DUST ALLERGY! HELP!

[lea]

My mare seems to develop a cough from dust really easily. I have used a global herbs easy breathe liquid but that did not work for her. Could anyone recommend something else? She is on haylage but I wondered if there was a supplement I could try to help increase her resistance? Thanks

 

[parsley]

Does she still cough with the haylage or is it something else? My boy coughs very quickly on hay or if he is left in overnight with a less than perfect bale of straw as bed.

 

[lea]

No she appears to still sough with the haylage but hay seemed to make her much worse. She is on a straw bed.

 

[parsley]

I am really not an expert (and I am sure someone more knowledgable will reply) but you could think about putting her on dust free bedding if you have her in. Does she cough if she is turned out permenantly?

 

[pottamus]

To get rid of the problem you really need to put her on dust extracted shavings along with giving her the haylege. It is advisable to keep cobwebs out of the stable totally as they collect dust and not deep litter. Does she get much turn out because she needs to be out in fresh air as much as possible too.

 

[vicijp]

My horse has a dust and pollen allergy. I found straw and shaving useless for controlling it, I put him on paper and he stopped coughing the next day.

 

[Happytohack]

She needs to be on a dust free bedding, definitely not straw. And she should be stabled in a well ventilated stable, fed haylage (off the floor if possible) and turned out as much as possible. If her breathing is quite bad, you need to call the vet who may prescribe ventipulmin. After that a respiratory supplement may help (but be guided by your vet). Wynergy Ventilate, Feedmark's Clarity and there are many others on the market.

 

[JAK]

LBO has a 'dust allergy' & really, it is only controlled with careful management!

1. If you can, thoroughly 'spring clean' stable, removing all cobwebs etc.

2. Replace straw with some other form of bedding - I use Easibed (the standard one, though I think there is a flasher, even more 'dust-free' version now!), or paper, as suggested by vicijp.

3. Haylage should be OK, if good quality or give steamed hay (much beter than soaking it IMHO).

4. Plenty of turnout/fresh air & don't over rug.

5. Speak nicely to liveries either side of you re. keeping cobwebs, straw etc. under control.

6. Use the semi deep litter bedding method if possible, to avoid churning up the dust on a daily basis. Do not use any 'stable deoderising' powders, as these create monstrous amounts of fine dust!

7. Feed all hay/haylage from the floor if you can.

8. Dampen all feed slightly, rinse bucket out daily.

9. I have found 'Dodson & Horrell's Breathe-Free' to be quite effective for LBO.

The first year we had LBO, he had a cough (so bad, he could barely eat his tea!), double breathing & a clearly visible heave line!
With good maintenance, he is now the picture of health but I never let my guard down for a moment, as it is a constant ongoing battle with him - he's not 'cured', he's 'stabilised'!

 

[OWLIE185]

The coughing may well be caused by 'Micro-Dust'.
Micro-Dust is of such small particles that it remains permanently suspended in the air and can pass all the way along your horses respiritory tract causing irritation.

It would be worthwhile to get your vet out but if they prescribe steroids be aware that they can cause Laminitis (even if your horse has not suffered from it before) so you need to check the horses digital pulse twice daily while it is on it.

What the previous posts have stated is absolutely correct and all the stables in the same block need to be cleared of cobwebs and dust.

It is very important to ensure that any other hay used in the stables that share the same block is thoroughly soaked for at least 20 minutes but preferably a couple of hours as the dust will move with the slightest circulation of air.

Ideal situation for your horse would be to live out 24/7 if that is possible.