Respiratory Issues- Still no change !? :(

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Dressage Monster

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I posted a while ago about my 12 year old mare having some respiratory issues. The problem being that during schooling ( Dressage) she seems to struggle with breathing and has a wheeze ? she also has the same issue when she is eating her dinner ? She has been on Ventapulmin, no change. She has had a scope which showed slight inflammation of the Larynx so we had a course of steroids, still no change. I have hoovered (yes hoovered!!0 her stable so there is no dust, she’s on soaked hay and newspaper bedding. She has had 3 weeks off and still no change. It does effect her way of going as she becomes very lethargic and heavy in the hand obviously as she is finding it hard to breath. The scope showed no sign of her being a roarer. We are having an active scope done in the new year ( should be fun !!:eek:) where i work her in an outline whilst they look to see if there is any obstructions. She has had this problem now for around 2 months and did seem to start with a cough but you would have thought that the steroids would clear up any inflammation left ? Any ideas anyone ?? other that putting her in foal ! -0 just to clarify she doesn’t have the problem when in the field or when hacking out.
 
Hi im sorry to hear your mares still not well-you say shes fine in the field so would it be possible to let her live out well rugged? maybe would help her even if it was short term ?x:)
 
Yes i have considered that, im just having trouble getting through all that bubble wrap and cotton wool !! :D

If i was 100% that it was a dust thing i would do without doubt but im just not sure and neither is my vet otherwise why would she not do it when out hacking, resting or doing anything else ? it seems to be when her neck is in extreme(?) positions, like round in an outline or really stretched out, she may do it when grazing but im not there to hear it :D
 
Yes i understand its hard to sleep at night when theyre left out!! it would definatly be healthier , have you ever heard of a steamer im sure ive heard of someone using one of these on a horse that had a cough but nothing specific was found, maybe you could rig one up? i think in the old days they used to pour hot water over hessian sacking in like a nosebag set up with menthol or something -im sure there are better ways of doing it nowadays!!:D
 
My horse had something very similar, he started with a cough when being ridden. Then he started making a noise when being ridden. He had ventapulmin and antibiotics no change, then he had batril still no change so he was scoped, he had a small inflamed lump on his larynx. A biopsy was taken which didn't tell us anything so he went to hospital to have the lump removed. That was successful and all the lump was removed and the area around it burnt to kill any cells. The lump was sent off to Liverpool and results said it wasn't cancer. About a month later his breathing became noisy again, I heard him coughing in the field and he had grass coming out of his nose. The vet thought it was choke but as he ate his tea ok I told them to come out. He was scoped again but sadly the lump had regrown but was now part of his anatomy and impossible to remove, sadly he was PTS. Hope your horse makes a full recovery x
 
how well ventilated is her stable? If she's in an American barn type, could you move her to an outside stable? Also - how much turn out does she get, has this been reduced recently?
 
I 've had and am still having similar experiences with my girl, so I really do know what you're going through. My mares scoping results were good and her lungs sound good but but still lethargic. Anyway, bloods taken showed she was anaemic and low cell count ( wondered if this had anything to do with steroids) ??
I googled equine anaemia symptoms and they were not dissimilar to respiratory probs, COPD etc ie raised respiratory rate, listless etc. My girl has good food, lives out a lot , plenty of grass etc, so I am at a loss at how she became anaemic at all.
Perhaps maybe worth asking vet for blood test if you are having them out again - you never know.
 
All food for thought, Thanks all :) She is out for at least 8-10 hours a day and has a outdoor stable. It really is very frustrating !! Will keep you all updated in the new year after her active scope. I think i will consider another round of blood tests though just to be on the safe side.:)
 
Going though this at the moment, but when my horse was scoped vet said she cannot tell if the larynx is an issue when they're sedated as it's relaxed but she could see the 'sludge' in his lungs (scope and trach wash), we've done ventupulmin and are doing steroids, next step is scoping when awake and a total change of management (out 24/7).
 
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