COPD Advice

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misswoods

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Hi all,

I'm well aware that many of you are not vets and am not seeking veterinary advice, as I've had plenty of it already, I'm simply looking for advice as to what YOU would do. Please no nasty comments, as this is already difficult enough.

I have a 23 year old arab x TB mare who has suffered from COPD on and off for a good few years, although I've only had her 3, and have always kept her as a companion, her previous owners said she had been on medication before., it never really affected her apart from the occasional cough. She was still quite happy to bomb around the field and acted like a 2 year old, not the 23 that she is! Around September 2017, she came in very wheezy and laboured breathing, so obviously I had the vet straight out who made her comfortable and put her on steroids and ventipulmin. A few weeks later we tried taking her off the ventipulmin in the hope she won't need to be on it on a permanent basis but she started deteriorating again and we had to put her back on again. Obviously we took the routine of having two weeks on the medications, one week off, and she was very happy until mid December, when I noticed towards the end of the 'week off' the meds she would become less and less comfortable. We're now at the stage where she's wheezing profusely at the end of the week without meds and she's not at all comfortable. She's out all the time and only fed hayledge, and because of her past, inhalers are not an option. I'm really struggling to pay for the medication (which is as much as 110 every three weeks or so). I can see shes not herself and not happy when she's like this, and I know theres only so long ventipulmin will work for, which it has already started decreasing in its usefulness.

So my question to you all is;
What would you do? Have any of you been in this situation or similar?

Thanks
L x
 
I know exactly how you feel OP - I went through this with my boy before we lost him to colic last year. Please feel free to pm me with any questions - I'm happy to share my experiences and advice, but could write pages and pages on it so probs best to pm!

What I would say is the only thing that worked for my boy in the end was a nebuliser - Flexineb. Purchasing the device is not cheap, but the medication we put inside (dexamethasone) worked out much cheaper than ventipulmin and with much less complications as it is directly inhaled in the respiratory system rather than being digested. I found it via searching online and asked my vet if I could try it - it made my boy much more comfortable, and the vets subsequently started using it in treatments too. It's a bit of a faff and really not cheap, but made the world of difference.
 
1) Clarity, a herbal supplement, it's cheaper than ventipulmin and seems to work as a preventative. It's good for getting rid of phlegm. Ventipulmin just gives relief and doesn't work for all horses.

2) Exercise, it's a cruel-to-be-kind thing, the fitter they are (they get fit a lot slower than usual) the better their breathing is, daily exercise is best. And if they're wheezy and struggling one day don't push them, but some exercise is still better than none. No week-long holidays either or the breathing deteriorates.

3) Have you moved yards/areas recently? Rape fields can worsen it.

4) Some are worse in summer due to pollen, if yours is then 24/7 turnout might not be the best thing for those months.
 
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amymay said:
You're asking if it's ok to put her down. And in my view, yes it is.
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Exactly my response!

We gave one of our Appaloosa mares steroids and Ventipulmin over the summer last year, it got very expensive but fortunately she only needed the meds about 3 or possibly 4 times.
Tbh in your position I would pts, her quality of life is definitely compromised by the sound of it.
 
You cant afford the medicine and you've done the best you can. That's all we can ever do. Her quality of life is the most important thing so pts is probably the best thing.
 
Ventipulmin often becomes less effective for COPD, if it's possible I would try a nebuliser for the steroids, I've found it to be much easier and better tolerated than inhalers.
 
amymay said:
You're asking if it's ok to put her down. And in my view, yes it is.
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Completely agree.

I would have put down my friend's horse, but I have to admit he seemed to have a decent quality of life, in work, once she had him on inhalers.
 
GoldenWillow said:
Ventipulmin often becomes less effective for COPD, if it's possible I would try a nebuliser for the steroids, I've found it to be much easier and better tolerated than inhalers.
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Do you mean tolerated as medication or tolerated from the sense of having a sharp puff on delivery?

If the second, it didn't take long for my friend to train hers.
 
misswoods said:
Hi all,



She's out all the time and only fed hayledge

What would you do? Have any of you been in this situation or similar?

Thanks
L x
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If she is out 24/7 and feeding hayledge that is the best thing for COPD it is what our vet told us to do
Both of ours have a cough at the moment maybe a virus or the hay I made last year, the Cob has stopped as now on Hayledge but they are in most of the week due to wet fields.
We did move yards two years ago as surrounded by rape which made my Appaloosas breathing very bad, a week on ventipulmin and the crop turning to seed fixed him that year. I also remember my VET saying wet areas are worse as we were by a river at the time also low lying ground did not help as pollen collected in the valley.
 
ycbm said:
Do you mean tolerated as medication or tolerated from the sense of having a sharp puff on delivery?

If the second, it didn't take long for my friend to train hers.
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Sorry I meant better tolerated as in having the sharp puff on delivery, my mare was fine with this but I've heard of a few horses that don't like this. You also don't have the having to close the other nostril off. My vets did mention that they feel that the nebulised steroids, being liquid, are easier absorbed than the puff of the inhaler although don't know if there's any evidence to support this.
 
Buy an adult spacer and deliver human asthma’s medication to her, through one nostril. Mine gets twelve puffs of fostair a day, six in morning, six in night. Vet says that’s a great way to manage it. No stabling. No hay. Lad has improved to great health now despite some permanent lung scarring. I use one inhaler a week and it costs about a fiver
 
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