Managing conflicting conditions COPD and Cushings/lami

[TwyfordM]

So we haven't got a diagnosis as of yet. But Mysti has started wheezing a little when she's being lunged. No obvious cough, but she does have some heave lines. So we suspect COPD.

She's already on soaked hay, I'll be changing her bedding to something dust free once I've been paid. But ultimately she's in a barn with horses on unsoaked hay and straw so I can't eliminate dust entirely. I can't move her as need to be within walking distance of home currently.
She can't live out, super prone to laminitis so it would be a ticking time bomb no matter how much I muzzle/restrict as she gets muzzles off no matter how hard I try and she jumps or climbs through fences, you can have electric fencing connected to the mains and she will run through it
She's currently getting a few hours out.

I'm also concerned as I've been reading through treatments/medications and I can't see steroids etc helping the lami side

It's early days, so willing to try what I can to minimise the risk of it getting worse, so any advice id appreciate

 

[TheBigPony]

How long have you had the horse? And been at your current yard? Is there something new in the environment?

You need to work out what is setting it off. My horse was fine in a barn while they left the doors open one end but as soon asthe doors at both both ends wetrshut completely different story. Straw is the other thing that sets her off.

Giving steroids will only help short term, you need to remove the irritant. Equally, giving steroids long term would be expensive and not great for your horses health, particularly as lami prone.

I would now never stable that horse in a barn and her stable block is strictly no straw. You may need to rethink where your horse is stabled.

 

[Sanversera]

Can you make a small outdoor turnout area where she can spend most of her time?

 

[setterlover]

I have a COPD horse that is also lami prone He lives out with my my other horse and they have 24/7 access to a pole barn bedded on wood pellets and shavings and are feed wrapped hay which we make ourselves.They have access to a field of about an acre from 9am to 6pm and overnight a gate is closed to make it about 1/4 acre .They are both unrugged and fed a little dengie hi-fibre with a little carrot and apple.
I have kept them like this for the last ,5 years .I hate muzzles and would never use one ( just my choice)
He is 25 and lives a good life with plenty of movement and a short grass field to graze in.In winter the overnight is the same but in the day they are allowed on to a much bigger field.
Given his age if either of the 2 condition severely compromised his quality of life I would PTS.

 

[GoldenWillow]

My mare developed copd/equine asthma after a virus then whilst on oral steroids to control asthma got acute laminitis, she wasn't considered a laminitis risk as not overweight.

It was seriously hard work finding a livery yard set up that worked for her. When she developed asthma she was in a barn with five other stables, despite all being on haylage and shavings and the barn being open at one end and with Yorkshire boarding there was still too much dust for her to cope with. I did move her to a yard where she had an outside stable with no shared air space and she was able to come off all meds on this, fed low energy haylage and bedmax shavings. We then managed to rent a private yard which meant I could give her a stable with largish turnout area on the yard so that she was outside but off grass, this worked really well but I know how hard it can be to sort something like this out. She was also badly affected by pollen and not treating her was not an option so she was on inhalers, she was on them for approx 4 years with no laminitis.

Whilst some asthma horses can manage in a barn situation I'm not sure many could in a barn where there are others bedded on straw and fed hay. My cob developed asthma aged 5, he cannot tolerate soaked hay so has haylage and bedded on bedmax when he's in, his stable has no shared air space, large door and Yorkshire boardingon the back wall to ensure good air flow. On this management he is fine other than the summer months when he is affected by pollen. He has a nebuliser when needed through the summer and is in full work on this.

The main thing is to remove the allergens as much as possible then if needed I would always go for a nebuliser over inhalers, from my experience and others who have used both the nebulised steroids seem to work better.

You have all my sympathy, they are two very awkward conditions to manage together and especially on a livery yard.