Work Healthy - Asthma, eczema and your career

Stable hand

Risk level:

Runny nose from Black Beauty

Stable hands look after their favourite animal at, for example, riding stables, trotting stables and stud farms, which breed horses. The job is practical and often physically strenuous - providing food and water, grooming, mucking out, ensuring equipment is working and so on. Some stable hands develop allergies as a result of contact with the animals or substances around them.

What are the risks?

Stable hands run the risk of developing allergies to horses or other animals in the vicinity, such as cats and mice. This can result in a runny nose, itchy eyes and breathing difficulties around the animals in question. If you have asthma or other problems with your airways, you may find it more difficult to breathe, as there can be lots of dust in the air.

Prevention and avoidance

It can be difficult to protect yourself from the risk of developing an allergy to horses, as they are part of the job. It's worth knowing that good ventilation in the workplace will help, as will a clean and tidy stable. If you have asthma and/or allergies, it will be difficult for you to work as a stable hand, as you will come into contact with substances that will aggravate your condition. If you had atopic eczema when you were little, you should also be aware that you are more likely than others to develop allergies during your work as a stable hand.

Want to know more?

Du som har frågor och vill veta mer om riskerna för astma och eksem inom jobbet som hästskötare, bör kontakta skolsköterskan eller yrkesvägledaren på din skola.

If you have any questions or want to know more about asthma and eczema when working as a stable hand, get in touch with your school nurse or careers adviser.

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