Flexineb - is it worth investing?

[Lady Tinseltime]

On 5th January my 12 year old cob suffered what I can only describe as an asthma attack. It was sudden and unexpected as apart from a little cough he had never showed any signs of this before. Vet diagnosed COPD and prescribed Ventipulmin. I put him on haylage and changed his bedding from chopped rape straw to Aubiose. The Ventipulmin sorted him out and 22nd January he was able to compete in a Prelim scoring 70%. Then at the end of January he started coughing again - another course of Ventipulmin had little effect and at present he is having a human asthma inhaler administered through a baby spacer. I have moved him to another yard where he can be turned out most of the time and we are off to horspital on Wednesday for a BAL investigation. Vet has suggested a Flexineb nebuliser might be the way to go and just wanted your opinions. If anyone can tell me if they are effective, how long do they take before I can expect signs of improvement, does anyone have a horse still competing with COPD.

 

[Red-1]

I don't have the inhaler, but my cob had this in summer. He was already out all of the time and, like yours, it was a sudden asthma attack.

I found that antihistamines helped. Many antihistamines, combined with Ventipulmin!

If it happens again, we will be looking at an inhaler. The vet said to start the antihistamines before the attack.

 

[Yeomans]

My horse was diagnosed with COPD one year ago and I invested in a Nebuliser, it was the best thing I ever done. Works almost immediately because the drugs get straight in. I havent had to use it much this year but knowing it is there is a godsend. If you had insurance for your horse when quite often the insurance company will pay for the nebuliser. Nothing helps better than getting them out as much as possible in the fresh air.

 

[CanteringCarrot]

I have one and it's quite valuable. I prefer inhalation to orally giving meds and feel it can be more effective or instantaneous.

It's very easy to use and clean. The battery lasts quite awhile between charges. Sometimes inhaling ectoin is enough and we don't have to use meds (steroids and whatnot). For a horse with asthma, I'd definitely recommend it.

 

[Mule]

I have one and I'm really pleased with it. The initial outlay was a lot but it's worked out far cheaper and better for his long term health than the oral steroids he was on. I would really recomend it. I can't say how long it takes to work for an unmedicated horse because mine went straight from oral steroids to the nebuliser.

 

[Fruitcake]

Totally worth it! I found it a complete game changer. I went down the Ventipulmin and then inhaled steroids (Beclemetazone human inhaler through a baby spacer) route, which did give some improvement. The difference the nebuliser made was unbelievable though. It means the steroid gets directly to the lungs. I had to use it daily for a few months, during which time the dose was reduced. Eventually, we went to every other day and then stopped. That was a few years ago and I've only needed to use it once since for a week or so.

If you're insured, it's worth asking if the company will pay for one. Mine did. Even if they hadn't agreed though, I would've invested.

 

[Muddy unicorn]

We got one the year before last - our insurance company wouldn't pay for it so it was a substantial initial outlay but it's been well worth it. He had a couple of asthma attacks last year in the autumn and when we had a cold snap in November but the nebuliser meant we could get his breathing back under control really quickly so last time we only needed to use if for about a week.

He's fatter than ideal at the moment so I'm glad he doesn't have to have oral steroids if he has another attack and ventipulmin did nothing for him. It took about a week to get him used to it in the first place but now he's really good with it - we usually take him for a brisk walk when the nebuliser's running as that helps it go quicker.

 

[autumn7]

My mare first showed signs of asthma five years ago, aged 15. After shed loads of prednisolone tablets I decided I'd rather go down the inhaler route and purchased a Flexineb. She is allergic to grass pollens therefore requires inhalers (Ventolin and Flixotide am and pm) from around late May to early August annually. On ridden days I medicate her just before riding which works well. Expensive, but worth the investment and not the negatives of long-term oral steroids. Quick to administer; cross tie horse in stable or field shelter, slip on mask with one polo at the bottom to distract from closing vent and administering puffs, count breaths out loud, not imperative, just part of our 'ritual' (expect two good inhales for each puff of inhaler), swap inhalers, ditto count inhales, mask off, polo treat. Job done. She actually stuffs her nose into the mask when she sees it, on a polo search. We do endurance and fun rides during the summer so not serious competing so can't answer that, but the improvement is fairly immediate which is why I give a dose prior to riding.

 

[autumn7]

Cross tied in stable.

 

[LegOn]

My older horse suffered an infection in his lungs from mould spores in hay and the vet recommended a Flexineb - I couldnt afford one at the time but I got a recommendation of a using a human nebulizer, its obviously not something you can leave on them and needs a bit more hands on attention - I just covered my hand over his nostril and held up the human mask over the other nostril and he would quietly inhale the medication which only took a few minutes to administer! And it worked perfectly - in a few days he was over the worst of it, and it was touch and go!

A friend used it last summer where her horse had a bad allergy attack and had great results aswell - for only €80 from Boots, it was well worth it & I've hung onto it just incase!

 

[Kerryberry2222]

I have a Flexineb for sale if anyone interested, full size. It was a godsend for my horse who suffered massively and sporadically from May through to September. Recently lost him to colic but no doubt this made his life liveable at the worst times. Used with flixotide and dexamethasone before that. Flixotide much more expensive but more effective on my horse and much quicker to nebulise so when having to do it multiple times daily speed made a difference to an already irked horse.