Conundrum with my old boy…

spotty_pony2

spotty_pony2

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I will be contacting the Vet to discuss all this but just want to see what everyone else makes of it. Do you think these are separate issues or could they be linked?

1) I’ve already posted about this but he started coughing a while ago in hay, I’ve moved him onto haylage currently and have bought a steamer to try. He’s also currently on Equine America Airways Xtra Strength and is living out 24/7. On the hay when ridden I would go as far as to say it was making him exercise intolerant. Vet had listened to lungs and said they are clear. He’s still coughing a little bit when he comes in for a few hours and tonight in the field for the first time I heard him cough so not really sure what to make of this but I think he might need some help from the Vet to get over this possibly. He also seems very lethargic.

2) He has a small patch of hives just one one shoulder in an area that is clipped. I’m wondering could it be linked to coughing and it’s showing itself in other ways by him breaking out in hives too? Strange how it’s only in the one patch though. I bathed him in antibacterial/anti fungal shampoo at the weekend in case it was a new fly spray I had tried that had made him react but it hasn’t make any difference. Thehy aren’t itchy or bothering him but do have little scabs in them sometimes.

3) His hind feet heels are suddenly REALLY itchy. this happened before end of last summer and he had the mite injection and it disappeared. He is not typical for mites as he barely had any feathers but it worked. I plan on pressure washing his stable too. Again is this linked?! Also if the stable next door has been pressure washed for a horse with a different skin issue could any mites have migrated into his stable? 🤔

He’s had his teeth done recently and had cushings test end of last summer and was well below the ranges for normal.

He’s my pride and joy and I know he is getting old but this one had confused me. He’s always had very mild pollen allergy in the spring but nothing like this and certainly nothing caused by eating hay. He’s always had a cough on his first trot but that’s it.

Well done if you got this far 🥇 if you can help me shed some light with any of the above I’d be very grateful. ❤️

Photo of him earlier on in the week below. He’s still happy and bright but his heels are driving him crazy itching him today.
 

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Mites are horrible things and my bet would be if there's another horse that's had them, that's what he has.

I think you are probably dealing with separate issues, due to him being a bit under the weather and aging. We have one here with an intermittent cough that the slightest exposure sets off. He was like this last year too and it did clear over the summer, but took ages.
 
meleeka said:
Mites are horrible things and my bet would be if there's another horse that's had them, that's what he has.

I think you are probably dealing with separate issues, due to him being a bit under the weather and aging. We have one here with an intermittent cough that the slightest exposure sets off. He was like this last year too and it did clear over the summer, but took ages.
Click to expand...

Yes I think so too. I guess a lot of this points to a weakened immune system. The other horse hasn’t actually been injected for mites this time as he has a bacterial skin infection (completely different symptoms to my boy but to be honest I’ve been treating him and handling them both so it’s very possible I’ve spread them to him. other horse is on strong antibiotics which I believe will kill any parasites too at the same time for him and I’ve pressure washed and disinfected his stable. He’s now on cardboard too. I don’t think I’ll go to that extreme but I will wash and disinfect his stable and get him mite injected I think for that issue. I guess I can talk to the Vet at the same time about the other issues.
 
tristars said:
The ground is very dry and dusty, if he rolls a lot could breathing in dust


grazing close to the ground is dusty as well
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Agree, but we do have the plenty of grass. It was windy yesterday though so the dust would have been blowing around more.
 
Any chance he's at the tail end of a virus? We only realised mine had Rao when he didn't recover from a cough like the others did. Vet reckoned the increased inflammation didn't come down like it should have done and increased his mild allergy symptoms he must have always had. He had ventipulmin and an inhaler for a little while to get him fully over it. Nothing more than his usual mild manageable allergies since.
 
My retired lad Baggs has equine asthma and I understands exactly where you are coming from x I've answered your questions best as I can from my own personal experiences below :

1) I keep Baggs on haylage permanently as anything else sets him off big time, however I don't steam it as the fussy sod won't touch it if steamed! He also needs a course of Ventipulmin from the vets to help clear him completely after a flare up, so I'd deffo speak to your vet and get something to help your lad.

2) The small patch of hives in one area only suggests to me that his immune system could be compromised in some way, or that he's had a delayed reaction to the clipper oil (although I thought that would show up as soon as he was clipped so maybe I'm on a wrong tangent here with that one!). Baggs gets all hive like when his immune system is compromised, so I feed a few herbs to try and help - no idea if they work or not but I feel better for at least trying to help :)

3) I would deffo get your lad injected for the treatment of mites as it is plausible that it could transfer between stables.
 
Our new little companion pony has equine asthma, I give her NAF Respirator twice a day 15mil morning and night in her small feed. When the vet came to do teeth and jabs he was very please that her lungs had cleared from when we first got her. May be worth a try. Hope you can find something to help him he sounds a sweetie.
 
Thanks for all of the replies! Vet will be coming on Tuesday to do mite injection and I will have a chat with them about a possible course of ventapulmin/antihistamines then. I rode him this morning and whilst he didn’t cough he just doesn’t seem quite his usual self and is lethargic. He also is really stretching his neck out when having a canter - could be stiffness but could be breathing related. Although I have to keep telling myself he is getting old bless him ❤️
 
I’d consider having a camera down his mouth and throat. It’s not that expensive. And standing sedation. They can take fluid to see if he’s got an infection. I had issues with Woody. Lethargic. Cough. Heaving breathing. We done everything. Drugs for asthma. Ventrophlin drugs etc which really started to mount up. And no change. The camera showed the issues were not really his lungs. But back of his throat.
 
Little update.. Vet came out, he had his mite injection and she listened to his breathing again which was very slightly harsher on one side than the other she said but not drastically so. She thinks with the hives as well it’s most likely an allergic reaction to something and with knowing he has pollen allergies and it currently being a red warning for pollen here she suggested we try antihistamines. If this doesn’t work she has said to try an inhaler. Anyway, he started the antihistamines last night when they arrived (15 certrizine am and pm!) and today I can already see a notable difference. No runny eyes or snotty nose at all, much less sneezing, the hives have almost gone and I haven’t heard any coughing 🤞 ) will be interesting when I ride whether he will need his nose net whilst on the antihistamines. He doesn’t head shake it’s more of a flick and a stamp sometimes without it so this might have stopped this entirely but we will see. He seems happy enough in himself but I’ve given him a few days off in the warm weather and whist he gets used to the antihistamines. Cleanest his eyes have looked in ages though, I usually have to wipe them everyday!
 
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