Aservo EquiHaler

[Cady_Feo]

My mare and I are currently on day 5 and this has been my experience so far:

- I trained it like both clicker training and natural horsemanship with a rope halter: she hears a click and she gets a treat. If she put her head up or fights me, I'd calmly send her in a circle around me for a few loops then try again. Of course lots of kisses- gotta cater to the ego. First few days were the worst. It took a lot of patience. I still count myself as lucky. I can see why this won't work on all horses. Good luck to the owners who have spicy horses.
- **Don't throw away your Equihaler so you can use it for training purposes later without squandering precious mist.**
- I still hear a cough or two, but not nearly as violent.
- She's got a steady drip of clear mucus running from her nose. I look down and it's splattered all over the aisle floor when she's crosstied.
- I am lucky that one of the best equine pulmonology specialists (Dr. Mazan) is 30 minutes from me. She said sometimes it takes more than one course on the Equihaler for it to take full effect.
- You don't have to keep the inhaler inserted while you do the first primer click.
- **Beware the false nostril.**
- The flexineb is definitely more cost efficient than using the Equihaler if your horse needs the support long term.

What I'd like to know but the general public probably can't tell me:
- Most importantly: Does it work? I haven't been able to ride more than a walk in 43 days.
- Will this get her through show season?
- I haven't gotten the vet bill yet, how much does this thing cost?

 

[doodle]

Robin ended up having 2 courses. He was happy to have it shoved up his nose very quickly. We initially had the dummy training inhaler. I started off just touching his nose and getting a treat. He accepted it really well. He didn’t get upset at the click. However he held his breath! And then would breath sporadically so it was hard to get the timing right and I don’t think he was getting much mist. He also sneezed a few times. After 5 days I worked out if I looped my right arm under his chin and over his right nostril he would breathe. The next 5 days I was sure he was getting it. So we then started the course again with a new inhaler. I am sure he got 99% of it and the occasional sneezes just meant he got an extra click. There are a few spare in the cartridge. After the last click I held it for another couple of breaths before removing and giving lots of pats and polos. I think it was about £160 per inhaler. The practice one was invaluable as a try incase he had a total fit and not worth trying the real one.

The inhaler was the last chance before he was pts. We had nothing else left to try. Day 8 of the second course he was scoped again (ideally it would have been the end of the course but getting the vet meant it was then or 10’days later) and he scoped clear! His breathing was very nearly normal again. He finished the last 2 days. That was almost 3 weeks ago and he has bounced back amazingly after being very ill for a very long time.

 

[Draftcross87]

Glad to see this thread that someone else has tried the Aservo! My gelding has been on nebulizer (with saline), albuterol inhalers and flexineb inhalers for the last two years, and my vet just brought us an Aservo to try this week. She gave us a practice unit without the medication and I'm stocking up on apples and his favorite cookies first, so hoping that helps.

 

[Cady_Feo]

Update: I had to do two rounds of the equihaler, slowly tapering her off. I'd say it's been a month or more since I've heard her cough. Getting vaccines made her cough again but I only heard a few and they weren't so intense.

Note that my horse had very low grade asthma. After the cough went away, Cadence was still constantly sneezing/snorting/wheezing. The biggest difference I think was putting her on Zyrtec. She now gets 22 tabs at AM and PM feedings. I kind of wish we'd STARTED with that before going down this crazy road with scopes and BALs and fancy vet stuff.

Good luck everyone!!

My mare and I are currently on day 5 and this has been my experience so far:

- I trained it like both clicker training and natural horsemanship with a rope halter: she hears a click and she gets a treat. If she put her head up or fights me, I'd calmly send her in a circle around me for a few loops then try again. Of course lots of kisses- gotta cater to the ego. First few days were the worst. It took a lot of patience. I still count myself as lucky. I can see why this won't work on all horses. Good luck to the owners who have spicy horses.
- **Don't throw away your Equihaler so you can use it for training purposes later without squandering precious mist.**
- I still hear a cough or two, but not nearly as violent.
- She's got a steady drip of clear mucus running from her nose. I look down and it's splattered all over the aisle floor when she's crosstied.
- I am lucky that one of the best equine pulmonology specialists (Dr. Mazan) is 30 minutes from me. She said sometimes it takes more than one course on the Equihaler for it to take full effect.
- You don't have to keep the inhaler inserted while you do the first primer click.
- **Beware the false nostril.**
- The flexineb is definitely more cost efficient than using the Equihaler if your horse needs the support long term.

What I'd like to know but the general public probably can't tell me:
- Most importantly: Does it work? I haven't been able to ride more than a walk in 43 days.
- Will this get her through show season?
- I haven't gotten the vet bill yet, how much does this thing cost?

 

[Ginger_anne]

Hello everyone, thanks for your posts. I'm on day 4 with Equihaler but the breath indicator is hardly moving. I'm sure it is properly inserted. I think my Connie is holding her breath then throwing her head in the air when she needs a breath. Any tips?