Persistent intermittent explosive dry cough

O

oldhat

Well-Known Member
Joined
16 July 2010
Messages
170
Location
rural windy aberdeenshire
Visit site
Hi folks! Happy new year one and all!! My haflinger boy is about 14 now and has always been happy and healthy since we had him (2 yr) apart from being able to hear a very deep almost wheeze occasionally deep in his chest. This winter he has been on steamed/soaked hay and is in at night on cardboard square bedding. We were worried he had started eating the bedding but it seems he isn't now. He has for a couple of months had this unproductive cough that seems to come from v deep inside his chest but it is an explosive cough-so much so that he lets rip with a huge fart with about half his coughs! We stopped giving carrots with his tea as I was worrying that the finger shaped pieces were getting lodged somehow. He has slowed when eating his tea now but this cough is still there. I've not had the vet here to him as it is so intermittent. Could this be copd or something else? I did have a mare who we lost in a terrible manner thanks to a totally useless vet, she had choke and paralyzed larynx plus other things so I am extremely wary of coughs. He has no snot and no phlegm at all and does not appear to cough anything up but although it is not all day I worry that it's wearing him out a bit. It doesn't help that I just had an op to remove a dodgy lymph gland in my groin and also other biopsy meaning of course no riding or horsing for weeks! :-( Are haffies prone to this?? Should I get the vet here or just try some cough mixtures on him? What do ya'll think??
 
Last spring when it was really dry and dusty our oldie got a persistent dry cough, started I think after we went to a dusty indoor school for some training and, as it was dry, dry hay (which I wasn't soaking) etc the cough got worse. Had the vet out and he put him on ventapulmin for a fortnight and soaked hay also pressure washed the inside of, and soaked the floor of, the field shelter and of course it then rained for weeks, he's been fine since.
 
Sounds like there is some irritant there that he is trying to ease. What is the cardboard like as a bed? Never used it so I dont know. Could there be ammonia in the air? A horses respiratory system is more delicate than ours so he may be more sensitive to it than you realise. If it was me, id get a good equine vet out and see if they can scope or something. It might be worth keeping a diary of what your horse is doing and where he is when he does the cough eg after exercise and in stable etc etc. See if there is any common denominator that you can then change and see if it makes a difference. Hope that helps!
 
As long as you don't think there is anything nasty going on, I used to use Garlic & Honey (liquid form, you just add a squirt to feed, very strong garlic oil) from Equiform Nutrition in the winter for my old girl. It just seemed to sooth her & shift things.
 
personally id get the vet -if the cough is very deep in the chest he might just need a course of AB and ventapulmin and he would be fixed
 
Thanks for the replies folks! Yes I think I will get the vet as this cough is not just when inside but also he has bursts of it for no apparent reason while out in the field. It only appears to effect him for a few minutes then he gets over it but it has been going on for a few weeks now. Fimbacob, the bedding is very warm, dust free but I don't think that absorbent so I use a bit of rapport in the weeing area under it and that works v well. He was on it before I bought him so I carried on with using it but my other horse will literally just eat it! Perhaps the boxes contained something tasty at some point! Thanks for the good wishes re me getting better too! I feel almost ready to horse again (!) but don't want to start too soon or burst my stitches etc! Me and Shady (haffy) will I am sure get over this! Now sure if it's worth trying more cough mixes , might try the human version as he wouldn't touch his own!!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top