COPD/Ventipulmin

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jinxy

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Hi

Just looking for some advice, about 4 weeks ago my horse was struggling to breath and was heaving badly. The vet came out and prescribed Ventipulmin and said that it was COPD, advised soaking his hay.

nearly 4 weeks down the line, almost all shavings have been removed, he is out all night, has had roughly 7 tubs of Ventipulmin and 4 tubs of Sputolosin to clear a build up of mucus on chest so ventipulmin could work and I don't really feel we are any further forward. I can exercise him slowly, and his breathing has improved but is still to fast. I want the vet to endoscope him and see what is going on but he is reluctant to do this.

Has anyone else horse had a sudden attack of COPD? Any advice would be much appreciated
 
I gave up with ventipulmin as it wasn't giving my pony enough relief from her RAO and now she's on oral steroids (prednisolone - expensive but the vet gave me a prescription so I buy them cheaper online).
I'm trying to remove as much dust as possible (rubber mats, minimal bedding, feeding dust free forage etc.) but today she seemed worse out so I think she is suffering due to pollen too.
I tried soaking and steaming hay but she was still coughing on that so she's now on haylage. The vet recommended soaking for 30mins over steaming. The next step is to wean her off the oral steroids onto human inhalers (Beclazone and Ventolin) that I'll use with an equine spacer.
She hardly ever coughs on the steroids and can exercise but her breathing still isn't 100% on them so I'm constantly worrying whether I might have to pts eventually.
I did have her scoped in the past and they found signs of an allergic reaction and put her on inhalers. She was free of breathing problems for a couple of years but it's come back just as bad now she's not on grass livery.
It's a tough one. I suppose it's just a case of removing as many allergens as possible. I've tried different supplements but haven't found anything that really works yet and different vets I've had out have different ideas about treatment :(. Hope you can find something that works for your horse.
 
Hi, my ID/TB contracted a viral infection we think in Dec 2008. His only sign at that time was performance issues. In Jan 2009 he started to heave and I had bloods taken which showed he had abnormal cells. He was scoped a day later. The vet found guey thick mucus which she managed to syringe 80% out. He was on tubs and tubs on Ventipulmin and Sputolosin for 7 weeks. I was advised to keep him in slow light work and he took another turn with his breathing and was given an anti-inflammatory shot. 2 weeks after that he appeared almost normal but took another turn and was scoped again, this time not finding much. We tailed off the meds and started to use a nebuliser and puffer, like they use for asthma (same drugs in fact). He had 6 puffs am and pm 24/7 and was being brought back into a reasonable level of fitness. His bedding was already hemp and hay soaked. He did live out as much as he could.

I sold him last year to a wonderful home and he is on nothing now and has made a full recovery. We thought it was COPD but as he had no history of this after 9yrs of ownership and felt the viral infection caused the whole thing with a secondary infection.

Maybe ask your vet if you could try the nebuliser? It's pretty easy to use. My horse got so used it in the end, I could do it without a headcollar. Hope your horse is better soon.
 
Hi there, I noticed your post after replying to AllySmalice's post re 'My Horse has a cough'.

I spent over £400 on ventapulmin for my old cob a couple of winters ago, and after 3 weeks he was no better despite major changes to his management. Then I discovered BreathePlus from EquiNatural (www.equinatural.co.uk) - and within 3 days his wheezing had almost gone and he was so much more comfortable. I swear by it now and always have a tub handy for when his airway is compromised.
 
My understanding is that Ventipulmin doesn't help all horses. And some horses need up to 4 times the recommended dose but this can occasionally cause excessive sweating and other unwanted side effects. Nightmare. Jinxy - it may be that your horse has COPD/RAO but caused by a pollen allergy rather than dust/hay allergy, in which case it's known as Summer Pasture allergy. The tree pollen count is very high at the moment. My horse suffers from Summer Pasture allergy and the management is the direct opposite to that for hay/dust allergy! Hay and dust = try to keep OUTside 24/7. Tree pollen = try to keep INside during at least the daytime. Every time a horse is exposed to the allergen that causes his body to react so violently, the damage to his lungs is made worse so it's essential that owners try to prevent an attack rather than cure one that has happened. Easier said than done. My vets advised buying Sunny a nose net (like headshakers wear) that he will wear 24/7, attached either to a fieldsafe headcollar or the noseband of his bridle. I asked about Nostrilvet but they say it's rubbish - the horse breathes in a vast amount of air on every breath but only a tiny proportion of that air will brush the sides of his nostrils which is were you puff Nostrilvet. The idea is that the sticky Nostrilvet traps tiny pollen grains in the air being breathed in. Sunny is also on all-summer Ventipulmin in the hopes that it will help. He may go onto an inhaler through an equine spacer if he gets worse, and/or inhaled steroids. If he gets as ill as he did last summer (when he got a virus on top of his pollen allergy) then my vets are going to trial low level bute, hoping the anti-inflammatory action will help. I read an article on this. I was keen to try antihistamines but my vets say they don't work well in horses and indeed can be dangerous due to the neurological effects and the drowsiness.

We tried a host of things last summer but you have to remember that owners/vets are addressing the symptoms only, not the underlying problem. There is a procedure called REACT where the horse has a variety of substances applied to its shaved skin, looking for a reaction. When they find the substances that provoke an allergic reaction, they do further tests to find the lowest level of the substance that causes a reaction. They then make this into a personalised serum that is injected into the horse first in tiny quantities, then in increasing amounts. It works for some horses but there are many false reactions. Also it is hideously expensive and your insurance company may not pay out for it. I'd certainly think that your horse may have summer pasture allergy rather than hay/dust and try some approaches for pollen allergy. Good luck x
 
I have to say, this is one of those things I've found does SOMETIMES respond to supportive alternative treatments, specifically herbal supplements/MSM. I am not suggesting going against vets' orders or doing without effective medication, but a horse I have currently (and have known for years) has periodically had a great deal of trouble with allergies and breathing trouble. To be fair, he has been seen by a host of vets and does NOT have what is usually described as ROD (or whatever we're calling it these days) but he has certainly had periods of significant distress and has been on Ventipulmin, Sputoysin and prednisone at various points in the past.

We have to be very careful with his hay, obviously, but the first consistent relief he experienced was when he went on an immune/breathing supplement protocol. We were not able to get the product in the UK after the horse moved so have settled for GH Immune Plus, topped up with MSM, after trialling a few options. Earlier this year he missed his supplement for a few days and the difference was noticeable immediately, particularly since I didn't know he hadn't been given it! This horse is super sensitive and experienced considerable distress when he's not managed appropriately, so he's a pretty good "test case".

Again, I am not saying "instead of" but it might be worth a shot to look at it as an addition to your arsenal.
 
TarrSteps said:
I have to say, this is one of those things I've found does SOMETIMES respond to supportive alternative treatments, specifically herbal supplements/MSM. I am not suggesting going against vets' orders or doing without effective medication, but a horse I have currently (and have known for years) has periodically had a great deal of trouble with allergies and breathing trouble. To be fair, he has been seen by a host of vets and does NOT have what is usually described as ROD (or whatever we're calling it these days) but he has certainly had periods of significant distress and has been on Ventipulmin, Sputoysin and prednisone at various points in the past.

We have to be very careful with his hay, obviously, but the first consistent relief he experienced was when he went on an immune/breathing supplement protocol. We were not able to get the product in the UK after the horse moved so have settled for GH Immune Plus, topped up with MSM, after trialling a few options. Earlier this year he missed his supplement for a few days and the difference was noticeable immediately, particularly since I didn't know he hadn't been given it! This horse is super sensitive and experienced considerable distress when he's not managed appropriately, so he's a pretty good "test case".

Again, I am not saying "instead of" but it might be worth a shot to look at it as an addition to your arsenal.
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TarrSteps, what herbal supplements would you recommend?
 
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