COPD and Injected Steroids (also in vet)

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Gorgeous George

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Poor George's COPD seems to have got worse this week, he was doing well on the steroid inhalers and they were controlling his symptoms well, although they weren't doing such a good job of controlling the mucus in his trachea or the number of inflammatory cells :(

Unfortunately this week for whatever reason he has started coughing again and producing large blobs of snot (sorry!). I had a long chat with my vet on the phone today and he his now concerned about him going backwards and ending back at square one or worse :(

Thankfully George is generally fine in himself, perky, but this is obviously not right. The problem is that the vet now wants to try him on injected steroids (dexamethasone?) and he will have to have an injection every 2 days for 2 weeks. I am really worried about the side effects and possible risk of laminitis, although when I was talking to the vet he said the dose would be as low as possible and he'd never encountered a horse getting laminitis and if it was his horse he wouldn't hesitate - so I was quite reassured. I should also say that I really trust my vet but...........

But reading people's experiences on here seem to paint a different picture, and I am rather worried to say the least.

I don't know if it makes George any less prone, but he is a 16.3 shire x, he isn't overweight, he has soaked hay at night and due to flooding he is currently out during the day in an old sand school with haylage to eat. His feed is just hi-fi lite and a lo-cal balancer.

I guess I would like to hear other people's experiences - but try not to scare me too much!

Thanks :)
 
Sorry to hear that George isn't well.

I think before I stepped up the drug approach I would want to look carefully at any changes in his management recently that could have set things off. I'd want to see if tweaking things could offer him improvement before I headed down injected steroids.

My mare has COPD, I'm lucky in that it can be mainly controlled with her management though we do have spells on ventopulmin when she has a turn. Annoyingly she has to come in overnight in the winter but she goes onto dust free bedding (there is no straw in her block which def helps her), it is never mucked out/levelled/swept etc when she is in, she is never groomed in her stable either, in dry weather the yard isn't swept when she is on it, her stable is outside and regularly dusted, hay is fed (haylege causes an unpleasant pipe effect!) well soaked (works better for her than steamed). That seems to keep a lid on it, though pollen time, close hot weather and long dry spells still give her the snots.

Hope you manage to get things under control without too much worry.
 
What is causing his COPD, if it is hay spores/dust he really needs a complete break from being exposed to the hay, as soon as possible, out 24/7 is probably the best answer and I find soaking hay is not good enough.
Having haylage and out 24/7 for most of the year is the best cure, one of mine is fine on haylage but not soaked hay, he builds up mucus within a week on that but no problems with haylage.

I would rather change regime than inject steroids. In the long term you will need to make these changes anyway otherwise he will just get worse and need more drugs each time.
 
When he was diagnosed back in January, I moved him from straw onto woodchip bedding and then in Feb when an outdoor stable became available I moved him there (it is not attached to another stable so no cross contamination from hay / straw). His hay has always been soaked and fed from the floor, turnout has been a problem for the last few month or so due to flooding (I really can't do anything about that :(), hence why he is out in an old sand school. Nothing has changed in his management in the last few weeks, so I don't see why he has gone downhill this past few days.

Completely confused :(:(
 
He has got worse as he is now in a school, less movement probably, no grass and it has been a long winter, the effects of COPD are accumulative so until the cycle is broken, ie he is out 24/7 and no longer exposed he will continue, to some extent, to get worse.

The drugs help with controlling the symptoms, they are not a cure the only cure is to remove from the cause.
 
Remove all his bedding, and get him on to rubber matting - and obviously as much turnout as possible.

In your shoes, yes I'd go with the injections. It has to be above improving the quality of his life and health vs the risks.
 
Been there & went with the steroids altho not the dexameth I went with a diff steroid. Made no diff 2 my horses breathing probs but that's another story!
Wot I did find was it made her manic about food- getting v distressed if haynet empty (was out all day) & she got very bloated once steroids out her system that reversed itself
Also I thot the soles of her feet seemed 2 peel away-farrier not concerned & she not lame/sore etc I just kept an eye on it.
If u want more info pls PM me
Lastly hav u thot bout feeding winergy- its supposed 2 b very good 4 breathing they've done trials with it showing was as effective as medicating 4 a lot of horses- speak 2 the company I found them excellent & knowledgeable- altho didn't start 2 use it as horse was PTS (another story again!)
 
Hi

My mare was diagnosed with COPD about a month ago and was on Ventipulmin for 10 days and recovered really well and have had no problems since, but on Fri she was fine in the morning but when I went back about 4pm she had really gone downhill to the extent she couldnt walk from the field to her stable without coughing and making the most awful wheezing, wierd funny nose like she couldnt breathe properly and her head was almost touching the floor all the way back and every step she took she coughed. I rang the vets immedialty as was really worried and he prescribed her some more Ventipulmin. She hasnt coughed once since being back on it.

The weird thing is though nothing had changed in her management/routine and shes out 24/7. I just found it strange that she was fine in the morning and then come 4pm she was that poorly.

The vet talked about putting her on steroids but neither of us really want to do that route yet and shes slightly overweight due to 7 months box rest for a Tendon injury and the vet was worried as being overweight and on steroids is not a good combination and can cause Laminitis. But he did say if she gets another bad attack then he is going to scope her to find out exactly whats what in there.

I have taken all her bedding out the stable and she is now on rubber matting and she wont eat soaked hay and dry hay makes her cough so bought some haylage today for her. and to be honest I only bought that as Im experimneting with her to see what makes her cough and what doesnt so I know what to get for her in the Winter months. Am going to try HorseHage after the Haylage Her feed is almost like soup as the vet said to wet it down as much as possible and to be fair shes only on the minimal amount anyway and only has it coz she needs her supplements and Ventipulim every day. Someone on here has also suggested Garlic powder because apparanetly that is a respiratory aid aswell and keeps the airways open.

I have also bought some Ventilate for her from Winergy and will start her on that as soon as the Ventipulmin is done.

Mine is also a Shire X.

Hope yours starts to feel better soon xxxx
 
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Thanks for all your input / advice.

Unfortunately I don't know the cause of his COPD, I always assumed soaked hay was ok, but maybe I will have to look at him having haylage all of the time - I will discuss this with my vet tomorrow, before I make a final decision.

I wish I could turn him out more on grass, but at the moment it just isn't possible :( I wish I had some control over the weather but I don't :( I think this is the vets thinking with regards the injected steroids, whilst his management isn't ideal at the moment due to issues beyond my control, at least by using the steroids we can stop him falling back to where he was months ago and get things under control. Hopefully then the weather will of improved and the increased turnout/grass will really help - if only there weren't the possible side effects to take into account.
 
Chocy said:
Lastly hav u thot bout feeding winergy- its supposed 2 b very good 4 breathing they've done trials with it showing was as effective as medicating 4 a lot of horses- speak 2 the company I found them excellent & knowledgeable
Click to expand...

Agree with this, have tried so many, and now pretty much expect them not to work! The winergy def made a difference to my mare, worth a try!
 
your vet might have not seen steroid triggered laminitis, but I have...I would be moving the horse to somewhere with 24x7 turnout whatever sacrifices are involved to do that before considering steroids....friends little mare didnt make it :-(
 
One of my NF's had steroid triggered laminitis 8 years ago, he had never had any problems before. I avoid the steroids now like the plague to be honest unless it is an absolute emercency. This particular pony cannot be stabled at all and hay has to be soaked at all times. He has to be groomed and shod outside as the smoke from shoeing can even aggravate him :(
Good luck with yours.
 
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