Coughing mare

[hock]

Morning

So I have a mare that has never shown any signs of copd etc until she foaled. After foaling she developed a cough and the vet wanted to give her ventapulmin. I’d bedded the mare down in indoor stables with straw bedding and hay so I said that I wanted to try management before the drugs route. I got the mare out as soon as I could and she’s been 24/7 for weeks now. The cough has improved no doubt but I’m finding when it’s very close she’s coughing first thing. It’s a very dry, quick cough and I usually have bad hay fever the same day. It’s time now to investigate it although she can live out forever I’d like to know the causes. Could it be linked to foaling? Any advice would be welcome thank you.

 

[Barton Bounty]

Sounds like an allergy kind of thing to me, but I am not a vet ?

 

[hock]

Sounds like an allergy kind of thing to me, but I am not a vet ?

As I say time for investigation … which means a vet or did I miss something? Not sure what the laughing emoji is about?

 

[Barton Bounty]

As I say time for investigation … which means a vet or did I miss something? Not sure what the laughing emoji is about?

My comment but I am not a vet ? Why whats the issue with the comment


there some people on this forum that just pick holes in folk just for the sake of it! Get a life ? ?? Rolling eyes emoji! Or am i not allowed

 

[hock]

I disagree I think the people on here are super and extremely knowledgeable which is why I post. I asked if I’d missed something because you out a laughing emoji? I’m still wondering but I’ll just “get a life”. Thanks

 

[ElvisandTilly]

After the recent dry spell and heat my horse started a non-productive cough (no nasal discharge or coughing anything up). After 2 days I got the vet out to check. She advised quite a few coughs at the moment due to the weather. No temperature or heaves so she suggested scoping as next steps as there are no supplies of ventipulmin available for a few weeks. Decided to see how he went on and vet would try to get hold of ventapulmin. I ordered respiAid express and normal respiAid supplement and 3 days of the express his cough has cleared!

 

[Highmileagecob]

My old boy was diagnosed with COPD around twelve years ago, and has been relatively stable with management, turn out and open air shelter etc.. However, really hot weather brings on another attack - non productive cough, heaves, distended nostrils all indicating breathing difficulty. 2018, 2019 and this year have all been bad years, with this year needing steroid therapy and inhaled salbutamol. My vet does not offer Ventipulmin as he says it is ineffective, and I must admit a previous vet prescribed it and it did not work for my lad. I am aware that this is a progressive disease, and at 27yo I may well be seeing an acceleration of symptoms. Weight gain is also a contributing factor for my cob. I can't muzzle him this year as the grass is not long enough, and cannot exercise him whilst he is in difficulty. I hope you can get on top of things and stabilise your mare.

 

[PinkvSantaboots]

I don't know where you are in the country but its extremely dry in parts I'm in Hertfordshire and not had proper rain for weeks, everything and everywhere is dusty one of mine is coughing a bit at the start of riding just a few little coughs.

He is reactive to some pollen and I often put him on ventipulmin for short periods through the summer to calm it all down.

It could just be the environment being in has just triggered it off and the dry conditions is not helping.

I think to investigate such things evolves a scope and because my other horse has nerve damage from scoping I am not keen to do that right now plus this horse is not the easiest patient.

In your situation as its not terrible I would wait and see if it improves by itself.

 

[tristar]

one of ours coughs in the summer

i fence off all rolly places that consist of dusty soil, and try to convince him that , yes you can roll on the grass.

also have in the past wetted area for him to roll

i may add he will dig at the ground to create dust and then roll

so if its an allergy, try to remove the allergen, works for us

ventipulmin only opens the airways

 

[MiJodsR2BlinkinTite]

Mine was coughing on-and-off since Xmas last year. Had ventilpulmin etc but didn't make any significant difference. Tried soaking hay, not a huge difference either, the thing just seemed to rumble on and on.

Got her scoped and turns out she has Equine Asthma.

Think OP that you would benefit from a firm diagnosis with this; at the moment you're not sure what's going on and/or whether it is related to the foaling, or whether it is purely a respiratory issue.

Scoping is the only way you'll find out for sure what is going on. Whilst accepting it isn't pleasant for them (mine fought the sedation tooth & nail and it was hard to watch......) but sometimes you just gotta be cruel to be kind. Vet & I have discussed treatments (i.e. nebulisers/steroids etc) which I'm holding in reserve right now as am trying Salt Therapy for mine; in fact she's literally just-now had her second treatment. Have heard positive stories from those who've used it including a friend who's ever-the-cynic yet swears by it for hers. But needed a "diagnosis" first......

Because she hadn't been fully worked - and is a good doer - my main concern was that she didn't get hugely overweight, which is something she easily does! So we have also started to address the weight she's carrying and for the month of July (and now) we are walking her for about an hour a day - and when I say "walked" I don't mean a dawdle I am talking about a good active forward walk. At some point she will need to do some faster work to clear her airways but currently we are having a hoof-boot crisis (she is barefoot & one of the dang things came undone in canter the other day, helpful NOT!) and so that has set back our fast-work goals for a bit. Never mind, we can continue the walking which will hopefully keep her fittened and moving, until we can decide what we are gonna do about boots.

Hope you can find out what's going on with yours. Tis too early to say if mine is improved or not with the Salt Therapy; you have three initial treatments preferably consecutive days, then in about another three weeks you look and see how things are going and then have another top-up. Thereafter top-ups every three/four weeks during the summer; and in the winter less frequently, if at all. Costs £40 per treatment.

 

[Highmileagecob]

Really not sure if it is relevant, but I do remember my first pony developing a cough and being given a course of antibiotics. The cough cleared within a week and never returned. The diagnosis these days mainly seems to be 'asthma' - any thoughts?

 

[milliepops]

one of mine has a cough at the moment. No temp etc but his exercise tolerance has nosedived. a fortnight ago i called vets for advice and was told not to worry and likely just seasonal but we are 2 weeks further down the line so i'm having a visit just to put my mind at ease if nothing else.

 

[Highmileagecob]

one of mine has a cough at the moment. No temp etc but his exercise tolerance has nosedived. a fortnight ago i called vets for advice and was told not to worry and likely just seasonal but we are 2 weeks further down the line so i'm having a visit just to put my mind at ease if nothing else.

This is how my cob started twelve years ago. By the time he was scoped, there was clear evidence of oedema and swelling at the base of the trachea. He has been sensitive to various things since then. He was never offered anything other than steroids and inhalers on the grounds that it was asthma. He was 16yo at the time, in full work and as fit as a flea.

 

[hock]

Just a quick update! Firstly thank you all for your experiences, I bloody this forum. So far we’ve pulled bloods which have come back negative for infections etc and she’s was on a 14 day course of ventipulmin which she’s finished. Ventipulmin has worked really well for her however it hasn’t given us the diagnosis I seek. She’s very healthy and is bright and looks fantastic but on one particular day she was at 60 breaths per minute. So we’re going to scope her but I think I want to wait until after she’s been weaned which will be October and treat with ventipulmin to keep her comfy. Feel lucky she’s she’s responded so well to the treatment. Cheers