Discovering my horse allergy

This happened when I was about 14.  I didn't know yet I was allergic to horses.  Maybe I was tested for it, but back then I was really in denial about my allergies so I didn't pay attention to alot of stuff.

Some friends wanted to go horseback riding, and I had never done it before so I thought it would be cool to try.  Being spring, pollen was bothering me some, but I was just mainly sniffling and had some sneezing.    I hated using tissues back then and I usually could just sniffle and be ok, so I just kept a few tissues in my pocket.

We got there and everything was ok for a while.  A few minutes after we got on the horses, I noticed that my nose was getting very stuffy and it was tingling pretty badly.  My nose started to run more and I was trying not to sneeze.  Eventually I couldn't keep from sneezing because of this constant tingle all inside my nose.  I kept having sneezing fits while we were going around on the trail.  People kept asking me if I was ok, and I would just nod yes because I didn't want them to hear me sounding all stuffy.  My nose was too runny and I went through the few tissues I had pretty quickly.  I kept on wiping my nose on the inside of my shirt  and I was trying really hard not to let anyone see my nose being snotty.  My friends kept looking at me when I kept sneezing and I could tell that they felt kinda bad for me and I just felt more and more embarrassed because I couldn't go run off anywhere.

By the end of the trip I was feeling miserable and I probably looked it too.  As soon as we got off the horses, I told my friends that I would be in the car.  My nose and sinuses were all stuffed up and my eyes were all itchy and puffy and watery.  I got in the car and I just kept sneezing and sneezing.  I couldn't find any tissues so I kept sneezing inside my shirt and kept trying to wipe my nose as much as I could.

I was bad like that the whole trip home.  My friends kept asking how I was and they were acting all concerned and I was really wishing I could be away from everyone.  I wanted to die from embarrassment.  They were going to hang out but I asked them to drop me off at home 1st.  They did and I just went into my room and felt pretty miserable for the rest of the day.

Since then, I haven't ridden on a horse and I haven't been around any that much.  Out of curiosity I have been around one for a bit every year or so just to see if I am still allergic (I do that with most things I am allergic to that I usually can avoid), and I am.