Can't get rid of cough , pls help :(

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hayleymitch

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Hi guys ,
I just wondered if any of you would have any tips for me .
My horse had had a cough now for about 4 weeks , It started when we had quite a dusty bale of hayledge . ( which he has been off for 3 wks now ) .
The cough seems to be from deep down as if its food stuck and coughing food up type of cough .
He is getting a bit of discharge from his nose but very slight ( its clear, sometimes white in colour)
He hasnt got a temp , but his breath has started to STINK . He had his teeth done not long ago and they where fine .
He has been on a course of ventapulim that hasnt changed it at all :( which i thought would clear it .
I have tried cough medicane , Horsey and human as someone suggested that but hasnt worked .
Anyone know of any other ways to clear it , as I havent been able to work him throughout it and need to get him back into work soon .
Thanks
 
Sounds nasty :(

Is your horse kept in or out?

If you think the cough was caused by a bale of dusty haylage, I would have thought that Ventopulmin would of helped. But if the horse is still inside then stable dust could be irritating the already sensitive lungs and so prolonging the problem. It may be that more ventopulmin is needed.

It could be a virus that is causing the problem, but it should still be helped by the treatment already given.

I would turnout 24/7 for a while (if not already out) and see if that helps
 
don't know if this helps but one of mine as got this

so been scoped today and a sample under microscope

nothing bad at all showed up on scoping or sample taken so putting it down to pollen (never suffered before but we are having some weird weather up here in the north winds,rain ,cold one minute then really hot the next)

just ordered some clarity from feedmark(on special offer at moment) so will update if this helps
 
A deep and persistent cough with no other symptoms (eg fever, off food etc) is probably COPD/RAO caused by an allergic reaction. Because of the time of year, it is most likely to be a pollen allergy. My horse has this very badly. Ventipulmin only acts to relax the airways but I didn't find it any help whatsoever. COPD/RAO from a pollen allergy is known as Summer Pasture Associated RAO and can be a bugger to manage. If you want a zillion tons more info, do a search on my posts. However, if it IS a pollen allergy, I wouldn't expect stinky breath. Stinky breath is more likely to be food stuck somewhere (eg in teeth etc) or serious infections in the mouth/gullet. I'd get the vet back and if necessary ask for a referral to a specialist centre. Good luck.
 
Global Herbs do a couple of really good products and I would recommend giving them a call. You do need to eliminate all dust if this is the cause so review your bedding and forage arrangements, I also never feed anything dry, all feeds are well soaked.

The foul smell is a bit of a concern and does suggest that your vet should be having another look at the top end of the digestive system for infection or a blocked pouch
 
I have a donkey with COPD/RAO. I've kept it well under control with soaked
hay in winter, dust free bedding (never straw), 24/7 turnout in Spring/
Summer/Autumn, and the use of Ventipulmin AND Sputilosin (which breaks
up the mucousy cough) when needed. Several weeks ago I heard him
coughing in the paddock. I knew he hadn't had access to hay or dusty bedding, so I assumed it had to be pollen. I gave him his meds and within
a few hours he was fine. It happened another time a few days later. I gave him his meds, and he has been fine ever since. The combination of
the two drugs, in his case, is far superior to using Ventipulmin alone.

The fact that your boy's breath is starting to smell foul should be an
indication of the need for veterinary intervention. I would think that if
there is an accumulation of mucous he hasn't been able to clear, that
could manifest itself with an offensive odour. When the vet comes, mention the use of the two drugs in concert, assuming he diagnoses COPD/RAO.

Good luck!
 
RutlandH2O - my horse has been on every drug combination known to man and none of it helped at all. Oral, inhaled, in combination, endoscoped, no difference. Only the changing season helped him. It depends on other things as well I think such as the age of the horse, the severity of the allergic response, his environment and the length of time he's had the condition. Glad Ventipulmin + Sputolosin helped your horse but it didn't help Sunny.
 
horsedreams said:
don't know if this helps but one of mine as got this

so been scoped today and a sample under microscope

nothing bad at all showed up on scoping or sample taken so putting it down to pollen (never suffered before but we are having some weird weather up here in the north winds,rain ,cold one minute then really hot the next)

just ordered some clarity from feedmark(on special offer at moment) so will update if this helps
Click to expand...

NAF restpirator is brilliant, better than clarity when I used it on my horse anyway he has COPD

NAF do it in a liquid to boost, then I put him on the powder, its really good
 
Box_Of_Frogs said:
RutlandH2O - my horse has been on every drug combination known to man and none of it helped at all. Oral, inhaled, in combination, endoscoped, no difference. Only the changing season helped him. It depends on other things as well I think such as the age of the horse, the severity of the allergic response, his environment and the length of time he's had the condition. Glad Ventipulmin + Sputolosin helped your horse but it didn't help Sunny.
Click to expand...

My friend's horse hasn't responded much to this combination either, she's alos giving him pollenex which seemed to help more than those 2 ! he is going to be scoped
 
Get your vet (back?) a.s.a.p. it might be nothing, but I would be scared that it is an allergy.

My mare got RAO from dusty hay. I didn't pay proper attention to the cough, thinking it would go away, and a few nights later she nearly upped and died on me. I was SO angry with myself for letting things slide. The duty vet who came out (not from my practice) had to go hareing off to get an inhaler mask and it was a horrid few hours.

I learnt from my mistake, and now own an inhaler mask and have the drugs to hand (same as for human asthmatics). If your horse has got RAO it's not the end of the world - it can be managed wel,l especially if they can live out 24/7 and you pay close attention to the quality of hay/haylage. Unfortunately in my mare's case she cannot eat hay at all now - however long you soak it for - but luckily is fine on haylage.

I hope your horse recovers soon, but please do get the vet's opinion.
 
I know that this won’t cure the cause but to ease the symptons you could try the following recipe…

* Big saucepan(s) with boiling water in and then add….

* Various basic human cough syrups/linctus (most places won’t let you buy more than 2 of each so I used to go to Asda or wherever and buy 2 linctus, 2 bronciol syrup, 2 chesty cough, 2 tickly cough etc. etc.) They are about 99p each.

* Economy running hunny

* ‘Jiff’ or supermarket version bottled lemon juice

* ‘Jiff’ or supermarket version bottle lime juice

How much you make will obviously depend on how many ingredients you buy and how concentrated you make it but I used to ask my friends to save me their 2litre pop bottles and make up a big batch of about 20litres (fairly diluted then feed lots!). I used to then add it to my horse’s breakfast and dinner.

Probably sounds silly and simple but I’ve never had this fail to treat the syptoms and make my horse more comfortable within 2-3 days.

(I did used to feel a bit like a witch whilst mixing the potion!!)

I hope your horse feels better soon and it doesn’t cost you a fortune in vets bills!
 
I would get vet to scope and take a sample. Horses on my yard had similar and needed strong antibiotics to get rid of it, but they need to know what it is to give the correct ones
 
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