hearing a wheeze with horse that has copd

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whiteclover

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My horse usually lives out but Ive moved livery and he has to be in. Ive noticed a noise which when stood next to him can be heard. Hes on straw (Im going to change to rubber matting) but what can I do? Grass livery is so hard to find around here. He wont accept his inhalers either.
 
If he is usually out and is now in it is likely that he is suffering from the dust in the stable, straw is not recommended for horses with any breathing issues.

I would get him onto dust free bedding as soon as you can and take him out when you muck out so any dust had time to settle before he goes back inside, make sure any hay is very well soaked or even better go onto haylage and consider asking your vet if he could go onto medication to open his airways before he gets worse, it does not have to be an inhaler.

Plenty of turnout each day will help as will exercise if he seems well enough.
 
Whiteclover, sorry but you need to get your head around this one. If your horse already has COPD/RAO and he has suddenly got worse since being kept in on straw then the answer is pretty much staring you in the face. No amount of medication will stop an allergic response and the allergen is bound to be the straw. And, sorry, but if all the horses around him are bedded on straw, changing him over to rubber mats won't make much difference. He'll still have the allergic response to the straw all around him. You need to get him out of that yard asap before he gets a lot worse. Every day that a COPD horse is subjected to the allergens that are causing the COPD his lungs will get more damaged and the damage is permanent. You'll soon have an unrideable horse if you don't act fast.
 
Box_Of_Frogs said:
Whiteclover, sorry but you need to get your head around this one. If your horse already has COPD/RAO and he has suddenly got worse since being kept in on straw then the answer is pretty much staring you in the face. No amount of medication will stop an allergic response and the allergen is bound to be the straw. And, sorry, but if all the horses around him are bedded on straw, changing him over to rubber mats won't make much difference. He'll still have the allergic response to the straw all around him. You need to get him out of that yard asap before he gets a lot worse. Every day that a COPD horse is subjected to the allergens that are causing the COPD his lungs will get more damaged and the damage is permanent. You'll soon have an unrideable horse if you don't act fast.
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Thats totally true I totally agree with you. I will be going to look at another yard today.
 
^ Let us know how the search goes. If you're struggling to find anywhere offering grass livery then perhaps try local facebook pages, preloved etc - you might find some people who can recommend places/friends of friends? - we used to keep ours at a farm which didn't have horsey facilities but had great hacking and he put stables/shelters up for us, it might be worth asking farmers in the area if you're really desperate for somewhere to go - the farmer was lovely and it was the nicest livery we ever used, we were so sad to leave!
I agree with BOF that getting him away from the straw is definitely the first step - dust extracted shavings / cardboard bedding is great for horses with COPD if they have to be in and this would definitely be the way to go short term, but as BOF said - if others close around him have straw then it won't make a massive difference to his health. If he's got a lot worse then I'd get in touch with the vet and ask if there's anything he can have to help ease it for now - hope you find somewhere soon x
 
When considering bedding, also bear in mind what the neighbouring horses are on - you can make your stable as allergen/dust free as possible, but if the horses on either side are on straw and hay, it can still impact yours.

Our copd chap lives out 24/7 unless in extreme weather - he is stabled on mats and cardboard bedding and the horse next door also has cardboard as a precaution. He is fed haylage as can't even cope with soaked hay, with all hard feed wet as well.

Hope you get somewhere sorted x
 
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