Not sure what to do

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silverstar

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My horse has COPD and I dont think she'll ever be able do to what I bought her for (rc comps, fun rides etc.). She was diagnosed in February and shes had ventipulmin (3 tubs) and is currently on preds (steroids) with only a marginal improvement. My vets havent said what the prognosis is but Ive spoken to another who said it doesnt look good. Ive been told to sell her as a hack and have someone interested. Dont know what to do.

I dont think Im meant to have horses everyone ive had turns sour. Its getting me down.
 
i cant see why you wouldnt be able to use your horse ? because it has copD doesnt mean he has to give up all together .aslong as its managed propley
My friend has a horse with COPD and he is competing successfully at Med /Adv Med affiliated dressage.
get a second appion
 
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Find out from your vet what the horse will be able to do. If she will be a suitable hack and you have someone interested I would speak to them. Do they know she has COPD and the meds she is on?


Don't give up on horses though- as mentioned in a similar post, something will come along to make you change your mind.

ETS: Would things improve if the management of the horse was changed (i.e shavings bed and haylage fed from the floor instead of straw and hay in a net? Or even living out?)
 
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another one who had a horse with COPD and it honestly didn't stop him. He was put straight onto shavings and soaked hay, turned out as much as possible and kept as "wind fit" as possible. He was happily hunting/unaffiliated eventing for years after he had been diagonised.
 
Queenbee87 said:
Find out from your vet what the horse will be able to do. If she will be a suitable hack and you have someone interested I would speak to them. Do they know she has COPD and the meds she is on?


Don't give up on horses though- as mentioned in a similar post, something will come along to make you change your mind.

ETS: Would things improve if the management of the horse was changed (i.e shavings bed and haylage fed from the floor instead of straw and hay in a net? Or even living out?)
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Totally second this advice.
 
She is living out 24/7 atm. Im thinking of moving vets as Im not happy with current vets and havent been told what she will be able to do. There is another vets but not local to area would it be worth getting them out? Shes insured so not worried about costs.
 
We have a pony with COPD who until recently was managed with a mask inhaler, salbutamol and beclazone, shavings and haylage. He has improved so much we no longer need to use the inhaler although we have continued with the rubber matting, dust extracted shavings and soaked hay. He is now retired but when he finished showing we backed him to drive and as long as he was fit he could manage 2 hours driving (with a break halfway) when we went out with the club. If you manage the COPD well, you can do just about anything you want.
 
its also you who got to change her routine so swap hay for haylege /soaking hay , stables got to be a dust free eviroment etc etc butwould ask for a socond opinion
 
Mine has COPD- had 2 tubs of ventipulmin and did have a steroid injection when he started not being able to breath. not as bad as yours but... he's absolutely fine.
He is eventing, show jumping, hunting, team chasing etc. all absolutely fine... Don't lose hope!
Mine is being given very dust less hay, on paper and is in a dust free environment as much as possible.
Also now on some herb stuff which seems to be helping!
 
penfold said:
She is living out 24/7 atm. Im thinking of moving vets as Im not happy with current vets and havent been told what she will be able to do. There is another vets but not local to area would it be worth getting them out? Shes insured so not worried about costs.
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Always worth getting a second opinion, especially if cost is no issue. Would check with insurers whether they would cover this though (we all know insurance companies don't want to part with their cash if they can avoid it :p)

Might also be worth googling COPD and reading up on it a bit? (Not had too much experience of it first hand but had a bit of experience with managing respiritory problems with my old mare)
 
Please don't give up. My other halfs hunter was diagnosed with COPD and hunted 4 full seasons after that. He is still hunting now but not to the extent he was before.
We soaked his hay, made his bed a dust free as possible and well ventilated stable - better still turn out 24/7 and rug well during the winter. Tried ventipulmin - absolutely useless. Then used Breathe - I think from D&H and did notice an improvement.
Keep trying different things it will take a while, but it it can be worth it.
 
Im going to change vets. Im not happy with current vets. Also shes got some sarcoids which seem to be growing too. Arghh. Shes had the COPD since Feb and I honestly cant see a way out of this. Shes out 24/7 as well and has been on the preds on and off (vets didnt give me enough for 3 weeks, only enough for 1 week).

I rang insurance company and they said she is covered for it. Im preying they will pay out though as bills about £500 currently I think. I have googled it quite a bit and its not making me feel any better.
 
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Where are you based? (rough area) Someone may be able to recommend a vet. I know Leahurst are very good with sarcoids but that's Wirral/Cheshire way.

February is only two months ago, of course it's going to seem like an awful thing but as peoples' stories have shown, it can be managed and just requires a bit of getting used to. With proper veterinary advice it seems your mare will be able to carry on doing what she's doing. Have you tried posting on the vet forum for more info?
 
with COPD your never completly get rid but you can limit the effects it has on her and her life style . get second opinion then deciced whether to give up and sell if the outcome is not a compertion life maybe there will be a couple of vets on here to assit you ?
 
Im in N Wales. Yes been on vet forum. Ive been told to go to a vet hospital such as leahurst to get second opinion. Def changing vets. Dont think the sarcoids would be covered by referral to vet hospital tho.
 
penfold said:
Im in N Wales. Yes been on vet forum. Ive been told to go to a vet hospital such as leahurst to get second opinion. Def changing vets. Dont think the sarcoids would be covered by referral to vet hospital tho.
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Would recommend Leahurst. You could always give them a call to find out how much it would cost for the sarcoids to be looked at just to give you peace of mind?

Just out of interest, is COPD something a horse is born with or is it something that can develop later on in life?
 
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If she is living out 24/7, do you know what is causing the problem? Could it be tree pollen (this sounds possible to me, if it started in Feb) I know of one horse who the vet suggested using Piriton with for a similar condition, when nothing else worked. This was successful. I have to say though that the particular vet is very good at alternative therapies/thinking 'outside the box'. I agree that a second opinion would be good.
 
queen bee it is usually the result of years or months of exposure to offending spores or sometimes after a viral infection
 
Will try moving vets first before getting a referral. Not sure if the vet I rang the other day will come out as he said shes not improved on the ventipulmin or steroids then there isnt much hope. This isnt what I wanted but hey ho would anyone want it. There is another vets but its further away not sure if theyd come this far.
 
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