COPD - 20 year old pony getting worse

pinkcatkin

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We have an adorable 20 year old Section B pony on permanent loan as a companion. She is a pony made in heaven, sweet, biddable, happy. Sadly she came to us with COPD and cannot have dry hay. In the winter we soak hay if she has to have any at all. We are also extremely careful about not letting her be around if we are changing bedding, etc.

Her bouts of wheeziness do not follow a pattern. She is worse if it is very humid or very windy but she is not always worse if she steals any dry hay.

Her owner has always paid for Ventapulmin which seems to be the only thing that works for her. We recently tried Respimin, a new herbal product, but it did nothing. She has never been so bad in the winter and I am worried that she is just generally getting worse.

Does anybody have experience of COPD and any helpful comments? We want to do everything we can to keep her going as long as it is fair to do so but I wondered if there were any other products that might help?
 

tcarter

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Hi

I also had a much loved pony with COPD - although she suffered much worst in the summer than winter. Her breathing would get v bad if humid and if the pollen count was high.

I owned her from 5yr and the condition only really took hold from about 17yr

She was first treated with Ventapulmin - but it wasn't effective after a few years. She then had steriod tablets and when these didn't have any effect she had an inhaler from the vets.

Sadly she got worst each Summer and in the end her quality of life was poor and she lost her spark, so she was PTS at 21.

I would speak to your vet - you may need to increase your dosage or try an alternative medication as I found Ventapulmin does loss its effectiveness after a while.

Good luck - i know how distressing this condition can be.
 

pinkcatkin

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Thanks for that, we have enquired about steroids but apparently they are very unhelpful as far as lami is concerned and we do have to be careful on that front anyway, although she has never had it since she has been with us. Sadly we are on maximum dosage.

Guess we will just have to keep a close eye. Suspect this severity in winter may bode ill for the summer. WE will have to see.
 

reynold

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she could be developing an allergic reaction to something as well

try removing soya from her diet - there is evidence to show that horses can be allergic to soya - my boy is and now he has no soya his breathing has improved from being unable to canter to back to full work - he still has to have damped hay

ventipulmin/inhaler system/antibiotics did nothing for him either - it was purely allergic reaction - luckily my vets speciality is allergen testing
 

TGM

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Agree with the possibility of allergy. My friend's mare had bad COPD and she had her allergy tested and they reckoned she was allergic to various feedstuffs and some plants. Diet was changed and she had a series of injections to desensitise her.

I must say I was sceptical, but the difference in her resting respiration rate and her ability to work before and after treatment was very impressive.
 

reynold

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sounds like same treatment my boy had - vet said at the time a lot of the allergy cases come up as soya allergy - along with other things - my boy was mint and field peas/beans

so without being able to go thru the allergen workup and the desensitisation treatment it is worthwhile trying to remove any soya from the diet for say 2 months and see if there is an improvement
 

the watcher

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One of mine did not respond to Ventapulmin, but has improved with haylage (instead of soaked hay), rubber mats and dust free chopped rape straw bedding, she also has a product from Global herbs - they do one for dust and one for summer allergies - mine has been known to cough all the year round, even when out.
It took nearly two months on the Global herbs product to see a real improvement, but nearly a year later she is completely clear of coughs and snuffles and without a stethascope you wouldn't know she had ever had a problem.
 

Jo C

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I have the same except mine is allergic to grass! His breathing has been fine over the winter but every now and again now it worsens a little. I have mine on soaked hay and shavings. He can't have steroids as they gave him lami. My vet suggested Winergy Ventilate as he has had good results with that although it didn't do much for Patrick - maybe worth a try?
 

pinkcatkin

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Thanks Jo C, hadn't heard of Winergy Ventilate. Our pony is out 24/7 but has a shelter with bark bed if weather very bad. can't give her much haylage as worried about lami.

Will make some enquiries about it.

Thanks
 

goeslikestink

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keep the pony on shavings
dampen feedstuff feed haylage
buy a water pistol
when mucking out-- turn ned out then muck out
as dust pariticals go in air then use the water pistol to spray the air so dust settles or water spray bottle alwaysdo it before you bring her in

fly mask fly sheet have in when windy - or direct sunlight
as they are prone to have runny eyes think sinus-- think airways
hence fly mask and fly sheet-

copd can be managed-- think enviroment as pollen has a eefct on the horse with copd so do not stable near any crops rape seed is the worlds worse

think where her stable is situated is it and does it get more windy
as dust will blow in type thing

try not to use arena that arnt well kept- ie dampened down often

if the horse coughts stop - stop stop riding it

copd is wind--- ie lungs-- airways
and some of the air ways are small so -- vetipullin helps to open them up

dont feed chaff--possiable chance of choke and with a horse with copd can be a bit awkward - all feeds should be dampened

i have had a horse with since i got him at 4mths old hes 17yrs

worm regular- worms cause copd
copd can be a dust allgery or something leading to something more serious
think blood coughing lungs-- then heart-- so you must stop riding if in a fit of coughing

it can be man managed
ossy has had a good life and been an excellent p/c r/c and hsow jumper pony-- i say pony as hes only 15hh hes won all his classes-- think asma for a kid and what you would do
its simular-- you can manage it--

turn out is best but not near farmers that harvest often
 

goeslikestink

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i will add shes 20yrs old and the damge to her lungs can be severe
she might and i say might as i have lost one to serve cpod
as i re hab horses

anyways i will tell you about rona lisa

she was 12 when i got her, and had a dust allergy or so i was told
she had chronic copd--

i had her 5mths from summer to winter she was out and double rugged in the winter she became distress right in the middle of christmas week to new year of that year

anyways her nasal was flared and she struggled to breath vets gave me ventipulin and other new drugs on the market
also try herbal stuff anything to help her
well in that week i had her pts as i couldnt watch it anymore
and had a pm done
vets often wondered why they couldnt hear anything well her pm revealed she out of 2 lungs only had half of one working

so i did the right thing by her-- but spent heaps of mone one her in the process

thing is and my point-- you can go on and on and on
but in the end you have to do whats right by the horse and no one can say how bad her lungs are unless you can have them xrayed or have the money to-- but will say this soft tissue on soft tissue cannot be filmed

so it depends
if that was me as you cant meausred the depth of pain
as or how much time we have here on the planet
but i owuld consider if she that bad in having her put to sleep as this painful condition when servere to breath
 

GreedyGuts

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I would ask your vet about inhaled steroids/ bronchodilators. They are effective and cheap in comparison to ventipulmin, which is variably effective. Inhaled steroids do not have systemic effects, so are not a worry for laminitics.

Your pony may have lung damage sustained over time, but this treatment is definately worth a try and can be life changing.
 

davidoricardo

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Hello, it may be worth trying a bed change to say Aquamax - which has virtually no dust but also agree with the diet comments, there is a company called simplesystems who do natural stuff, which has worked well with a friends pony
 

SOB

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I have a 15yr old with COPD which was horrendous when first diagnosed but completely manageable now.

He is on Winergy Ventilate supplement, Bedmax bedding and soaked hay...the kind soaked for a good hour.

The best thing for him is to be out but he has a very large open stable aswell which keeps the air circulating. He is also worse if near rape fields or damp weather.
 
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