pony coughing - help please?!

[EllieBeast]

Hullo,
story goes, my mare lives out 24/7, she has good quality hay and two tiny feeds a day to contain her pink powders. she started coughing yesterday, a dry cough - no mucus coming from her nose. i took her for a walk out inhand (she hasnt been ridden for two weeks due to saddle problems - it is away being fixed aat the mo) and she was..... ummm..... Explosive at best. she didnt cough at all whilst out walking (or shall we call that bouncing?), but coughed once on the way back to her stable. today she is worse, i lunged her this morning and she coughed about 6 times on the first rein. she then snorted and worked fine for the rest of the session - no more coughing. when walking back towards the stables she coughed again. tonight i briefly shoved her on the lunge again and she coughed a couple of times followed by a snort on the first rein, and again worked fine for the rest of the session.
i have had this horse for 5 years and she has NEVER had any form of respiratory problem, even when all other horses on the yard hava had virusses etc. does anyone have any idea on what i should be doing? the horse is perfectly fine in herself.

 

[the watcher]

Hay might be getting a bit dry now, so is worth considering that.
Other causes of coughing - teeth need doing, a sure sign is quidding, when you find chewed up bits of grass and food in the field (hard to spot when they are out 24/7) which they have coughed out.
Some irritant stuck in the throat

I would elimate these before panicking

 

[Prancing1]

give her some human cough medicine, just a bit poured in the feed once or twice a day. Works wonders on my sisters pony. we use benelyn or how ever you spell it.

 

[EllieBeast]

Hey, thanks for replying. i have been soaking her hay now, since i heard her coughing the first time, i did wonder whether it could be down to her teeth. i will get them checked asap - however, when she was lunged this morning she coughed, seemed to clear it up and then after being away from food for over an hour she started coughing again could this happen if its due to teeth? she last had her teeth done about 10 months ago so is due to see the EDT again soon. i have started giving her NAF Koff-eze today (a cough syrup to ease irritation). i will have to see how she is tomorrow, as am meant to be xc schooling on sat (Bloomin sods law!!)

 

[mandy4727]

Not sure where you are. But there is a very dry cough doing the rounds at the moment. There are 4 on our yard who have had it. Not stabled anywhere near each other and not out to grass together. Vet said if it was just one she would treat it an an isolated incident and say just to see how it went over the next week. But with 4. They are all on antibiotics and ventapulmin. Maybe worth a vet visit. All have very dry coughs, no snot (sorry to be graphic) and the cough isn't constant at all.

 

[EllieBeast]

ok, thankyou. i am in suffolk and she is the only one on the yard showing these symptoms. i will book her to have her teeth done tomorrow, and get the vet to give her an MOT at the same time, i am REALLY hoping this is easily solvable. i have wasted enough time with her already this year and i have to let her go by september

thanks for your help
LW

 

[mandy4727]

Hope it goes okay. Let me know how you get on. One horse had normal temp. The one with a green nose was very very slightly higher temp. They don't cough for ages and ages whilst I am there. And then they will cough for about 10 minutes as though they are trying to get something up!! sorry again. And then stop and you don't hear anything for ages and ages. 1 is on hay and the others on haylage so can't put it down to that. Hope it goes okay.

 

[EllieBeast]

thankyou, she still has not developed a snotty nose, just the damned cough! it does sound like shes trying to bring somoething up, especially when followed by a 'snort' and just like those on your yard, she will go AGES without coughing then will have a session. thankyou very much for all your help, i will let you know what we conclude!
LW

 

[wanderer]

my mate in next stable to me had same prob and it was her teeth, since having them rasped she has been fine.