Horse with a cough - also in vet section

[Jingleballs]

On Friday evening I noticed Casper had a cough - he coughed twice, cleared his nose and was fine. I lunged him and he didn't cough again.

On Saturday he didn't cough at all when I was at the yard but it was snowing so I wasn't there long and he wasn't exercised.

Sunday I rode and he coughed a couple of times when being ridden then cleared his nose and was fine.

He has now coughed at least twice every day since Friday - incidently I now also have a cough - a dry nasty one that's given me a sore throat.

I've started wetting his hay although it's not dusty and is in fact really good hay. He's on shavings but always has been so I don't think it's that. His feed has changed recently but he gets a pretty mushy feed - chaff with fast fibre.

I spoke to one of the liveries as it's not something I have experience of and she advised that occassionally her horse gets a wee cough when the seasons change etc and advised to give him human cough medicine for a couple of days so he got some benelyn yesterday - although he still coughed today so I gave him more tonight and he'll get more tomorrow.

I've now read somewhere that it's a very bad idea to exercise a horse with a cough as it can damage lungs - and here I was thinking it was helping to clear it!

Obviously if it doesn't clear soon he'll get the vet out - but in terms of other symptoms there are none - he's energetic and bright in himself.

So a couple of questions - what can cause a cough in a horse? What else can I do to help him? I'm only dampening the hay now so may start soaking it overnight too.

Also, how long before I get the vet out if we assume there are no other symptoms?

Sorry for the possibly obvious questions but I've never had this issue before.

 

[Rose Folly]

You are quite right not to just ignore your horse's cough. It may benothing to worry about at all, but it could be the start of something serious.

My mare, abolutely fine for 3 years, started with a dry little cough, which I ignored, as she always 'cleared' afterwards, and didn't seem distressed. But it got worse and worse, and she was diagnosed with what used to be called COPD but is now referred to as RAO - Restricted Airways ??can't remember last word. She developed a complete allergy to hay, soaked or otherwise, and one attack nearly killed her.

She's now on haylage and is fine, but I have a £280+ mask sitting in the stable ready to use if she has an attack again (you fire in puffs of the drug they use for asthma in humans - Becanase?).

So be on your guard, and monitor her closely - and I do hope it turns out to be nothing at all. (Perhaps you should see the vet as well!)

 

[CambridgeParamour]

I'd get the get to have a little look Rio had the same thing, and the vet found fluid on his lungs and in his broncii (sp). He had some ventapulmin and sputulosin, and it is significantly better but not gone, so vet is back out tomorrow.

 

[jaijai]

Our horse is stabled in a small barn with 5 other horses and the horse in the stable next to him had a cough which was getting progressively worse. The owners tried cough mixture which did not have much effect and eventually called out the vet who diagnosed a dust allergy. We have had restricted turnout more or less since Christmas and obviously standing in the stable for long periods of time and the dust etc caused by mucking out at different times by the other owners aggravated the condition.He has had medication and obviously soaked hay and kept out of stable as much as possible and he is fine now.
Hope you manage to get it sorted okay.