'A bit under the weather' dilemma

[little_critter]

I'm lucky that my pony is very rarely ill...but it means I'm fairly clueless on when to call the vet out!
About a month ago she had a mild cough in the morning. Never coughed when exercised and seemed well in herself. She produced an impressive glob of snot one morning and for the last month I have been feeding her hay from a barrel on the floor instead of a haynet to allow things to drain.
No noticable cough in the last month.
This last week she has felt a bit flat when schooling and this morning she coughed another glob of snot. It was a one-off cough, no coughing at all after the snot was produced.
So - do I call a vet out?
Do I try something else for a week or two and if she still feels flat then call vet (I was thinking an immune boost supplement, red cell or something of that kind)

I was also wondering if feeding dry hay from a barrel isn't actually all that good - it allows things to drain and her head is in a more natural position...but is she spending the night with her head in a bucket of dust now?

Any thoughts or advice?

 

[JillA]

Sounds to me like a virus, and as with people, there is no cure except for the immune system to deal with it. I would give her a week of field rest, with hay on the ground (not in a container, as you point out, dust could make things worse) and make sure she has adequate protein in her feed (protein makes soft tissue but also the immune system). See how she is after a week and if there is no improvement, then get the vet. Except with acute pain I am a great believer in rest and wait and see.

 

[cptrayes]

Sounds like the beginning of a dust allergy, possibly. Can you turn her out full time? If not, I would soak her hay for twelve hours before feeding it and see if that changes things.

 

[little_critter]

Thank you both, she can't go out full time yet...hopefully in the next few weeks. I will start soaking her hay to keep the dust down.
If it's any help the snot is thick and white - but I've only seen it twice in a month.
Ref protein, she is fed hay and Spillers Lite balancer (and grass of course) so could possibly be low in protein. I'll check the nutritional value of the balancer.

 

[be positive]

Sounds like the beginning of a dust allergy, possibly. Can you turn her out full time? If not, I would soak her hay for twelve hours before feeding it and see if that changes things.

Sounds like it to me too, thick white snot is often the first sign, feeding from a confined space will not help, it may clear up with soaking and more time out but prevention next winter by soaking would be a good idea.