My poor horse

[parsley]

His breathing is getting worse and worse - he has been weezing in trot and has a bit of a heave when standing, so had a chat with the vet and decided to put him on ventapulmin if he doesn't improve. I have been walking him around the field twice a day as he has reocurrent sinusitus and needs to keep his nasal passages clear and yesterday he seemed a bit better. Today he couldn't manage to do his twice around the field walk he was weezing so much so I'm off to the vets for the venapulmin and iodine (to help with his sinuses). Hes quite happy in his paddock at the moment playing with his snak a ball.

The vet says that the ventapulmin doesn't always work though - I would appreciate knowing how other people got on with it.

 

[Jo C]

Sorry to say it didn't work on my boy but he has a grass allergy (yes I know!) so completely different reasons. Have you tried the Winergy breathing supplement, can't think what its called but that is supposed to be very good and was recommended by my vet.

 

[ruscara]

Is it an allergy, Parsley? Marius has had a cough at this time of year for the past few years, and last year had a scope to see what was going on. The vet confirmed it as allergic, and a course of Ventapulmin did absolutely nothing to help. It's just the time of year, unfortunately. That said, he has had to be in at night this year because of a slight attack of laminitis, and so far hasn't coughed. His hay is well soaked, too. I wonder if this is just co-incidence?
I hope Bomber gets better soon.

 

[Pink_Pampas]

My boy had a wheezy summer a few years ago - vet said an allergy to something (hasn't had it since) and Ventipulmin didn't do anything for him either i'm afraid.

 

[parsley]

TBH I don't know what it is. He has a history of COPD due to hay dust and I know that if I give him dry hay he will cough but he has never weezed like this before. He was moved to a new part of the field last night and despite the grazing muzzle had clearly gorged himself last night so it may be that he is just so stuffed full of grass there isn't enough room for breathing as well. If the ventapulmin doesn't work we will have to think again.

 

[parsley]

He has been having NAF breath easy and possibly rather stupidly I let him have a break from it to see if it was making a difference, although I am still not entirely convinced that this is due to it - but he is back on it again.

 

[Rana]

I've had good results with Ventapulmin. Used to look after a polo pony with only one lung (no, I'm not kidding!) who played in the Gold Cup while on Ventapumin. It's basically like an asthma inhaler (or that was how it was described to me) in that it opens the bronchii and helps oxygen get into the blood.

The Winergy supplement is called Ventilate, and it's FAB! Thanks to all who recommended it to me.

My mare had a respiratory infection earlier this year, and was taking a long time to get over it. I gave her just one tub of Ventilate for some extra support (approx a months supply), and she stopped coughing within days - and hasn't started again now I've stopped it (3-4 weeks ago).

 

[Bubbles]

Ventipulmin can be given at quite high doses, obviously be guided by your vet on this, but do be aware that giving a high dose can result in the horse sweating as a side effect. Have had good experiences with it but it is pricey if you're getting through a lot.

 

[kellyeaton]

try breathe easy from dodson and horrel!

 

[lucy007]

Hi I have cob mare who suffered badly last summer. She developed COPD the previous winter due to hay dust. My horses live out 24/7 during the summer and I have to addmit I think a large part of her problem was due to her getting overweight. She also at one point was being walked for some exercise and at her worst she couldnt walk from one side of my 5 acre field to the other without stopping for a breather as she was wheezing so badly. We managed to get this under control with a course of ventapulmin toward the end of last summer and managed to get her back into work properly over the winter months. We put her on Nafs Easy breathing and a low dose of msm daily in a feed as msm helps with repair of damaged tissue. This year I have managed her weight with restricted grazing overnight and maintained her supplements and we have not had a problem. I hope you find a solution and get your horse back on the road to recovery soon. XX