Go Away Cough!!! - Advice please

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Sally-FF

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Hi

My horse has had a cough on and off for a few weeks, it is only when he is being ridden, he coughs once or twice when i first ask him to trot. On a good day he will not cough at all, on a bad day he will cough when i first trot and first canter, his breathing has a few times sounded heavy after he has coughed (both times this has happened i have obviously stopped exercising him). Last week a few times he had a lump of mucas outside his door(this comes from his nose) this hasn't happened in the last 4 days.

He is the picture of health, coat shining, eating, drinking gallops around the field not coughing, 100% cheeky as normal, he is in on a night, fed everything from the floor - our other two horses are fine so cant be a virus... I seem to remember him having a cough at this time of year every year - could it be with the seasons changing? Hay is not dusty at all.

The annoying thing is he has qualified for a dressage championship this saturday but i don't feel like i can work him properly after he has coughed??

Any advice would be great, would it be worth getting some breatheasy or something like that?

thanks
 
Most of mine had a little cough (and very slight runny nose) about a month ago and just put it down to change in the weather - then one seemed to keep the cough and like yours had some mucus outside his stable door. The cough didnt sound deep just like it was coming from his throat (like clearing his throat each time).

Had the vet check him out and he has some fluid on his windpipe and is on a course of antibiotics.

If anything coughs for more that a couple of weeks i get it checked out!
 
Even fab looking hay can give both our mares a little 'hay cough' on the first trot of the day. We always soak it now (they are on shavings too so we can make sure that the straw wasn't causing it) and apart from occasional days they are right as rain. As long as they are well in themselves and any nose discharge is even and not coloured then we carry on as normal. If it is just a case of the snots and you can be sure there is no infection (get your vet out if you can't be sure) then a good steady work out can help clear things out.
If in any doubt though I'd have your vet out. No harm in soaking your hay in the meantime to make sure it isn't exaserbating the prob.
 
Poor boy!-What bedding is he on? does he have hay or haylage?

If it were my horse I'd be tempted to get vet out to check breathing and scope if necessary, then you know what you are dealing with and they can give things like ventipulmin to open the airways /antibiotics if it's an infection etc.

(If it's a dust allergy then that could be managed by dust free bedding like paper/card and haylage)

Hope it can be easily sorted- good luck.
 
thank you, he is on shavings and good hay same as he has been on all winter...

I might save up and invest in a hay steamer although they are about £400!!

The reason i am not keen on getting the vet involved is because every time he has got this cough(about this time every year) we spend a fortune at the vets to find nothing and the cough eventually goes! He has been scoped in the past, had ventpulmin(spelling!) a horse inhaler all sorts - could it be a slight hayfever thing at the beginning of spring?

thanks everyone...
 
I meant to say as well, a few years ago or so, my elderly mare who sadly is no longer with us- had sinusitis and she was on strong antibiotics (baytril) and interferon to get rid of it- the thing that i believe really helped as well in clearing it up and made her breathing better was the NAF 5* Respirator Boost liquid, i was a bit sceptical of how a feed product would help, but i swear it helped and would not hesitate in trying it again in the future if i had a horse that needed it!

My horse years ago had a lung infection, and my mare used to have low grade dust allergy, and i used to give them hilton herbs hackaway or the equimins version in their feed and that always used to help i think too!

Good luck- pherhaps its a touch of hayfever!- i know my hayfever has started early this year! :(
 
K27 said:
I meant to say as well, a few years ago or so, my elderly mare who sadly is no longer with us- had sinusitis and she was on strong antibiotics (baytril) and interferon to get rid of it- the thing that i believe really helped as well in clearing it up and made her breathing better was the NAF 5* Respirator Boost liquid, i was a bit sceptical of how a feed product would help, but i swear it helped and would not hesitate in trying it again in the future if i had a horse that needed it!

My horse years ago had a lung infection, and my mare used to have low grade dust allergy, and i used to give them hilton herbs hackaway or the equimins version in their feed and that always used to help i think too!

Good luck- pherhaps its a touch of hayfever!- i know my hayfever has started early this year! :(
Click to expand...

great thankyou, i will get a tup of the NAF 5* Respirator Boost on my way home!
 
I think its probably lightly to be the hay. But don't discount a virus of some kind. Just cause the others don't have it doesn't mean he hasn't - each immune system is very different for individual horses.

Good luck :)
 
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