Managing respiratory issues

[poiuytrewq]

I’ve had the horse, Jake for years. I bought him knowing he had respiratory issues but that it was manageable and have had experience before with such problems.
Over the years I’ve been able to keep him good with soaked hay, good bedding, Naf respirator (amazing stuff) damp feed etc etc.
The past year or so it’s worsened, he’s now retired and 22.
He now has to live out, I have a pen with a open shelter where he spends nights in winter and days in summer.
We tried various things, nothing helps when he’s bad except steroids. When he’s on steroids it costs me £8/9 per day. Realistically this is not something I can afford full time so I give courses of them and when he’s good stop. He can go a few months in between.
He’s fat. I can’t give hayledge
Any other ideas to help manage him would be hugely appreciated.
He’s also on Baslamic air and still has Naf Respirator.

 

[poiuytrewq]

He’s currently coughing a bit, not badly but I do hear him from time to time over night. It’s a pretty nasty sounding cough but he never seems to cough during the day weirdly (atm he does when it’s bad)

 

[BuzzyBee1982]

You could use chlorphenamine (Piriton) tablets in his feed and can purchase tubs of 500 on online pharmacies for around £20. I managed my TBxID with these for 10+years. How heavy is Jake?

 

[BuzzyBee1982]

You could use chlorphenamine (Piriton) tablets in his feed

 

[paddi22]

does he have any nasal discharge? or is it just a cough?

 

[poiuytrewq]

does he have any nasal discharge? or is it just a cough?

Occasional but not very often. If he gets to some dry hay he will get a snotty nose but it’s usually just a cough.

 

[poiuytrewq]

You could use chlorphenamine (Piriton) tablets in his feed

I have in the past given antihistamine but never sure on the correct dose.
He’s a 15hh cob x about 450 kg but it’s been a long time since I weighed him.

 

[CanteringCarrot]

That sounds expensive for steroids. It cost me less than that per say to inhale steroids in the Flexineb. Granted, I'm in an entirely different country. The dosage for inhalation might also be less in comparison to oral or injection. However, it still isn't cheap though, so I get your point.

I have no idea how much my PRE weighs, exactly, but 4 tablets AM and PM of Cetirizine does the trick for him. I think when they're unfit/can't be in work, things can worsen, IME. So that (not that you can help it) doesn't work to you'd advantage.

 

[Landcruiser]

You say he's fat so you can't give haylage. Actually if you avoid Ryegrass haylages there can be fewer calories than hay. Changing to haylage was the key to stopping my lad from coughing (at one point he was on a nebulizer twice a day, plus ventopulmin (sp?), steroids, etc. He's not been on any meds for years, and only coughs a bit when the tree pollens are at their worst. I use a local meadow haylage, or small bags of country haylage from Mole Valley

 

[meleeka]

You may find steroids much cheaper by getting a prescription from your vet abs ordering online.

 

[Highmileagecob]

I share your problem. My cob was diagnosed as COPD around ten years ago, and fortunately, my yard was able to offer similar facilities to yours. I immediately switched to haylage, and buy a big square bale once every three weeks (open one end, work my way through it making sure it is tightly wrapped and tied every day). Piriton or it's generic equivalent works during the pollen season - tree pollen is just beginning, followed by may blossom, and I have used most of the breathe easy stuff on the shelves. One thing that has made a big difference (I think) is the addition of omega3 to his diet. Small study was done by Cambridge vet school, which concluded there may be benefits, so I tried it. I feed a balancer called Equilibra that contains omega3 and touch wood, have not had a serious coughing incident since 2018.

 

[poiuytrewq]

Thanks!
The steroids I have looked around for but to be fair they are 8 or 9 pence from everywhere so I can’t get them cheaper online and would probably have to pay for the prescription/postage on top.
I’ve had him on 15 antihistamines a day in the past with no difference, I can try again as it’s a cheap idea.
Tried ventipulmin but doesn’t touch it.

 

[poiuytrewq]

I may try hayledge now then, there is a little more grass so I’m not having to put forage in the field so I can buy some just for him to try. I hadn’t wanted to have to give it to all of them, I also have a horse who eats his own body weight daily and two tinies who defo don’t want it!

 

[poiuytrewq]

Sorry for short blunt replies!! Trying to get them in before the page crashes ?‍

 

[poiuytrewq]

I share your problem. My cob was diagnosed as COPD around ten years ago, and fortunately, my yard was able to offer similar facilities to yours. I immediately switched to haylage, and buy a big square bale once every three weeks (open one end, work my way through it making sure it is tightly wrapped and tied every day). Piriton or it's generic equivalent works during the pollen season - tree pollen is just beginning, followed by may blossom, and I have used most of the breathe easy stuff on the shelves. One thing that has made a big difference (I think) is the addition of omega3 to his diet. Small study was done by Cambridge vet school, which concluded there may be benefits, so I tried it. I feed a balancer called Equilibra that contains omega3 and touch wood, have not had a serious coughing incident since 2018.

I will look at that also thanks, I have been looking at balancers anyway recently as it’s summer and they won’t need feeding hard feed soon.

 

[GoldenWillow]

My cob needs nebulised steroids once the pollen season starts, he has 4mg once a day for a fortnight and then for the last few years every other day. It works out at £45ish a month and I've found he doesn't need any other supplements so you would be able to save on the Naf respirator. As he has shown that he responds well to steroids he could well be the same. Is the £8/9 a day for oral steroids as that is unsustainable. Although I'm assuming as you already use balsamic air you already have a flexineb so wouldn't have to buy one?

He can't tolerate soaked hay so has haylage, I use the Horsehage high fibre or Silvermoor lite and he doesn't particularly put weight on with it. I've found bedmax to be the most dust free shavings that I've tried although I haven't tried anything different recently as I seem to have found a management that works. Hope you can find a way to help him, it's a horrible thing.

 

[PinkvSantaboots]

One of mine has breathing problems worse in summer the only thing I find helps is science supplement respriaid, I do put him on ventipulmin when particularly bad but he doesn't need it constantly.

 

[Highmileagecob]

I have seen a thread on here about a garlic and eucalyptus mix being made by a herbalist and used to treat coughing/respiratory problem with a fair bit of success. I will try and find it....

 

[poiuytrewq]

I don’t have a nebuliser no. My vet said 10ml x 2 daily in his feed. I had read you can nebulise though.

 

[GoldenWillow]

I don’t have a nebuliser no. My vet said 10ml x 2 daily in his feed. I had read you can nebulise though.

Oh that changes things as they are expensive, I'd only heard of balsamic air being nebulised. I got my flexineb through his insurance but having seen what a game changer it is if I needed one I'd buy one if possible. It is a big initial outlay though. I've seen a few secondhand ones advertised but the ones I've seen have only been a little cheaper than new and no warranty or knowing if the control unit is ok.

I've used a babyhaler and asthma inhalers before but they worked out expensive and I don't think they were as effective as nebuliser.

 

[CanteringCarrot]

Balsamic air actually shouldn't be nebulized. Something with it being oils and the lungs. I'd have to look it up again. I've always given it orally with a syringe.

 

[GoldenWillow]

Balsamic air actually shouldn't be nebulized. Something with it being oils and the lungs. I'd have to look it up again. I've always given it orally with a syringe.

Thank you, that is really interesting as everywhere I've seen it for sale it's advertised as suitable for oral or nebulised and is sold on Breatheazy (a flexineb retailer) to be nebulised and used to be, but is no longer, on the Haygain website. I've never used it so hadn't investigated fully into it.

 

[MissTyc]

Re the steroids, on my yard we have a few horses on longer term steroids for breathing - all three are injected not given orally. It's much cheaper even with the syringes/needles to account for!

 

[rabatsa]

If you use bedding in the shelter, cardboard is the most dust free you can get.

 

[nutjob]

I had one which was on inhaled steroids for a few years. These were given with a spacer (the baby one) and did make a significant difference. I also changed mine to haylage as I was trying to keep weight on him. At the time this was cheaper and the amount of steriods the pony was getting was lower than orally, he'd had laminitis previously so was at an increased risk.

 

[poiuytrewq]

Re the steroids, on my yard we have a few horses on longer term steroids for breathing - all three are injected not given orally. It's much cheaper even with the syringes/needles to account for!

That’s interesting. I’ll ask my vet about that.

 

[poiuytrewq]

If you use bedding in the shelter, cardboard is the most dust free you can get.

I’m not allowed unfortunately but I don’t use anything, it’s on a surfaced pen and has rubber mats so it’s soft enough and he never wee’s in there.

 

[Shilasdair]

Re the steroids, on my yard we have a few horses on longer term steroids for breathing - all three are injected not given orally. It's much cheaper even with the syringes/needles to account for!

Although, there is a greater risk of laminitis with injected steroids rather than oral, just to make you aware.

One of mine is on Prednisolone pills - the 5mg ones that are usually for dogs. I mix them with water, and orally syringe them. They don't cost £8 a day.

 

[poiuytrewq]

Although, there is a greater risk of laminitis with injected steroids rather than oral, just to make you aware.

One of mine is on Prednisolone pills - the 5mg ones that are usually for dogs. I mix them with water, and orally syringe them. They don't cost £8 a day.

Where do you get them from?

 

[Shilasdair]

Where do you get them from?

I'll PM you.