COPD

Dogbetty141

Dogbetty141

Well-Known Member
Joined
18 October 2006
Messages
2,157
Location
Derbyshire
Visit site
My horse has a mild form of COPD but at the minute he has to be on hay as we have no haylegh ready for at least 2 months. I was orginally just wetting his hay as he is a fussy bugger and wont really eat the soaked stuff. So his cough got worse and i decided that it was tuff and saoked it for 20 minutes. I have been doing this for 5 days now and he is still coughing. Is this normal will it take longer than this for him to stop coughing? At the minute I am still able to ride not coughing non stop if you know what i mean. I keep coming up in the morning and finding big snot balls so i though good at least its coming out is this right? anyway sorry for babbling. Thanks
smile.gif
 
Review EVERYTHING you do. Not only must the hay be soaked, the bedding must be dust free (even shavings throw off dust), the bedding and feed in the neighbouring stables must be dust free too. At this time of year mine with a cough live out, although having moved yards recently I have seen a dramatic improvement - I assume it is because we are further away form crops and possible allergens.

You might want the vet to check for any infection, depending on the colour and consistency of those 'snot balls'
 
give him a hay re placer until you can get some haylage with a resprator lick they are cracking that will sooth his lungs and his air ways!
 
We have a Section A companion with COPD. She is out 24/7 and is affected badly by fog, high winds and high humidity. We are lucky to have so much grass now that it is unlikely she will need to have much hay or haylage again at all and a lot of the time she is totally fine. When she is bad it is awful and a couple of times we have been really worried about her. Steroids are not an option as she is prone to laminitis so we rely totally on Ventapulmin which is the only thing that works for her. There is a new herbal product and I cant remember its name, it comes highly recommended by a lot of people but sadly did not work for Nancy.


I hope you are able to get your boy stable, sorry but dont feel able to advise on your particular case, just thought the above facts might help.
 
Echo everything Mother_Hen has said. And would add, look at your stable. How dust free is it? Also remove any rugs that you have in it.

I would also be looking to have the horse somewhere where you do have the option for 24/7 turn out if it has COPD.
 
Hi ya Horsebetty,
My old hunter had COPD and I use to steam his hay. If you get a dustbin and pour some boling water over it (Two kettle fulls for a large haynet) pop the bin lid on, and leave for 20 mins or so. (You will see all the brown sticky mucus that comes off the hay ay the bottom of the bin!) Try that as it wont be as wet as when you soak it properly (if you know what I mean)

I used to find that Sooty's COPD was worse in Spring/Summer due to high pollen count, I used to get some Vics Vapo rub put it in a bowl and mix with hot water, then hold it under his nose and let him breathe it in, I found that it helped Sooty breathe much better, I also use to mix it with water, put in watering can and lightly soak his bedding in it, I found that when he laid down in his bed, the ammonia from his wee aggrevated his chest. (I bedded Sooty on woodchips) I also would put a little bit of the Vapo rub round his nose when I rode him, so that he could breathe it in that way.

I used to have to give him a powder from the Vet called something like Ventipulmin it helped open the airways, that stops coughing a treat, but it can get expensive, I also used to feed a hebal supplemet called Breathe Easy I think it was made by Dobson and Horrell I also found feeding garlic supplement helped.

I hope that I have been of some help, its just with having 2 horses that have had COPD I know what it is like!
let me know how you get on.
Charlie
smile.gif
 
I say mild he is not affected when he is on haylegh. He has shaving which are put down as normal. Everything is normal. He doesnt have even a slight cough in winter and he is stabled 24/7. I have looked at everything else and i know it is the hay that is doing it to him. So as i am not able to move him and also dont want to as we are both happy on the yard that we are on. I wouldnt want him to live out 24/7 abway as i like to know he is safe at night.
 
When my mare had copd the vet wanted her hay soaking overnight, drained and fed later on in the day, so it wasn't soaking wet.
The stable should be free of dust and well ventilated a good test again via the vet there should be very few cobwebs as the breeze will stop them forming ( easier said than done I know).
Ideally you should not be stabled next to anything that has straw or dry hay as the dust spores are airborne. Feed from the floor, its more natural and the horse can get rid of "snot "easier if he has his head down.

The kindest soloutuion is to be out 24/7 or as much as possible. We had several courses of Ventipulmin and with good housekeeping she was free of Copd, it was only when I was lazy did it come back.

Hope that helps
 
ive just bought a horse with mild copd, ok hes mostley living out, but before bringing him home, i totally went to work on hes stable, my stables are wooden, so ive also remove the top bit back and front to allow air through, i did also take a pressure washer to it,
im using the megazorb bedding, although from my reasearch paper or cardbord is very good dust free options, i also have an air purifyer, i havnt used it as hes only had 2 nights in. but that is an option for you.

im also very aware of dust in general, i chuck a couple of buckets of water of my yard before sweeping etc, i dont groom in the stable, and yes i feed wet hay.

you must have a local feed supplier near by where you can get some haylege??

if hes coughing bad then id suggest a visit from the vet, copd in horses is the same as it is in humans, if untreated it can cause more problems, im sorry to sound harsh, but if i needed to move my horse to another yard for the sake of its health i would, otherwise its unfair on the horse.
 
As stated twice in the above post he only gets his cough of HAYnothing else! I was just after advice basically on how long to soak his hay! He does not have a cough in winter or at any other time in the year. His cough is just due to the HAY. Please dont criticise me as i look after my horse 100%. He is not good with 24/7 turnout as he doesnt really like being left out anyway.
 
Try Respirator Boost from NAF to try and clear his airways, and soak hay for minimum 20mins. If its the only option they soon get used to eating it. If snot is green or yellow, get the vet as this indicates infection.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top