Respiratory problem

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Blimpy

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I've owned my 7 year old ISH for about a year and a half now. When I first got him he was lazy as anything but always did as asked (sometimes at a slower pace than you'd like). Anyway he fittened up and started going well and won a couple of pre-novice events that year. However towrds the end of the year, he started to feel not quite right. Nobody could put their finger on it and we put it down to him needing a break. So turned him out in the field for his holidays over the winter. Took him back in in the Spring and he seemed fine. Showjumped really well and did a couple of pre-novices. Then one day in the arena he sat down on me and refused to go anywhere. All he would do was buck when i'd try to get him going. Gave up eventually and put him in the stable. Almost straight away he started coughing, really harsh deep coughs. Turned out he had a bad chest infection. Vet came out, gave him antibiotics. Improved a bit but still not right and started to get worse. Had vet out again, scoped him and bascically he told me that horse was trying it on and i needed to take him cantering to clear out his lungs
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So same day, took him out to the field and cantered him. Poor horse nearly collapsed. Decided to take him for a second opinion. Had lung wash done and he had very bad chest infection. wAS taken in to the vets and given intravenous antibiotic it was so bad. Couple weeks later started riding him again. Alot better but still not right. So had allergy test done. He was allergic to wheat, mites and certain type of pollen. All removed (as far as practical). Horse improved alot and got out to two more events where he went very well. Then things went downhill again. Couldn't get him to trot one circle in the sand. Thought he needed a break so turned him out for a couple months.

Have him back in now and he was going well up until about two weeks ago. His energy levels have dropped and he gets out of breadth after hardly any work. Vet is stumped as to what the problem is. He scopes fairly clear (in that he doesn't have an infection) but the oxygen doesn't seem to transfer well from lungs into his blood. He's never really coughed much either. Since he had the lung infection he's only ever coughed 3 or 4 times. This only happens to him after his lungs have been put under a certain amount of pressure, and the amount he's able to cope with seems to be decreasing. He's fine when he comes into work after a break. Everyone is at a loss as to where to go now with him. He's a talented honest horse but at the moment he's like a plod to ride. Anyone ever hear of anything remotely similar to this before? I know this is very long but hard to explain all his problems! Any input greatly appreciated!
 
It sounds to me like he's got a version of COPD/RAO from the chest infection, but i don't know why a vet wouldn't be able to diagnose this?! but there's obviously something stopping his lungs working properly.

i would try winergy ventilate. i know its pretty expensive (i think £30 is quid a month) but the racehorse trainers i used to deal with all swore by it, and its meant to be better than ventipulmin for opening up the airways.
 
i would get a second opinion i know a short but straight to the point reply, at a guess you turn him out to have a break, but he is stabled when he comes back into work, may be there is a problem with the stable environment which is effecting his lungs it is a long term chronic problem? so may be stable in a crew barn? might solve the problem
 
Have just started him on winergy ventilate. It is expensive alright but glad to hear it has had some results!

He is stabled in a very airy stable on rubber matting and paper. Its washed out every day so its very clean. I tried riding him off the field last year. He was never near a stable but he still wasn't right. Once the work load increased he couldn't breath properly even when out.

I don't understand why the vets can't diagnose either. He's been examined by a good few different ones at this stage and none were able to tell me what was actually wrong with him and how to help him....
 
Respiratory problems very hard for vets to diagnose or know what to do with as sometimes they just dont present any treatable symptoms ie infections.
My horse went years on broncodilators, steroids etc but nothing had any long term effect. Eventually against vets advice we put him on NAF respirator , gave him as much hacking as possible and followed all usual precautions, such as soaked hay, dust free shavings etc. and several years down the line, he's happy and healthy the majority of the time.
He's sensitive to certain pollens (mainly tree pollens) and he has a short course of ventapulmin to just lift him at peak times.
Don't give up hope follow your instincts and you will soon learn to 'read' your horses breathing and know what to do.
 
I have to say I agree with Jencash, and it sounds like some form of COPD/RAO. I know when my horse had a bad infection the vet advised us to put him out for three months and after that start very slow rehab work because he feared that bringing him back into work too soon would cause major damage to his lungs.
I'd go with getting a second opinion.
 
How frustrating.

At this stage I would be inclined to ask for a referral to see a medicine specialist who can fully investigate your horses problem. The worst case scenario is that he has sustained chronic damage to his lungs as a result of the infection. This could be assessed by xraying his chest, but he will need to go to a hospital with a powerful xray machine to do this.

A specialist will be able to assess him and provide the best possible plan for his rehabilitation/management. There may be an allergic component to this but I would expect there to be evidence of this in the tracheal was when he was re-scoped.

If he's struggling to work then I'd rest him until you can get a specialist to see him, there's no point pushing him if you know he's not right. The vet who told you to canter him to get things moving was so so wrong in the advice he gave you.

Hope that's useful and that you manage to sort him out.
 
Thanks for that. Think that's the route I will go down alright. He needs someone who really knows what they're talking about at this stage. It's unfair on him to keep trying to ride him when he's down in the dumps. Plus I could prob be doing more damage to him by putting pressure on him. Thanks for all the advice.
 
ive just learnt recently,as my mare has breathing problems,i traced her history and as foal she had a heavy worm burden.she was diagnosed as having RAO,she has had a very bad chest infection her respiratory rate was 40 a minute are vet said she was very ill,this was treated she made a good recovery,she had to have ventipulmin another time,the last 2 years have been good,we feed haylage,fresh garlic,baileys lo-cal,ive noticed shes a lot better if kept in work all the time,it helps her lung function,and avoid dusthave a look at this,, www.completerider.com [roundworms]
 
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