Can Horses Get Colds?

M

mcnaughty

Well-Known Member
Joined
28 August 2009
Messages
2,296
Visit site
Couple of weeks ago I took our 4yo welsh A to Equifest. Weather was hot but due to a terrible thunder storm the stables flooded and his ended up like a sauna! When I got him home I turned him straight out for a well deserved rest but a week later he developed a nasty runny nose (white/watery). He has no cough during exercise or at rest and seems pretty perky still.

So, do you think they can get colds - would the change in temperature have affected him like this. I thought I was doing him a favour by turning him away for a week but looking back now I wonder whether the change in temperature might have been a bad idea!

I have the vet coming out in a few days time for annual jabs so if he is still poorly then I will get him to have a look but in the meantime any suggestions please????
 
A white discharge with no other symptoms can be an allergic reaction to dust/ pollen. My old pony had this at certain times of the year.
 
Horses can get colds... watch out for the horse size bogeys and stay well clear when they decide to sneeze!
 
Mine had similar symptoms last yr but he was lethargic and had a bad cough with it. I stopped riding him and called the vet out because his nose was streaming constantly, esp when his heartrate was up. When I say streaming, I mean he had a permanent trickle of thick, gloopy white snot which almost poured when he trotted up the field at tea time, and the hacking cough was just horrible. It came on over a period of two days, and he went from happy and healthy to a big lethargic snotbag in the blink of an eye.

The vet said it seemed like he had a sinus infection and a cold, and gave me a course of antibiotics. Within a week he was back to his usual self, winding up the youngsters and tanking round the field eight times a day, but for awhile there he was really poorly, and I could see just how rough he felt with it. Even his eyes were puffy, and he'd squint in the daylight as though it hurt his eyes. Thankfully my stables are indoors. So, IMO, yes they can definitely get colds.
 
Just gone out and bought the little fella some echinacea herbal tablets and immune system boost supplement.

I will watch out for the bogies! If I catch him picking his nose, I will slap his fetlock!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top