Widgeon
Well-Known Member
For those of you who have horses with asthma or allergies that result in mucus and coughing, how have you found this spring compared to other years? Good, bad, about average?
My little horse has been coughing intermitently for weeks now; he seemed fine in himself so long as I didn't work him so vet gave us potassium iodide and that seemed to clear it up, and we went back to light work. One evening I arrived to feed etc and his breathing was laboured just standing in to be groomed (he lives out 24/7) so vet came out. Vet is happy it's not a virus, and thinks the infection she diagnosed is secondary to something else. He had a steroid jab and 5 days of antibiotics. The steroids made him much better but it still hasn't gone. After checking for Cushings he is now on day 4 of oral steroids and still coughing ocasionally when in the field or when ridden gently. This has never happened to him before and I'm absolutely at a loss.
The weather recently has been so strange, I'm starting to suspect it's something in the environment that he's responding to. I am damping his hay in case that's contributing to the problem. We have barely any grass so he's been living off hay, meagre grass pickings and two small feeds a day since about November.
I'm not panicking (yet) but am a bit baffled as to what is causing this, and wondered what impact others have found the recent strange weather (no rain for weeks and weeks with prolonged freezing temperatures) to have. I'm very much hoping that it will resolve itself now we've got some rain. I'm in a bit of a catch 22 now - with him being on steroids I don't want to put him on more grass, but I suspect the hay may not be helping.
My little horse has been coughing intermitently for weeks now; he seemed fine in himself so long as I didn't work him so vet gave us potassium iodide and that seemed to clear it up, and we went back to light work. One evening I arrived to feed etc and his breathing was laboured just standing in to be groomed (he lives out 24/7) so vet came out. Vet is happy it's not a virus, and thinks the infection she diagnosed is secondary to something else. He had a steroid jab and 5 days of antibiotics. The steroids made him much better but it still hasn't gone. After checking for Cushings he is now on day 4 of oral steroids and still coughing ocasionally when in the field or when ridden gently. This has never happened to him before and I'm absolutely at a loss.
The weather recently has been so strange, I'm starting to suspect it's something in the environment that he's responding to. I am damping his hay in case that's contributing to the problem. We have barely any grass so he's been living off hay, meagre grass pickings and two small feeds a day since about November.
I'm not panicking (yet) but am a bit baffled as to what is causing this, and wondered what impact others have found the recent strange weather (no rain for weeks and weeks with prolonged freezing temperatures) to have. I'm very much hoping that it will resolve itself now we've got some rain. I'm in a bit of a catch 22 now - with him being on steroids I don't want to put him on more grass, but I suspect the hay may not be helping.