Coughing horse.

mattilda

mattilda

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My wb has been coughing slightly for around 4 weeks now. He is coughing up a small amount of crud also. In himself he is fine, eating well and looks OK. After 2 weeks with no sign of it disappearing (I got him addicted to Benilyn) I called the vet. She said slight crackle in his chest and gave him a weeks abs and Ventipulmin. Cough went away and no crud. As soon as he came off the abs though it all came back. Vet has now said he needs to be scoped.
Anyone any ideas what may be causing it. I have had him for 8 years and never had this problem before.
 
ive owned my 6yr old cob 3 or 4 years now but 2 years ago he started coughing and snot pouring out his nose. Started soaking his hay and seem to sort it, really noticed when he was fed dry. maybe worth a go, worked for me and saved me calling the vet x
 
He already gets soaked hay 'cos he's a fatty!! It's not even a bad cough but it's there and I don't like riding a coughing horse. It seems to be overnight and in the morning. Leaving him out 24/7 is not an option as I need to control his weight and also he is very good at jumping out of fields when he wants to come in!!
Thanks for the reply. :)
 
My lad had a terrible cough started about 3 weeks ago and got rid of it middle of last week. I got some Naf respirator boost - just the small bottle (8 days worth) and it cleared it up a treat. Have to say half way through that he started going out 24/7 so that may have helped too but would definately recomend the respirator boost as I noticed a difference withing 48 hours.

Any chance of you using a muzzle on your boy to help with the weight?
 
I'll give that a go. Thanks for that. A muzzle is not an option either. He is very good at hanging himself if I leave anything on him. Yes he is a problem but I love him!! Never buy a German horse. :rolleyes:
 
At this time of year, an allergy to tree pollen is very possible. It's a bugger to manage and almost impossible to clear since every breath your horse will take between now and about September will be full of pollen grains. Ventipulmin relaxes the airways so can usually help, especially in the early stages. My horse developed a cough in the spring of about 5 years ago. First year he had it, it wasn't much of a problem...just that his huge coughs would interrupt schooling sessions as he needed to pull his head down to cough. But every year it's got significantly worse. There's something called Nostrilvet that you might try, although my equine vets say it's an expensive waste of time. Steroid inhalers will offer some relief. Sputolosin helps prevent/break up the sticky mucus that permanently damages lungs from developing. But all these things address the symptoms only and not the underying issue. A couple of approaches are designed to address the underlying allergy. One is a process called "REACT" where a sort of personal serum is developed for the horse but, again, there are no guarantees that it will work and it isn't cheap. My horse is trialling a new product called Cavalesse. This is designed for sweetitch horses but the manufacturers advise it will also help pollen allergy horses. Hope you find something that will help your horse because if it is a pollen allergy, every year that you can't control it makes the permanent lung damage worse.
 
Same here - had the vet out to our pony - came on as suddenly as it does every year for the last 4.

We found the ventipulmin mixed effectiveness, the vet said it can cause a reactive constriction as well - so not altogether reliable.

Soaking hay yes, steaming better but a hell of a faff if you've two on the regime.

We're using the Clenil Modulate which seems to be helping.

Other things we are using for general breathing support are nettle, rosehip, coltsfoot, Anise and cloves.
 
Box of Frogs/Brucea. How did you find out about the allergy? My vet was recommending scoping him but I need to speak to her again tomorrow to see where we are going on that. He has only had 7 days worth of abs and 9 days of Ventipulmin. He is fine when out (I have cameras on the field so can see him) and after he comes in at around 2pm. It seems to be during the night and the morning before he goes out. This morning no crud and very little coughing.
 
I note you say it's night/morning - what bedding are you on & how old is he? It could be standard RAO which often starts between 9 & 12 years. My 12 yo started coughing inter 2009/10 - the first winter at a yard where he had come in at night in winter. I've experimented with wood chip bedding - still coughs in drier weather, so next year I am going for cardboard. My Vet also recommended trying Ventilate before Ventipulmin - I think the idea is that the effect of the drugs gradually wears if they are on long term so delay if you can & so far the Ventilate has been working.
 
HC he's 18 and is on shavings. Always has been. He is a mucky devil so shavings are always renewed every 3/4 days. Excuse my ignorance but what is RAO?
I assume the R is respiratory.
 
RAO is Recurrent Airways Obstruction. Used to be called COPD which was Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease. Fairly easy to diagnose Sunny since it starts every spring when the hawthorn and other trees comce into bloom. No infective process going on. Massive histamine production and corresponding flood of sticky, choking mucus in his lungs. No lung tumours/etc observed on endoscopy. The problem is that my equine vets have explained that once the cells lining the airways that make the protective sticky mucus are kicked into life by the histamine, their life span is about 3 months. So even if the pollen saturation in the atmosphere is pretty much zero by about September, Sunny goes on choking until December. Sunny's proper diagnosis is Summer Pasture Associated COPD. The drug he's trialling at the moment is Cavalesse, designed to help sweetitch horses by preventing the mast cells from making histamines in the first place. It's pretty much a last hope for Sunny. I'm keeping a diary and IF IF IF it works, I'll make sure everyone on the Forum knows, my equine vets know and the manufacturers know. Pollen allergy is a bitch to control (see above) but if its a hay allergy it should be easier. 24/7 turnout away from hay stores, muck heaps and any other stables feeding hay. Soak hay or use haylage or a total hay replacer. Hoover every speck of dust out of the stable and keep the horse in it for only the absolute minimum amount of time possible. Good luck x
 
My boy had been coughing as he came out of the winter (not unusual for him, think it is due to the effects of dry hay in the field over winter but Equinaturals Cough Soother usually sorts him out), but this year with the warm weather and early rapeseed he suddenly coughed more than usual. Suspecting an allergy someone on here mentioned Gold Label's Allergeze so I put him on that and put vaseline around and inside his nostrils - bingo one cough free horse :)
 
The vaseline sounds like something to try. It stands to reason that it could trap the allergens (doesn't it?).

My girl developed a cough this winter that was treated with Ventipulmin, AB's, Sputolysin and Quietex (I think it's called). There is no more mucous production, but she occasionally has a dry cough, especially when exercising. I am using an herbal cough remedy from the tack store with OK results, but I would be happier if her cough went away altogether.
 
He is being scoped next week to try and find out exactly what's going on. Vet thinks it is probably an allergy. Haven't ridden him now in nearly 5 weeks except for one quiet hack. :(
 
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