mare coughing, should I get supplement???

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swampdonkey

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My 15 year old mare coughs about 3/4 times when she first starts her trot work, she has no runny nose, doesn't get out of puff after work but I feel that I should help her in some way.
I was told she was allergic to hay when I got her so she has haylege but she is bedded on straw.
I always put clean underneath and older straw on top otherwise she tries to eat it.
I spoke to her old owner and she used to do this even when she was on shavings so that seems a bit pointless and expensive.
I used to feed garlic to help with respiratory problems but now have read that this can be bad for horses.
Should I feed a supplement or herb to help (and which one) or is it fairly normal for her to have a little cough when she first starts work??
 
I think you need to start with her management.

No straw, rubber matting, and shavings would be my preference.

It may also be worth having a little word with your vet too.
 
her old owner is a friend and still at our yard and she had her on shavings and rubber matting and she still had a little cough when starting work in the winter, so don't think that would help.
Vet has said that she had very mild copd and to feed a supplement and take her off hay and switch to haylege which she did, no supplement that she tried e seemed to make any difference. Hence why I am asking which supplement to try.
The mare doesn't show any other signs and doesn't cough at all in milder weather even tho management is the same.
 
So you haven't spoken to the vet, and based on what's been done when she wasn't in your ownership you're not prepared to consider changing her management?

Mmmmmmmm.
 
amymay said:
So you haven't spoken to the vet, and based on what's been done when she wasn't in your ownership you're not prepared to consider changing her management?

Mmmmmmmm.
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As I said I am friends with the old owner and saw the way she was managed and also spoke to my friend about what the vet said, at the time and have since asked her to recap to make sure I remembered correctly.
I see absolutely no point in getting the same vet out again, as we use the same vet to be told exactly the same!!!!
The management also made no difference otherwise of course I would have tried that 1st.
 
I'm with amymay. I'd also look at her surrounding environment, such as what's in neighbouring stables, dusty rafters & walls, & be extremely meticulous about leaving the bed up, & hosing the floor & leaving it to dry each day.
 
amymay said:
OP, is this the arthritic mare you posted about loaning with a view to buy, last year?
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yes, it is.
I know it probably sounds like a have bought a proper old nag but her she is amazing.
She is completely sound without bute, she wears magnetic boots and my farrier has looked at her xrays and shoes her differently behind and the only slight health problem I have with her i coughing in the cold damp weather initially when I start to ride her.
I do like your say it as you see it approach amymay, but in this instance it seems to be the cold damp weather that effects her coughing as opposed to bedding.
 
Well, in your initial post about her you intimated that the old owner didn't manage her as well as she could.

On that basis alone I would be discounting much of what she may have said to you - and firmly going down your own path.

For me this would include (most obviously) taking her off straw immediately and putting her on rubber, with minimal bedding. Also ensuring that she had as much turnout as possible and that haylage was fed from the floor. And as Littelegs has said, you also need to keep the stable scrupulously clean and dust free.

I would also get the vet up so that I could have a conversation with them - rather than a second hand one via an old owner, so that I could make an informed decision on how to proceed. Some suppliments on the market may help - however, your vet may prescribe one that will be more beneficial in the long run.

If a horse is well, then cold damp weather should not make them cough....
 
amymay said:
Well, in your initial post about her you intimated that the old owner didn't manage her as well as she could.

On that basis alone I would be discounting much of what she may have said to you - and firmly going down your own path.


I was referring to her management of her arthritis which has improved so much since the changes I have made for her. But point taken.
Thank you for your ideas and opinions. Will definitely consider them.
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swampdonkey said:
I was referring to her management of her arthritis which has improved so much since the changes I have made for her. But point taken.
Thank you for your ideas and opinions. Will definitely consider them.
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My own experience is that if someone is poor in one area of management, they are generally poor in all areas.

Good luck with your mare.
 
My mare has similar (also 15yr old)
I'd recommend 24/7 turn out
Soaked hay
Soaked feed
Even dry chaff bothers my mare
Vet said mild copd or whatever they call it nowdays - but the management system above really helps. If she manages to get to dry hay she is coughing again for about a week before she's fine again
Eventually we may have to go down medication route but I'll do everything in my power to help it before that
I agree with above - I'd review management first.
 
I use NAF Respirator when every now and again my horse gets a slight dust cough. After about 3 days it stops.
I also mix Eucalyptus oil with water and spray in his stable.

He is managed completed obssesively, there isnt anything more I could do to reduce the dust in his environment he just every now and again gets a little cough.
 
Going against the grain here. It's worth looking at exactly when your mare coughs. My mare coughs when starting trot work, three to four times and that is it. If she's out hacking or has been taken somewhere exciting she doesn't do it. In the school it's a case of "Oh I'm going to be working, I'll clear my throat and see if you'll back off". If you go straight from walk to canter with no trot work she doesn't cough, especially if there are jumps up in the school. She never coughs at any other time.

My mare is already on rubber, woodpellets and haylage fed from the floor. It makes no difference to her from when she was on straw and hay. Living out 24/7 on just grass makes no difference. Supplements have made no difference, she does very much like a medicated horslyx lick though but IMHO that didn't make any difference, she's just a naughty old trout who knows her own mind.

In your situation I would look at when she coughs and whether she's trying it on and then I'd change her management, out 24/7 if you can if not try rubber and minimal bedding. If she keeps needing to cough then I'd look at getting her vet checked but if it's less than five times at the start of exercise I wouldn't worry. Just don't do what I did and very nearly fall off laughing when mine coughed and farted at the same time and scared herself!

If you want to feel better about it try her on a horslyx medicated lick, they seem to absolutely love them.
 
amymay said:
So you think that your horse is coughing as a form of evasion Dee?
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Yes. I'm aware that that's not likely to be a popular view but knowing the mare's character I cannot reconcile her never coughing other than at the start of trot work in a school (whether the school is dusty or soggy it's the same) as anything else. We've changed her management, we've had her scoped, there is no physical cause. She is however a master of ridden evasions, much to the amusement of the instructors who've had the pleasure of teaching me and my daughter on her over the past five years.

That's why I suggested that the OP carefully observe when her mare coughs.
 
Agree with AmyMay, take her off straw.

Mine was on straw and used to eat it, she started coughing and I switched onto shavings. If you leave the dirty bedding on top this will also irritate the cough as the straw will have amonia on from her wee.

I soak her hay and feed wet feed.

It doesn't really matter what supplements you try, whilst you are bedding on dirty straw, her cough will not improve.
 
So you did, sorry I was in a rush this morning! I apologise.

But either way stabling a Horse that coughs on straw is a big no no.
 
My mare had this issue so this is my regime;

Rubber mats
Dust free shavings Bedmax
Soaked hay
Groom dried mud off outside the stable
Spring clean stable for cobwebs etc regulary as req
Bed back and hose rest when needed

Oh and mucking out myself to my standards not lazy grooms has helped too.

Her cough seems to be resolved and it's easy to keep on top of things with a good routine.
 
I would try a completely dust free bedding [ some shavings are still dusty which the previous owner may have used] shredded paper is good. You may have to have a course of ventipulman to shift it.
 
Agree with what's been said owners don't realise horses need fresh air and are often not providing that in the stable. My pet hate is American barns with doors on them. Lol
 
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