Hmm....I'm confused, don't know what to do. Advice please

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Patches

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To fill you in on the details...

Patches is broken. Sort of.

Duncan fed her some mouldy dusty hay and she's had an allergic reaction to the fungal spores. Runny nose. She's ok in herself, but her nose is running.

Vet has prescribed antibiotic powders for her feed and Salbutamol and Beclometasone inhalers. He said it could take a couple of weeks for her lungs to settle from that single exposure.

He also said I was to ride her as normal. He said if she coughed, to stop and allow her the chance to cough, but to carry on riding. I should point out she's not coughing though, seems fine in herself...just has a runny nose.

Sooo....here's my dilema. On mentioning to a very valued friend, who's opinion I greatly respect I'm now confused. Said friend is shocked I've been told to ride Patches.

Sooo...question is...who would ride (hacking only) and who wouldn't ride at all? Bear in mind the vet wants her fitness kept up otherwise her £1800 of hock treatment could be in vain. She needs to be in full work to get the benefit of the treatment. Runny nose has come at a very bad time.

Oh, and hubby is paying the vet's bill for this little lot as punishment for the error of his ways!
 
Yes ride. Gentle exercise will help open and clear her airways. As she doesnt have an infection as such the increased blood flow and oxygen will help shift the mucous she has built up in response to the allergic reaction.
 
Yes I would, keep everything moving so to speak. Of course I wouldn't do anything that will strain the lungs or heart, but nothing wrong with walking and trotting out gently. We have 2 horses on our yard that have bronchiol (sp!) probs and they are both WAY better when being exercised than not.

Funny this should happen, I cut my sesh short with P today as she started coughing, something she has never done before. I think she may have some hay caught somewhere, but will be keeping an eye on things.
 
These drugs are usual prescription drugs for Upper Respiratory Infections...generally for RAO (previously known as COPD) which in laymans terms is equine asthma.

Turnout in a field is usually the recommended form of gentle exercise for a horse with a URI. If your ride is not going to be long or fast then I would think so long as she doesn't get puffed out that she will be fine. But if your friend wants to go at a fast pace then I would meet up with her next time when Patches is feeling better.

I am surprised your vet has suggested keeping her on a fast-pace regime - that's contrary to everything I have always been taught by my vet when my horse had RAO. It isn't a case of coughing it out....asthma doesn't cough out.
 
Patches isn't coughing at all. Not even blowing out to try and clear her nose. That's what she was doing last year when they all had a cough/cold virus over summer.

She seems ok in herself. I just don't want to do the wrong thing, either way.
 
yes i would. I was told to lightly ride bert when he has COPD episodes in much the same way as you. If he coughs we pull up until he is finished nad then plod on.....

It has done him no harm, wouldn't do more than walk if his breathing is bad though and always ride with a looser girth....
 
When I told him she had five weeks off last year with a cough/cold he said I was to keep riding her as it was imperative for her hocks and to help increase her lung capacity.

I won't deny that she was ill last year so needed to be turned away. She doesn't appear ill this time. I can't hear her breathing at all. She's now on shavings with soaked hay (from a new batch I had delivered earlier this week).

I'd told him I had some pleasure rides booked for next month and he said that the lungs would settle naturally in a couple of weeks after this exposure but he wanted to help her along as it's important that she doesn't lose fitness at this time.

I'm really confused. I don't want to be risking her in any way...either way. He never said she has asthma though. Just an allergic response to that hay. She's had dusty hay before, never been a problem....heck she's bedded on straw normally which isn't dust extracted off the field when baled.
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When I walked into the stables on Tuesday I could smell mould as I entered the building. Duncan had shut the outside stable block door (they're internal stables) the night before too as the temperature plummeted to freezing point again.
 
Why don't you Google RAO and then you will find out more information.
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The advice my vet gave me when I had my RAO horse was gentle exercise.
 
Poop.

So now it's not just "oh the fungal spores have irritated her". (they made me cough when I showed my father in law how iffy the bale was - so he could complain to who we bought the batch from)

It's "she's now got asthma for life because your stupid husband fed her dodgy hay that a 2 year old could tell was off".

I'm really happy now. I assume that means endurance and fun rides are off the agenda for ever.
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Does ruining one's horse qualify for "unreasonable behaviour" in a divorce cases?
 
No it isn't like that though....only during the attack. Once you have dealt with the attack and changed your husbandry, the horse usually goes right back to normal. You just have to be careful of feeding dry hay from now on. My horse remained clear of it for years and only came back down with it again when his new owner didn't follow the guidelines, but once again with the drugs it cleared up very quickly and he recovered and went back to exactly how he was before the attack.

RAO is only a TEMPORARY condition; that's why they changed the name of it from COPD. She'll be just fine, don't worry.
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Blimey thanks Tia and Bex

I was VERY worried for a minute then. Duncan will be so pleased that she's now going to have to stay on shavings. I've moved her to the stable that gets more of a through draught too. More fresh air. Always fed off the floor and don't mind soaking hay....although my hands are cracked.

We'll make haylage again this year so she could always go over to haylage if it's dry enough. (sometimes I think it's more silage than haylage.)
 
Personally I think you are over panicking here C!!! Your vet knows what the problem is, has seen her first hand, etc... Unless he has suggested you will have an ongoing problem and to research I would stop doing all of this reading and winding yourself up
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That's what I ended up doing, feeding haylage as it was so much easier than having to soak hay. My horse had his initial attack at 6 years old and once it was dealt with, he never had another one until he moved to his new owner at 13 years old; and that was only because she fed him dry hay. She got the drugs from her vet, he cleared up, she then moved him onto being fed haylage .... voila! She never saw it again.

Do lots of research and you will find that it really isn't difficult to manage at all. I know, I did it successfully for 7 years LOL!!
 
Arrrrrggggh! I am getting into a tizz aren't I? Can you believe I'm a trained CPN? How on Earth did I cope in a crisis then? LOL

I think I'm just a bit anxious as I have these pleasure rides booked, started the jumping and have plans to do so much more this year than "just" hack. I'm scared I'm going to have the rug pulled out from under me...so to speak.

It hadn't occurred to me that this could be a continual problem and the "temporary" management changes are likely to be permanent now.

Damn it. I love that little horse. She HAS to get better sharpish!
 
I can cope with soaking hay over summer. If I could feed haylage over winter that'd be better. Problem with being in an internal stable is that the vet seemed to be suggesting I put all four horses on shavings. There is no way Duncan would go for that one. He'd make me sell a couple of them for sure. Currently I have two stables empty between Patches and the others and Patches is on the end. She's away from their stables. Front wall of stables is only 6 blocks high and leads into a walk way. Side walls (dividing all stables) is full height so she can't get her head over into their stables. PAtches is opposite the external doorway too (about 6 feet away) and has a window to the rear and side of her side of her stable. I couldn't get much more fresh air into where she is unless I chuck her outside 24/7.

Problem with that theory is that I have Tweenie who she grazes with. Section A who literally blows up on grass. I bring her in at night to deflate (literally). She's muzzled and strip grazed but still gets very bloated if left out too long on spring/summer grass.

It's a nightmare!
 
No but then he never said it wasn't either. The jist I got is that she's been aggravated by the very mouldy hay and her lungs would take a while to settle.

He was happy to do nothing and leave it to run it's course. He's only treating her because he knows I have alot of plans and have worked hard to get her fitness up in preparation. Therefore his theory being that by acting aggressively she'll recover from the exposure quicker.
 
She already looked better tonight. Temperature and respiration rates are normal.

Her nostril just has a slightly milky white discharge from it. Was dripping watery thin orange profusely yesterday.....not custard like as it was last year.

The treatment is only to assist a faster recovery. Might seem stupid paying what I'm sure will be alot of money for the drugs....but I'm enjoying her so much at the moment. If I let her lose too much fitness or my moment of bravery pass....who's saying I'll find my 13 A 11 S again?
 
My friends horse has COPD (not sure if thats what you are are talking about, I've lost the thread a bit!) and he's fine on endurance rides etc. His is really bad too, he can't even go into a stable block that has a straw bed in any of the stables for more than half an hour or he gets a really bad "asthma attack". I'm sure she'll be back to normal soon
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I have to just ignore my boys nose. He has an enlarged ethomoid and although his nose runs every time he is even lightly worked, the vets are happy for him to keep working.
Take your vets advice I think.
 
Patches this sounds like my husband! He gets allergic rhinitis which causes similar symptoms to Patches. It doesn't affect his airway, just his sinuses. He has to spray assorted stuff up his nose or he can't hear a thing.
 
Thanks for that Hairycob.

I had a good look at her this morning when dosing her up. She doesn't have heave lines, breathing is completely normal, no sweating etc. Not depressed, head held up as normal, hungry and alert. Her nose isn't as runny as it has been, just a slight white discharge.

She does seem perfectly fine in herself. Only slight difference is that she's ravenous. Normally on a straw bed, she'll munch a bit of straw as well as hay. Last two mornings her stable has had not a jot of hay left in it (which is unusual). Bless her. I'm assuming she's realised shavings aren't quite so palatable
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Patches for heavens sake stop panicking. She has, to all intents, had a bad attack of what most of us would call hayfever. A one off allergic reaction to mould spores is all she has, not raging COPD. Yes she probably will be a bit sensitive to dust and spores BUT its very easy to manage. Just keep plenty of air flowing through the barn, damp/soak her hay and stick to the shavings bed.

She will be fine. Honest!!!!
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Consider your bum kicked missus!
 
I would do what my vet told me to do - who is a professional and has actually seen your horse - rather than a friend who isn't a vet.

Follow your vets advice
 
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