COPD

[stormox]

What are people doing with their horses that have been diagnosed with COPD?
My 8yr old mare has always had a slight cough at the start of excercise but recently it has got a lot worse.
She has had a Scope was given antibiotics which made no difference, had a BAL which shows COPD.
She is out as much as possible, fed from the ground and haylage or soaked hay only.
Walk and trot and short canter on hacks are ok, but she becomes totally unrideable with constant coughing when working in the school at trot and canter, groaning and coughing which is rather unpleasant to ride.
I dont know whether to stop riding or push on, she doesnt seem to be distressed by it.
I was wondering whether to try steroids, or a neb, but is this just postponing the inevitable?
TIA

 

[ycbm]

A friend's horse had beclamethasone inhalers and it was the difference between carrying on riding and putting him to sleep. He was in it for years and died of unrelated colic.

I use it too and I'd say the difference was about the same ?

 

[stormox]

A friend's horse had beclamethasone inhalers and it was the difference between carrying on riding and putting him to sleep. He was in it for years and died of unrelated colic.

I use it too and I'd say the difference was about the same ?

Interesting. Thanks. Do you mean he was able to be ridden as a normal horse - gallop jump compete etc or was he limited to gentle work and hacks?

 

[paddi22]

would you school be dusty? I've a friend whose horse has COPD and she can only use areas when surface is wet. she has a super arena surface and I wouldn't have classed it at dusty at all, but she says it does affect her horse. she rides early when arena has dew on it, or else after rain. if she has to ride at other times she uses some kind of nose shield thing.

 

[stormox]

Its outdoors and rubber so I dont think so, I think horses are working harder on a deeper surface, and schooling where they are asked to carry themselves and perform gymnastic excercises is harder work than a relaxed hack...

 

[LEC]

Its outdoors and rubber so I dont think so, I think horses are working harder on a deeper surface, and schooling where they are asked to carry themselves and perform gymnastic excercises is harder work than a relaxed hack...

Rubber can still be dusty depending on the sand. I have one who you had to be careful with in the summer when the rubber was dry as still a surprising amount of dust. Also if the field does not have much grass and is really dry they will still be impacted.

 

[paddi22]

yeah my friends arena is rubber and they keep it in great condition. I've never considered it dusty, but she says horse coughs as soon as she starts working on it most days.

 

[LEC]

One of the things I am completely anal about it gallops - so many are very fibrous and if like I often end up doing to get eventers fit - uup to 16 minutes of fast work that is a huge detriment on lungs. I know some racehorse trainers who have ripped out sand/fibre and started again as was impacting first the riders and then the horses.

 

[GoldenWillow]

I'm now on my second horse with equine asthma (COPD) and management is very important. I would only feed haylage as have found that soaked hay does not work for mine, as soon as it dries the spores shrink and are inhaled and have found Bedmax shavings to be the least dusty. Consider if your stable has shared airspace with others with different management, my mare struggled with internal stables and moving her to an external stable with own airspace made a big difference.

I don't groom in stable or muck out with horse in, don't sweep up around him.

If your horse is constantly coughing I feel strongly that they need medication as well. There are a few ways, inhalers via a babyhaler type device, a flexineb nebuliser and a reasonably recent treatment, Aservo equihaler. For me, having used inhalers, I find the flexineb the most convenient and cost effective treatment. With this my horse is able to be kept in full work with the exception of short periods when pollen is very high.

I would not continue to ride a horse that is coughing constantly.

 

[paddi22]

for my own COPD I had to leave him living out 24/7 as I couldn't get the stables/forage etc dust free enough. he is 100 times better on grass full-time

 

[stormox]

I'm now on my second horse with equine asthma (COPD) and management is very important. I would only feed haylage as have found that soaked hay does not work for mine, as soon as it dries the spores shrink and are inhaled and have found Bedmax shavings to be the least dusty. Consider if your stable has shared airspace with others with different management, my mare struggled with internal stables and moving her to an external stable with own airspace made a big difference.


I would not continue to ride a horse that is coughing constantly.

I am going to try a steroid (clenbuterol) syrup, the livery stables are american barn type all apart from mine on straw. She is out all day and fed haylage off ground at night. Unfortunately permanent turnout isnt an option

 

[laura_nash]

for my own COPD I had to leave him living out 24/7 as I couldn't get the stables/forage etc dust free enough. he is 100 times better on grass full-time

Same here, full time turnout with grass as main forage was the only solution that really worked (causes problems with weight management, but that's another thing).

We don't do much though, no galloping or jumping or intensive schooling. That's my choice not due to his breathing, but means I can't say if he'd be up to that or not.

 

[ycbm]

Interesting. Thanks. Do you mean he was able to be ridden as a normal horse - gallop jump compete etc or was he limited to gentle work and hacks?

Difficult to know as she was a cautious rider and would never have let him gallop or and didn't jump with her on board. But he did plenty of canter around a farm ride with me on my horses, and I saw him jump on the lunge, so he was at least capable of low level stuff.

He was also fed steamed hay from a proper Haygain, and bedded on paper, in at least 15 hours a day right through the year.
.

 

[GoldenWillow]

I am going to try a steroid (clenbuterol) syrup, the livery stables are american barn type all apart from mine on straw. She is out all day and fed haylage off ground at night. Unfortunately permanent turnout isnt an option

Oh that is such a shame about the stabling and bedding, I can't see how you can reduce the dust in that situation. I do know moving my mare from American barn stabling made an enormous difference to her.

I think clenbuterol is a broncodilator rather than a steroid?

If it helps J is in full work, or is when my health isn't so bad, which consists of schooling, jumping and long (3hr) hacks with a lot of fast work. We have access to a beach so have plenty of gallopy fun on there. He would be perfectly fit to compete if I was able to.