Discharge and a cough

[Ladybird L]

Hi there, hope I’m posting this in the right section! I have a mare on trial, she seems perfect in every other way but I am worried she might have heaves or something. It could also be dust sensitivity?
This is her story as far back as I know. She is 14 I was told.
She was owned by a girl, then boys, collage etc took over for that girl and the mare was left in a field for three years. She was barefoot and an extremely easy keeper. So by the end of that time she was overweight, and (no hoof trims during that time) her hooves were overgrown and in such a state.
When she went into sales livery ( with a person I know well, I’m leasing a pony from him currently, he mentioned her to me) he got the farrier to come out, who did her hooves and shod her. The person was sure she had laminitis but the farrier said no, she didn’t. Vet checked. No laminitis. May have had it but the hoof wall didn’t separate from the pedal bone. I’ve been told her soles are soft and thin, and I have been given stuff to put on them. Her feet are definitely a bit tender.
She went back into riding like a Saint (I’ve ridden her she’s AMAZING) and lost a lot of weight. I tried her about a week ago and LOVED her. I’ve tried a lot of horses but I just got this feeling with her that ‘this is the one’. I tried other horses but I just couldn’t forget about her.
So that’s up to when she came on trial 2 days ago.
Anyway, she seems to have white/yellow tinged discharge from her eyes and nose, and a little cough. However the discharge is getting better since being turned back out at my place. She is Absolutely healthy otherwise. I was thinking it might be dust sensitivity, as she was stabled 24/7 suddenly after three years of being in a field. Could that be it? I’m also a bit worried it might be heaves or something. I’d love your opinions on what it might be?
Thanks in advance!

 

[Barton Bounty]

BB gets this when his pollen allergy rears its ugly head and thats when I start the antihistamines.

 

[Ladybird L]

So hopefully it’s a dust allergy! Thank you. It’s so relieving that it sounds similar to something not as life threatening as I was afraid it was. Will she be able to be ridden normally if that is what it is?

 

[JBM]

has a vet had a look at her?
Now would be the time before purchasing

 

[TheMule]

You need a vet, not the advice of random strangers on the internet who may, or may not, know what they’re talking about

 

[ycbm]

It might be strangles, it might be a less serious infection, it might be a seasonal pollen allergy, it might be an all year dust allergy, it might be just how she is. It needs checking out by a vet before you buy.

 

[Goldenstar]

Many things can cause discharge from the nose and coughing .
It really is a job for the vet .
The good news is that most problems of this type can be managed with some effort and trail and error in the management .
But you do need to understand whats causing the problem .

 

[splashgirl45]

A job for the vet before you commit

 

[Ladybird L]

I was planning on vetting, just wondering if it even seemed worth it to get a vet out! Thanks for the advice.

 

[splashgirl45]

The horse needs a vet for illness not a vetting. If you like her it’s worth just getting this checked out and if it’s not something to stop you buying her, then get the proper vetting done. I would be a bit concerned that she is footsore with shoes on and would get x rays if it was me

 

[Quigleyandme]

I would have her swabbed prior to purchase just to be sure what the issue is.

 

[Ladybird L]

I haven’t purchased her yet. If the vet finds something wrong (Illness) and I decide not to buy her it’s not my problem. It hasn’t come on while she is at my place.
I am getting a vet to look at her again but her feet have been checked out already and they say she hasn’t got any serious problem. So I don’t know
I’m getting her vetted ASAP..

 

[nikicb]

Another one who would get the vet out and have her swabbed just to check there is nothing untoward. When I first got my current mare a couple of years ago, she went from being kept in a barn, fed from a haynet and very little turnout, to basically the opposite. Within 24 hours she had a snotty nose. It was very easy to get her swabbed, and for her, the change in the way of keeping her, in a way where she had her head down to eat, let all the gunk that had got into her lungs from living in a dusty environment drain out. My mare still gets a bit of cough spring/early summer and I give her Respiraid which seems to help, but I know there is no infection. You need to know what you are dealing with. In the meantime, make sure you observe good bio security protocol if you are dealing with other horses, just in case it is something infectious.

 

[Ladybird L]

Thanks - vet is coming out soon. She would be my first horse, so no worries about passing stuff on.