Dust allergy / laminitis prone management

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Sheys_mum

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Hi

I've been a passive reader of this forum for a couple of years and now feel as though it is time to ask for advice from some of the experienced members on here.

My 15 year old irish cob developed a dust allergy last August (He was scoped etc at the local equine hospital). He is now on steriod inhalers, stabled in an airy stable, has his hay soaked etc etc.

He is turned out for approx 6 hours a day at the moment

He only coughs when ridden but this ranges from a coupe of coughs when 1st going into trot, to small bouts of coughing throughout his exercise.

The advice from the vet was to carry on riding him gently providing he isn't distressed and he certainly isn't breathless during this time.

I must admit though I am uneasy riding him when he is coughing.

I know that the best management would be to turnout 24/7 but as he is laminitis prone that isn't an option.

He is a bit overweight due to being rested when this condition started, and I would be worried about him going onto spring grass at this weight (even with a muzzle)

Is anybody else managing a horse with both of these conditions and can you recommend any supplements etc

Thanks
 
My horse doesn't have a dust allergy but she is laminitis prone and is a very good doer, I have to watch her weight like a hawk.

At the moment I feed her 1.5% of her bodyweight, weigh and soak her hay for 12 hours and she is turned out for 5hours with her muzzle on. She has lost weight with this management and she is looking great at the moment :)
 
My horse has severe COPD from tree pollen allergy. He's 26-ish and only developed this (to my knowledge) about 5 years ago. Initially, he would just cough a lot but it has got so bad now that he has had to be retired. It can be tricky riding a coughing horse as they usually drop their chins to the floor for a deep cough, or a bout of many deep coughs. Sadly, my horse had an episode 2 years ago when I was riding him in walk up the slope to our school when he stopped dead and I honestly thought he was going to drop dead underneath me. Are you sure he's not out of breath? It can be tricky working out whether a horse is struggling for breath as they don't breathe through their mouths so you wouldn't see a human-like gasp. Best way is to wait until your horse is standing chilled and calm in his stable and carefully count his breaths per minute. I count for 30 seconds then double it. Normal rate should be about 12 - 15. By the end of last summer, Sunny's was between 45 and 60. He was endoscoped but couldn't be sedated as the vets were afraid he'd stop breathing altogether. If you ask a similar -sized horse and rider combo what their horse's breaths per minute are immediately after eg 20 mins schooling, then count your own horse the same, that will give you a better idea too. My vets also recommended gentle exercise fo my horse but he deteriorated so much that it was unethical to keep riding him.

Just a thought, turnout for dust allergies can completely control some horses. I understand why you don't want a laminitis-prone horse on 24/7 grass but couldn't you electric fence off a square of ground with poor to no grass?
 
Am in rather the same position as you, and feeling my way very carefully.

Briefly, my 10 year old cob mare got RAO two years ago, and is intolerant even of soaked hay. I gave up using it as it always made her cough - not much, but enougt to worry me and make me very reluctant to work her hard at all. I only use her for light hacking anway, and in the summer she's absolutely fine. She came through the 2009/10 winter very well on haylage - she lives out 24/7.

However, in the worst of the 2010 Christmas weather, when it was -11C here night after night, she went down with acute laminitis. Vet said it was a combination of frozen grass, over-rich haylage (different supplier to last year) and she's overweight. She's still very lame, and is on a diet!!. on HorseHage, and tonight I'm eating my heart out as there's a sharp frost here - more frozen grass.

When, DV, she does get sound, it's going to be an interesting balancing act of weight, coughing, laminitis, what forage etc.

Sorry, now realise having typed this that it isn't very helpful to you, but at least you know you're not alone!
 
You could have a read of Jaime Jackson's 'Paddock Paradise' - the system is aimed at barefoot horses, but is basically about increasing exercise and decreasing forage intake while keeping the horse out 24/7.
 
Thanks for the book recommendation, and box of Frogs your post in very helpful thank you

I will check on his breathing as you have advised

I have the feeling that this condition is going to end up in early retirement, and I have decided now to drop his work down to just light hacking, at the weekend, and maybe a bit of lunging in the week (he never coughs when not ridden)

There is no option on my current yard for 24/7 turnout, but I will explore the possibilities of a longer period of turnout on a reduced area of grazing with the yard owners.

Rosefolly, sorry that you are struggling with the same balancing act. I'll let you know if I come across anything that helps.
 
I have a laminitic with a relatively mild dust allergy. In the Winter she is in at night on rubber matting with soaked hay (apparently it should be soaked for 30-40 mins, any longer and mould starts to grow). Then out in the day as normal. In Summer, I just section a smaller bit of field off and/or get her in at lunch time and leave her to wander about in the yard or she kicks the door!
 
my pony has an autumn allergy to something (i do not know what!) he lives out and had it for 2 out of the last three years and had to have antibiotics and ventipulmin.

I tried all sorts of supplements and none of them worked or he refused to eat them but last year he has had no allergy and I think it might be due to his new supplement called think clear which I tried for the first time last year and he is still on it.

any hay he has is soaked as well.
 
Looking at these replies it is certain that I need to find a way of increasing his turnout.

Unfortunately leaving him to wander around a yard / paddock etc isn't an option as I am on a large yard, but hopefully I can get something sorted out ref a smaller turnout area.

I have never heard of the Think clear supplement but I'll look it up. I think that anything is worth trying at this stage.

Lunged him yesterday and he tanked off with me (he's a strong 15.2 irish cob). No coughing at all. I feel more comfortable with this type of exercise at the moment and maybe just a gentle hack tomorrow to see how he goes.

Thanks for the replies so far
 
You don't say what bedding you have him on?? If he is on straw or sharing an air space with another horse on straw this is probably the biggest factor contributing to ongoing disease. Some horses with RAO/COPD are so allergic to hay they can't have it soaked so it is certainly worth cutting hay out all together and feeding haylage for a while to see if this makes a difference. Another thing to look out for is the muck heap being close to the field where they can stick their noses in it.
Is your stable actually well ventillated or does it just have a doorway to the outside and one window? In my experience most people think their stable is well ventillated but actually its not because the air is not actually circulating. Also make sure you never muck out when he is in the stable because this makes it very dusty. you don't say what medications he is currently on but steroid inhalers can be very usefull to clear up the lingering sumptoms or symptoms that persits despite correct management.
 
My friend's horse is the same as yours. He has cardboard bedding, his stable is kept cobweb-free, he is ridden most days, then turned out with a muzzle for about 6 hours. He is stabled at night all year round and given weighed and soaked hay, plus hifi lite with supplements (not sure which supplements he's on now, but I know he was on magnesium oxide.) He has not coughed or had laminitis for over a year now, so there is hope! I can ask her more if you want!
 
We have one that is laminitic (professional) and has COPD

We keep him in the stable area - we've filled buckets with concrete and put leccy fence poles set in them, and use that to tape off an area that is grass free and encourages him to be out. He can see the others from where he is, and he has a tree to shelter under and scratch himslef against!

We steam his hay when we feel we ned to - it really depends on the hay. We have good stuff at the moment that ain't dusty

Management is far more effective than the steroids tbh.
 
Hi Sam22

He is in a stable which is adjacent to an open door in a barn style of stalls. To me it seems as if the air does circulate well within the stable as it is right in line with the wind gusting in from over the fields.

The muck heap is well away from his stable.

We are offered shavings or straw for bedding on our yard but I am going to look into buying a different bedding for him (he is currently on shavings)

He is never mucked out whilst in the stable

I always thought that haylage was a no go with a laminitic prone horse.

He is on steriod inhalers. He was initially on 14 "puffs" twice a day and I had been dropping this steadily as advised by the vet until we got down to 8 once a day as which stage he had stopped coughing.

However, after a week or so whilst maintaining at 8 he started to cough again. I've been increasing steadily again and he is now on 12 (but still coughing)

I am trying to supplement the medication with better management hence my posting on here.

Janesomerset yes please I would like to know what supplements your friend is using as the horse concerned seems to be on a very similar routine as mine

Finally Brucea, I am going to look into having him turned out more. He will come through any form of taped off area (electric or not) so it is going to have to be more of a permanent fencing

Thanks for your replies
 
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