Horse that's allergic to grass

Shrouded in what looks like an ill-fitting Christmas jumper and leg warmers, she cuts a comical figure.

But the plight of Pandora the mare is no laughing matter.

The five-year-old thoroughbred has to be kept covered up because she is allergic to grass.
Even a single blade touching her coat is enough to leave her gasping for breath and covered in large, painful boils.

Her owner, Emily Pearce, has no option but to cover her up with a protective layer of high-tech polyester-based breathable fabric to avoid having to lock her away for her own safety.
She also wears a mask to protect her eyes. She is fed a special mixture of sugarbeet chaff and soya oil, along with 15 anti-histamine tablets a day.

'She does look silly but it is the only thing that helps her,' said Miss Pearce, 24, from Henley-on-Thames, Oxfordshire.

Pandora's £185 rug, imported from a specialist firm in Sweden, is usually used to protect a horse from insect bites. It is designed so that it can be buckled around her but leave her moving freely.

The mask, which costs £50, fits snugly over her ears and down to her muzzle and is held in place with Velcro. Although it covers her eyes, it is so fine she can see through it. Miss Pearce, an auxiliary veterinary nurse, bought the 15.2-hand horse for £2,600 in 2007.

Last summer Pandora began to develop a large, itchy lump on her belly at her stables in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire.

The lump continued to grow and when it was joined by others, Miss Pearce tried steroid injections but they did nothing to relieve Pandora's distress. In the end, a battery of tests was carried out, revealing she was allergic to every type of grass.

It is not clear what caused the condition to appear so suddenly, and there is no cure. Vet Peter Fenton said he had come across only two other cases - and neither was so acute.