Coughing - your thoughts please?

[flyingfeet]

My lad has just started coughing (first time in 8 years!). At exercise for past few days he coughs and splutters but generally settles down. However this morning was different as he was coughing up white gunk (similar thing I do when I either have my asthma out of control or a chest infection)

Temp is normal and he is still relatively perky, but not quite as sharp as normal.

My gut feel is its probably a low grade bacterial infection as no rasping like COPD. Just wanted other opinions?

 

[JM07]

some of mine are too..

i've put it daown to the poor crops of hay and haylege last year..put them on Airways and it seems to have done the trick.

 

[flyingfeet]

See the thing is they are on premium June hay (our secret stash), and the 6 others on the same hay are not coughing. Its not dusty at all.

 

[kick_On]

My gut feeling if this not normal for you horse, would be to phone vet and have chat

 

[Nari]

I've been having exactly the same problem. Initially put it down to the hay & swapped him onto Horsehage & haylage but he was still coughing.

I eventually had the vet out & he thought it was an infection plus irritated airways so left me with antibiotics & ventapulmin. Dutifully gave them & by the second dose the horse started sweating like a pig - white lather under a lightweight rug, burning hot to touch & this is a horse that normally feels the cold! Spoke to the vet who said reduce dosage which I did but the sweating continued, he stopped eating & by the third morning was starting to look colicky. I stopped all meds & a day later he was returning to normal.

He's now looking a lot better, has been walking out briskly with only the occassional cough followed by a snort to clear (before he was coughing a lot, no snort, sounded wheezy & lacked energy). Tomorrow I hope to take him in the school to give him a trot & see how he sounds, if he's starts coughing I'll start the Ventapulmin again but I'm not combining it with the antibiotics because I think the two together were more than his system could deal with. If it still doesn't clear I'll have to speak to the vet again but fingers crossed it won't come to that!

 

[flyingfeet]

Interesting - its probably the ventapulmin that made him hot as can increase heart rate.

I've texted the vet who said time and gentle exercise to clear the infection (which with my vet, means any other would shove antibios in). So I am having a think, no temp and generally bright in himself.

 

[kellyeaton]

put him on koff ease and a reperitary lick wet his hay for a couple of days if no better call vet!