COPD -no improvement

W

whiteclover

Well-Known Member
Joined
22 March 2011
Messages
815
Visit site
My horse has got COPD & last weekend it got worse after hacking out. Hes been on inhalers a week but its not improved at all. Im down about it & worry that hes got lung damage. The yard is near rapeseed with a field being about a mile away. Im moving him in a week to a yard near the sea but Im worried theres been no improvement.
 
Years ago I had a Cob who was diagnosed with COPD and she was given ventipulmin which really helped her. We then changed her routine and after a few weeks she didn;t need anything. Not sure if it's still available although might be worth asking vet?

Hope your horse is soon on the mend. Other thought, could it be an allergic reaction?
 
I'd also recommend Ventapulmin. If your horse has had a bad turn it does take a while to recover, and if you have local rape fields they will not be helping the situation.

Your planned move should help the situation.

I really sympathise, my horse suffers with COPD and it is a worry. Is your horse on anti hystamine? I use them from February through to the autumn. He also has inhalers which I have found to be good, but to be honest I've been using that as a preventative measure rather than a cure if that makes sense.

Assume you are feeding either soaked hay or haylage (needs to be fed from the floor to help nose drain) and have a dust free bedding (and neighbouring horses too if you are on a yard) as this will be essential for your horses well being.
 
Don't panic, as a couple of posters have said try the ventawhatsit worked for my mare a couple of years ago,she had a dust allergy then she got a oaktree pollen allergy,made her face swell up and because rapeseed is widely grown the pollen gets everywhere,even people suffer from it and you moving near the caost will help him bigtime.
 
Ive tried him on ventapulmin. That didnt help either although he was only on the minimum dose. Im moving soon so hopefully that will help.

Ive not tried antihistamines yet. Im hoping this isnt going to be longterm as I cant afford to pay for it seeing as the insurance have refused to pay for it.
 
My boy got COPD the first time rape was grown in the field next to his grazing. His regime was shavings and haylage and I found NAF Respirator quite good, with Ventapulmin reserved for the odd emergency. He was on Respirator all winter and then when he went out for the summer he got a dose of Respirator Boost in some bran before I rode him.
It didn't solve the problem and there was the odd time when he coughed so much that I didn't ride but the vet's view was that it was better to keep him fit than turn him away. I think long term it depends on what you do with your horse but my boy was a happy hacker and still did a bit of jumping but I was very sympathetic to his breathing and never pushed if I thought he was struggling.
This probably doesn't help very much at the moment but what I am trying to say is that they can still have a long and useful (and happy in his case) life if managed correctly.
 
If you are worried give your vet a ring and ask for further advice. I'm afraid this is often a re-occurring problem so you need to get to the bottom of it and find out what works for your horse. Your management in terms of bedding and hay will have a huge impact on whether this reoccurs. Dust needs to be eliminated!

Good luck.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top