RAO Hints and Tips

[Persephone]

I have an 8 y/o ISH mare with suspected RAO.

Vet is coming again tomorrow for another check, but I would be interested to hear any do's and dont's from people already coping with RAO.

Some background is that horse does not cope with living out. She will just stand by the gate and shout as dusk falls.

She is therefore stabled from around 17.00 to 9am. She would normally be ridden 2 - 3 hours each morning with the rest of the day in the field with company whatever the weather.

Her stable is 15 x 15 in a barn but with very good airflow. She has rubber mats for 3/4 of the box with totally mucked out shavings at the back of the box. She has ad lib well steamed hay in a Haybar. There is one other horse in the barn kept on exactly the same regime. That horse is having no problem. The barn is only swept and mucked out with the horses outside. No hay is stored in the barn.

Feed is now Pasture Mix, Alfa A, Speedibeet, Mint and Prosoothe.

If anybody can see any glaring mistakes I am making or has any hints or tips for improving her lifestyle I would be very appreciative!

 

[ironhorse]

Sounds rather like my horse - she'd rather cough than live out!
You have described an excellent regime - the only other tips would be to watch that any rugs stored in/around her stable don't trap dust, and also to have a good sweep around any cobwebs every couple of months or so.

My other suggestion is that when exercising, you let her have a good trot around on a long rein at the start of the session to get her respiratory system warmed up. My mare likes to have a good clear out during this time and then is fine to work as hard as you like.
Obviously a walk on a long rein at the end is also essential to let her get her breath back. We have had our mare on this type of regime (plus a breathing supplement) for four years and she has competed successfully during that time. The only moment's worry was after a weekend in a deep-littered show stable - do watch out for this if you're competing away from home.

 

[tangotime]

Whilst you seem to have good management in place for your horse, do bear in mind that your barn neighbors also play a role. It's no good to eliminate dust in your box, if the horse next door is on dusty straw or fed dry hay. Unfortunately, you might not have much influence on that.

 

[finefeathers1]

Get her scoped to see if its an allergy. My cob had persistent RAO during the spring, summer and early autumn. I've spent nearly £1,000 on vets bills in the last year and am now trying to claim on my insurance. Basically, he is on the same sort of regime as your horse, except he is pretty happy to be out 24/7, but the silly sod has gone and got a dose of mud fever,so he is in.

You are doing all the right things, as was I. We tried ventipulmin, but it only worked for a while, we tried keepting him out 24/7, but he was still wheezing and puffing. Got the vet out and he told me that it was possible it was an allergy. We had him scoped and the poor boy is allergic to grass pollen and his lung were filled with huge quantities of white gunge. He then had to have 2 weeks of steriods etc and he is now fit as a fiddle. Have been left with a good stock of inhalers for him, as he will need it in the spring. He is now as fit as a fiddle and naughtier than ever. Its cost me a lot of dosh, but I've got my old horse back.

My vet also recommended keeping your horse as fit as posible, which I know is very difficult if they are wheezing and coughing. Good luck, Ih ope your horse is ok.

 

[Persephone]

Thanks Tangotime. The only other horse in the barn is kept the same way (on pain of death lol)

 

[Persephone]

That is really interesting Theoryx!

She was scoped a couple of weeks ago which confirmed an upper respiratory tract infection. There were a couple of pools of extremely purulent nastiness around the epyglotis (sp.) A wash was taken but the results came back as nothing detected.

She has since had a course of something powerful by IM daily! Can't remember the name, but she is still coughing to date.

She is being scoped again tomorrow as the vet is now thinking RAO. The first time though he thought it all looked very good apart from the gunk. No thickening etc etc.

I don't know what to think?

ETS she has had a two week course of Sputulosin too.

 

[Persephone]

Thanks Ironhorse

I have actually just put all my rugs away as I am very guilty of leaving them in a pile.

It is about time I did cobwebs again too.

So easy to overlook stuff isn't it!

 

[tangotime]

Sometimes, it's worthwhile changing hay for haylage, as it tends to contain less fungal (mould) spores. Whilst it can have other causes most horses with RAO are allergic to mould/fungal spores and steaming or soaking hay "glues" them to the hay so they can't be inhaled, but that effect is lost once the hay dries out.

You are best off to discuss your horse with your vet, but allergy testing is generally a waste of time or money, unless you are completely able to avoid the allergen, with is virtually never the case as they are environmental and the treatment of RAO is the same irrespective of the underlying cause.

 

[Boxers]

What is RAO?

 

[tangotime]

Recurrent airway obstruction, used to be call COPD (= chronic obstructive pulmonary disease)

 

[Suzie86]

my horse was always fine, but had a bit of a cough when i first started trotting which i just put down to his dusty straw bed. He was put on loan for a few months, and came back to his owners little yard (I dont officially own him, had him on loan 8 years) and developed what seemed like a severe form of RAO. Living out and coughing constantly and distressed it was horrible. He had the vet out repeatedly and they said it was asthma. He was on steroids, ventapulmin, was scoped etc etc. he did get better on this but was still coughing a fair bit, just not in as much distress. I took him back on and moved him. After the first day he hasnt coughed since. Turns out he was just allergic to something at his owners yard. £1000 of vets bills going through insurance and the vets never once suggested this GRRR!!!!!!!! Point of long and boring story - has she always been like this or has it recently developed, does that coincide with anything else like moving yards or fields etc?

 

[ester]

suzie I dont think its fair to say that the vets didnt mention it. Most RAO is due to an allergy of some sort, some are more summer triggered and some are more winter triggered.

My thought that Ps case is perhaps a bit different I think that star got an infection and that has triggered the RAO, whether that is now attributable to an allergy now is hard to say but possible.

P, I know you said barn has good airflow, does the stable itself. No chance of knocking through some air bricks in the other side of her stable wall for example (we did this for one of the worse ponies.)

 

[Persephone]

Yes the barn and stable have good airflow.

It's breezeblock one side with the other parts closed by Yorkshire shuttering from shoulder height.. We open it all up completely on the long side 99 % of the time as it's all on hinges. Just have to be careful in high winds.

The vet is of the opinion that there is plenty of square footage and airflow. I could get some airbricks put in too though. That's a really good idea.

I am finding Haylage for one horse to be practically impossible without buying the small bales which would be ridiculous. I do have a contact now for medium bales locally, so hope that comes to something.

Steaming actually neutralises the spores in the hay as long as you get it hot enough for long enough. She never ever coughs when eating her hay, even when it is dry the next morning.

This is what is bugging me so much. She occasionally coughs on leaving the stable, that's fine, I don't worry about that. She occasionally coughs after an initial hoon in the field, again fine. As far as I'm concerned that is not a problem, change in humidity from in to out, first exertion etc, etc.

This is naughty I know, but I have been there for 3 hours tonight. It was peeing down so I brought her in and put her bed back down with her in the stable, old bed down, two new bales of shavings down, yesterdays dry steamed hay to munch on, had her tea from the floor. Not one hint of a cough.

So why oh why, does she cough as she is eating her breakfast? It's exactly the same as she has for tea, freshly made, fed from the floor, but she will cough once or twice whilst eating it and then maybe a few times afterwards.

I am just trying to get this all straight in my head before the Vet comes tomorrow. What the hell am I missing?

 

[SO1]

My pony suffers from this in the autumn he does not have a cough but has asthma- lives out so must be allergic to some autumn plant or pollen as fine rest of the year.

You sound like you are doing all the right things - did this suddenly come on - have you been at the yard a long time? If the horse has been fine for years and you have been at the same yard for a long time then it is very strange. Could the horse still be suffering from a virus - having had a human cough myself once that look a couple of months to clear up perhaps the horse version might also linger a while.

If it is an allergy it does not have to be dust it could be anything so even if you are doing all you can to reduce the dust or mould in hay it could be something completely different.

I feed my pony a breathing supplement, make sure he does not get too hot he is alot better when he is clipped (his breathing seems a lot worse when it is warm and he is growing his thicker coat) and also I check his nose - there have been times when he nose is full of dust or pollen - so I clean his nose with a baby wipe. Also if you groom your horse do so outside his stable so any dust from his body will not linger in the stable.

Mine had antibiotics & ventipulmin this year as he got a bit poorly with a chest infection however it cleared up within a week.

If it is only a morning problem could it be that it takes a while for whatever it is to build up and cause an allergic reaction. Some horses are allergic to alfalfa so possibly look at what you are feeding as well.

 

[ester]

P I think she coughs when she has her breakfast not tea as she has been in all night.

Not necessarily because of anything in the environment but because she is stationary and therefore everything (including her mucus) is just sort of sitting. when she has tea she has been out so shifted it all a bit.

or she has worked out that if she coughs you dont ride

and you dont ride at nights so she doesnt worry about it then.