Allergens of horse dander: Comparison among breeds and individual animals by immunoblotting. J Allergy Clin Immunol 98:169-171.
Mantyjarvi, R., et al. 2000. Lipocalins as allergens. Biochimica et Biophysica Acta 1482:308-317.
Allerca cat website: http://www.allerca.com/html/development.html
Copyright Loretta L. Nielsen, Ph.D., 2007

Why are Curly Horses Hypoallergenic?

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The answer to this question is under research now in Germany. Pictured in a Stuttgart newspaper [above] are, Dr. Frank Jugert, of the University of Aachen, in Aachen, Germany, and the German Curly Horse breeder, Gaby Kärcher. Gaby is having her North American Curly Horse, "Mary," (*Ebony's May Day Queen ABC P- 1137 F) submit a hair sample for an allergy test project. A student, Anne Spieker, and her professor, Dr. Frank Jugert, are involved in researching and documenting just how hypoallergenic Curly Horses are. They are testing a number of other horse breeds for comparison. They are following exact protocol, in order to determine if they can truly document a lower allergic reaction to Curly Horses, compared to other horses.

In mid 2000, ICHO breeders, Jackie Richardson, Curly Horse Co. of Iowa, and myself, submitted 24 samples of Curly Horse hair to allow them to meet their official guidelines for a proper test, from officially quarantined North American Curly Horses. I was also able to send him 4 samples from separately quarantined Smooth Coated Curly Horses, for an additional experiment on the side. Ten horses are necessary for official research, but perhaps the four we could find to properly quarantine, that Dr. Jugert was also willing to process, will give us some information.

update: February 2002. University of Aachen has reported to Gaby Kaercher (curly breeder in Germany pictured above) the initial news that this project is now concluded. The report of the findings is being put together now by the graduate student who did the research under Dr. Frank Jugert. ICHO hopes to receive the report soon. In the meantime, the representative did tell us this much:

  • YES North American Curly Horses ARE hypoallergenic.
  • The reason they are hypoallergenic appears to be that Curlies have a different protein structure in the skin, from other typical breed horses.

Microscopic view of some of the same Curly Horse test hair samples that was used in this study. The left view is a Crow Country Curly Horse smooth coat horse. The right view is a Crow Country Curly Horse curly coated horse. These are both taken at the same magnification of 1000x.

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Results of the German Study:

Abstract: Anecdotal and In-Vitro Allergy Testing of Horse Allergies and Tolerance to Curly Horses

Dissertation written for obtaining the degree of Doctor (Human Medicine) at the University of Aachen in Germany.

Author: Anne Kurschner geb. Spieker

February 17, 2004

Translation by Hans Nussbaumer, May 19, 2007

This translation was done at the request of the International Curly Horse Organization, in order to provide a basis for further research into the hypoallergenic qualities of the Curly Horse.

Germany is a country that is home to 2.4 million riders and 750,000 horses. This reflects the rising trend between 1984 and 1994 of 62%.

Allergies to horse hair and horse dander (horse epithelium) have been identified by previous research. In this research, the testing will only involve the dander because the research involving horse hair provided less reliable results.

Horse dander consists of more than 60 different proteins. In Germany, 20 to 30 percent of the population has some allergies and this tendency is increasing. 50 people were involved in this study of varying ages. 35 were women and 15 men.

A Western Blot test was run. On different gelblocks, antigens were dispersed on a nitrocellulose filter. Patient.s serum was added to provide a visible result. 33 showed positive to normal horses, while only 2 were positive to horse dander alone. The rest also reacted to oats, grain, cattle, red deer, or other allergens.

Electrophoresis comparison between normal horse dander compared to Curly horse shows that the dander contains the same proteins, but those causing the allergic reaction are in much less volume than is found in regular horse dander.


Allergy to Curly Horses Research by Dr. Wolfgang Mitlehner

http://www.springermedizin.de/pferdeallergie-sind-curly-horses-lockenpferde-eine-alternatr-pferdeallergische-reiter-eine-pilot-fall-beobachtungs-studie/4504066.html

Pneumologie. 2015 Dec;69(12):711-718. Epub 2015 Dec 9
Horse Allergy: Curly Horses Allow Horse Allergic Riders To Ride Again.
Mitlehner W, Mitlehner HC, Niggemann B.
Abstract
To test the hypothesis that so called hypoallergenic horses (Curly horses) allow horse allergic riders to ride again, we investigated 40 horse allergic riders in a period of 37 months. Methods: We tested these patients (pts.) by skin prick test (SPT) with different non-curly and Curly horses and studied the riding hours and horse brushing by measurements of peak expiratory flow (PEF) and Tiffeneau tests (FEV1) as well as peak nasal inspiratory flow (PNIF) over 12 months. The results in 37/40 pts. showed no relevant reactions of the lower airways or nasal flow. Only in 3/40 patients an initial significant fall of FEV1 was observed, reversed by a single inhalation of salbutamol and not repeated despite further riding contact. In contrast to other allergic events (e. g. baker's asthma) a further and regular contact with these horses abolished the mild allergic reactions of the start period of contact. This may be due to hypoallergenic properties of these horses, whose test material produces weaker reactions in the SPT than that of normal horses. After a period of three years, a loss of reactivity to normal horses could be confirmed in some of the riders. Conclusion: The tested purebreed Curly horses may be a suitable alternative for horse allergic riders if the methodological precautions of this study are followed.
© Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.
PMID: 26649597 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
 
Sincerely Yours
 
Wolfgang Mitlehner, MD,
Physician, Specialist for Internal Medicine,
Pneumology, Allergology
Zur Schulkoppel 2
D 24860 Klappholz
Germany
Tel: 004946039649475
Fax:004946039649477
Mail: [email protected]
https.: www.dr-mitlehner.de​

What allergy sufferers are saying about the Curly being hypoallergenic

CHILDHOOD DREAMS FULLFILED...... at 46. I have dreamed of owning a horse since a very young age.  I heard stories of my grandfather riding in Wild Bill's traveling show back at the turn of the century, my aunt barrel racing and my Uncle and Dad doing trick riding.  My grandfather wanted to get us a pony, but my parents could not afford the upkeep.  Occasionally I was able to ride my friends horses and it was the best time of my life.
When I met my husband, he had plans to move to back home to Idaho; so 5 years later, we packed up and moved to 50 acres in Harrison Flats, 30 miles south of Coeur d'Alene.  Wow...50 acres, we made plans to have horses, since we grew our own hay.  But suddenly, my dreams were taken away.  I went in for an allergy test because I started having reactions to certain foods.  I tested 4++, on a scale of 1 to 4, for seafood, nuts, beans, and...horses.  I was devastated.  I got where I would not go out to do anything outside.  We had a daughter and Daddy did all the fun things outside.  I gained weight and felt like a prisoner.  Then my daughter started taking riding lessons.  
Sarah is a natural on horses.  She comes across as shy and timid, but when she gets on a horse she flourishes.  But everytime she came home, the clothes were immediately dumped in the washer and she took a shower.  Of course, it didn't talk long for her to ask for a horse of her own.  God was working overtime, because soon after she asked, I saw an ad on Craigslist for a hypo allergenic horse.  What???  I have never heard of such a thing.  I became addicted to finding out everything I could and one day, after a lot of miles checking out curlies and having few reactions, we found our horse. 
We now own Twizzler and she is everything we can ask for.  I am actually in the process of finding another one so I can ride with my daughter.  It has been life changing:  I no longer stay in the house.  I have been out there putting up fence, weed eating and working with Twiz.  I even took my first solo ride in 30 years and I have dropped almost 40 lbs.  My life has changed dramatically and it is all because of an ad and a curly haired sorrel who I have grown to love dearly!


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Anastasia and Cuervo

Anastasia's Story


Hay, I’m Anastasia. This is about my horse and what I have to say about Curly horses. My horse's name is *Cuervo he is an 11 year old palomino/pinto curly horse.

I am very allergic to regular horses, but not Curlies! For a while I thought that I was getting less allergic to horses because I thought I was not getting a reaction to the non curly horses, or so it seemed. My Mom and I went to Vancouver to a stallion show with our stallion *Sandman and when I went in that big show barn it took me about a ½ an hour and then it was off to the hospital because I was having a very hard time breathing. So I guess I'm still very allergic to those darn non curly horses! LOL.

Now to talk about my wonderful horse. *Cuervo and I have been riding together for seven years now. He is the safest horse around, anyone can ride him…if you can make him go. (haha-I have strong legs because of him.) *Cuervo and I have done loads of stuff together. He and I have been trail riding, cross country jumping, bareback riding and had lots of fun in the sun. We've gone in local shows, dressage shows and just starting jumping shows. We were also in 4H for 2 years but we've just switched to Pony Club as I want to do a little more jumping.

If you want a safe, smart, great horse, I recommend a Curly, especially if you have allergies. Horses were always my favourite animal, and I was SO happy when we found a type of horse that I wasn't allergic to! As my mom said, "It's a dream come true!". I think Curlies are great and everyone should have one, I sure love mine!

Have fun with your horses and keep on riding!




Curly Standard Place
Standing Sandman's Magic, hypoallergenic Curly stallion
http://www.curlystandardplace.com


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Kristal and Girlfriend

The Opportunity of a Lifetime!

The first time I heard of a Hypo-Allergenic Horse, I thought “Yeah Right!!!” and forgot all about them. My oldest Daughter Kristal was tested positive for being allergic to horses when she was 5 yrs old. Of course she loves horses, and we owned some at this time. Well as time came and past, she learned to ride and joined 4-H. She then started to show. So here she is with swollen red eyes, hives, sneezing, and plain miserable. When Kristal was 11yrs old, we had our opportunity to meet this Curly Horse with the so called Hypo-Allergenic tendencies.   When we got to the Farm where these horses lived, I told Kristal, before we got out of the car, “I want you to roll on them, breath them in, do what ever it takes to see if they make you react!!!” Well, lo and behold, not one sneeze, no hives, and we were there all day playing with them. I started working for this Farm part time and the kids were able to come along since it was Summer time. She never once had a problem with being around them. I no longer work at this Farm, but we are hooked, we now own our own Curly Horses! And yes, they are Hypo-Allergenic. Just ask Kristal! She now enjoys showing her mare GCF Standing Rockette, aka “Girlfriend”, without the pain and suffering of her allergies. That is of course if she doesn’t handle our straight haired horses or some of the other kids’ horses in the group.
Sheryl D’Uva
And the Home of: Cozy Nook Curlys
Responses and Questions welcome.
[email protected]
Web site www.cozynookcurlys.com


If you have an allergy testimonial to share, please email the Office at [email protected].
We would like to add to our allergy testimonial pages.

Shawn Tucker's allergy testimonial-  http://www.three-feathers.com/allergyinfo/allergytestimonies.html
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