Anti-ammonia treatments for stables?

[kc100]

The horse that I share (I have him 4 days a week) has equine COPD and recently he has developed a cough. The vet has been out to see him and it isnt anything new, just his COPD playing up so he's got treatment for now but we need to look into other things we can do to help his condition.

I have only had Wilbur for 4 weeks now so I'm still learning a lot about him, but I'm starting to see that he has not been living in the best conditions especially for a horse with COPD. He is allergic to dust, yet has straw for his bedding, so I've asked his owner to change this which she has agreed to and the new bedding is going in today so hopefully that will be a big step forwards.

He is also a very wet horse, and she doesnt muck him out all that well (I'm a bit anal about mucking out!) so there is a very strong smell of amonia and his rubber matting below the bedding is very damp. No matter how much I try and get all of the damp bits off the bottom it is well and truly stuck in there now, so much so that you can hear squelching underfoot when walking on the matting (when bedding is removed).

I've been reading up on what else I can do to help with his COPD and apparently the ammonia is damaging for the respiratory system so I want to give the stable a full clean from top to bottom and then get some anti-ammonia treatment in the stable so we can start using this regularly to manage the situation and prevent it from getting so bad again.

Does anyone know of any good anti-ammonia treatments, or does anyone use them and can recommend one to me? I've searched around online and there seems to be a variety so I'm not sure what to go for. Any other tips for horses with COPD would also be welcome!

Thanks

 

[kirstykate]

Super-Bio, but get the stuff for cattle and sheep etc, same stuff fraction of the cost. Local agri shop should sell it.

 

[Star_Chaser]

I did a bit of reading up on COPD recently for a loan I was considering the main thing seems to be turnout as much as possible rather than stable, keep dust free, no dry hay soak really well, soak food if feeding Chaff etc. There are inhalers and I did read up about a set of injections that can be given to help them get used to the allergen that they are allergic to search google it comes up its a bit like the small dose jabs they give people and you have to be referred by your vet. Insurance wise you can get the inhalers but you have to have a nasal sweep first to make sure it is COPD and not an infection of some sort before they will go ahead as the cost can be £500 plus.

You also need to be careful what is in your paddocks pollen wise. This is pretty much all I got when I read up on it. Hope it helps we decided not to take the pony as he really did look distressed and not suitable for riding.

 

[Archiepoo]

hi is there any way ur pony could live out? that would be the best thing u could do for the copd. if its impossible to live out then the next best thing would be to clean the whole stable including taking the matting out and scrub all the stains and smells with something like green gloop from fieldguard .that will get ride of the ammonia. the best bedding for copd is either dustfree wood pellets that you wet and fluff up ,or no bedding at all and wash out the stable everyday. no hay unless its well soaked or haylage and as open a stable as you can get -leave windows open all year dont stable next to horses on a straw bed or anything dusty.good luck.x

 

[ihatework]

Equimins do a powder that is good.

Also might be worth trying the food suppliment Winergy ventilate, has apparently shown good results for COPD and helped some horses withdraw from ventipulmin.

 

[kc100]

Thanks everyone.

He is out at night but comes in during the day, I try and get him out as early as possible in the evening so he spends a good deal of time out in the paddock. His paddock is pretty clear of plants, bushes, trees etc so the pollen shouldnt be too bad but with it being summer his COPD is always bound to be worse I guess. The stables are very well ventilated so he does get a lot of fresh air, and no other horses in our area of the yard are on straw (he is the last one!) so that shouldnt be affecting him too much.

He doesnt have hay, only haylage and we are changing his bedding from straw to shavings to help (he is a greedy thing and I'm sure he has been eating his bedding!).

Fingers crossed with his new bedding and an anti-ammonia treatment he will respond well. Thanks for the suggestions!