Bit of Snot and a Cough.

Happy Hunter

Happy Hunter

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Morning Advisors!

Any clues why my normally healthy and happy horse has a thick yellowy slimey snot out of her Right nostril yesterday morning (nothing by evening)And coughed a reall good (One) cough on the way to the field this morning.???

Should I panic and call the vet?
Should I get a bottle of NAF Koff, and see how she is over a couple of days (soaking hay in the mean time)?
Should I leave it be, and monitor for a few days.

no abnormal temperature recorded last night.
Hay not normally soaked, but high quality.
I am concerned that she got a bit sweaty last week unattended in a field, perhaps she might have a chill???
 
Don't put her out in a field with others when she has a potentially infectious disease, take temperature twice a day, I would put a light rug on and keep her in. Call the vet now and don't bother with patent remedies, she has an infection, and it may need antibiotics, it could also be strangles, not likely, but possible.
Buy some bleach and sterilise her haynets, and water buckets before you empty them. Do not handle other horses, assume the worst until the vet tells you otherwise.
It is better to feed hay off the ground as it help the nasal passages to drain. Examine the head and neck for swelling, heat, and tenderness.
 
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unless the temp is taken twice a day , and this is only done when an infection is suspected, it is possible to miss a blip in temperature, it is not definative of disease one way or the other, let us know how you get on, fingers crossed.
 
May not be an infection. Do you have oilseed rape growing near you. Some horses are extremely sensitive to it, especially when it is flowering, and can give similar symptoms; also can cause head-shaking etc.
 
Actually our oil seed rape IS in flower. Just - but there is a bit!

No snot, no cough since (tbh it was only ONE cough!)- I appreciate the caution - but the vet is not worried, still coming tomorrow for a check. but no concern!
 
If she's a picture of health in all other ways, ie normal temp, pulse rate, eating, drinking etc etc etc I wouldn't necessarily suspect a virus at this time of year. Sadly, now is the exact time that Summer Pasture Associated COPD starts. It's caused by an allergy to pollens and is tricky to get on top of because for the whole of the spring/summer, every lungful of outside air we breathe will have some sort of pollen in it. Allergies to hay and dust are easier to manage. The key to successfully managing summer pasture COPD is to try to stop the chain reaction that ends with the formation of thick sticky mucus in the lungs which can then progressively destroy lung function. My veteran has a severe pollen allergy, to the degree that last winter may have been his last due to quality of life issues. But through my equine vets we're trialling a new product called Cavalesse. I won't know if it's a success until about the end of May but he's been on it for 2 weeks now (mfrs advise commence 3 weeks before symptoms would normally start). Not cheap at £90 for 3 months supply but good if it works. I think you can get it on line for around £70. It's marketed as a sweetitch product but my mfrs assured my vets that the way it works will work for pollen allergies too. Watch this space as I've promised to post on progress that might help other horses.
 
hi, in response to box of frogs reply, id just like to say i started my mare (who has a pollen allergy) on cavalesse after reading ur posts. She has been on it for nearly a month now and im pleased to say that i am seeing an improvement in her already, she usually has breathing problems from end of feb onwards depending on when the trees start to bud. Im not saying it has totally cured her but the weezing seems to have stopped and i rode her out to day as it was 20 degrees and sunny and she strided out like she was on a mission lol. i could still hear her breathing slightly heavy but it was a def improvement and we managed a canter without me feeling like she was going to keel over! her recovery is a lot quicker and she is def more comfortable in the feild. (wont even tack her up on her bad days) So fingers crossed ......... it appears to be helping! not saying its a total cure but for three yrs now iv not been able to ride on hot and sunny days, so any improvement is a bonus. She was on 4 scoops ov ventapulmin twice a day last yr.
 
The rape is definitely in flower round here & this year we are completely surrounded by the flipping stuff. On my Vets recommendation I'm trying Ventilate with one of mine - so far so good.
 
Well I reckon there might be a virus going round. My lad started having a cough and snots in mid March. It didn't clear up so my vet came out and he was prescribed antibiotics and ventipulmin which sorted it within a week; I hacked him out the other day and he was fine. However now my 2 year old is snotty..
 
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