palo1
Well-Known Member
I am looking for advice really though vet is involved and I am seeking a second opinion (will make that call in the next couple of days). My sweet mare Alw was diagnosed with mild asthma after scoping last summer. Her key symptoms were a cough and raised resp rate. She was treated with inhaled steroids and made quite a quick recovery. She was fine from about August last year to mid-April this year when she had another flare up (raised respiratory rate being the only symptom). She was treated with another 8-10 days of inhaled steroids then tapered off to a minimal dose (once daily or as needed) until about July when she was off meds and in a good way. We moved house in August; Alw has been grazing longer grass but we are higher up and really a very different environment (different trees, different grasses etc). She started to struggle: raised resp rate & poor exercise recovery so vet back again and I was advised to give her 6 weeks of increased inhaled steroids (beclamethasone or Flixatide depending on availability) and ventolin prior to exercise. I moved her off the long grass and followed vet protocol. She has been in a good amount of work and is now fit and bouncing!! I have reduced inhaled steroids as advised and Alw seems better than ever; really normal resting resp rate, good recovery rate, oodles of energy and spark and generally feeling good. BUT, and it is a big but, in the last few days she has coughed. She hasn't coughed for over a year and now, when she is feeling great in herself, she has started coughing. She doesn't cough when, for example, cantering, or trotting up hill but will sort of randomly cough...sometimes at rest, sometimes when just walking. The first cough I noticed was last weekend several hours after having a strong gallop workout.
Alw is supplemented with vit e, vit c (of the right type) and MSM. She has that in a tiny handful of chaff and nothing else. She is a healthy weight and I have worked really hard to get her fit; plenty of slow hill work progressively working up to intervals and fast work. I have tried supplements but found that generally she was better without most commercial supplements. I am really glum about this. I know coughing is not normal but I have no idea what we can try next. She is not insured and so far I have spent several thousands on scoping, vet visits, treatment. I had said to OH that we would give Alw a full year here in this new environment and try every possible management change but then we would be at the last chance saloon. I am stumped and my vet is a bit too as the original diagnosis was mild asthma that my vet felt would be relatively straightforward to manage. We are not getting something right clearly! The coughing is frustrating as tbh if if were not for that I would say I have never known the horse fitter, keener or feeling better in herself. If anyone has any insight or suggestions as to what to try in terms of vet expertise I would be really grateful! My current vet is an equine vet and seems really good; I trust her. My second opinion vet is also an equine vet - I like him a bit less but respect his experience iykwim.
Alw is supplemented with vit e, vit c (of the right type) and MSM. She has that in a tiny handful of chaff and nothing else. She is a healthy weight and I have worked really hard to get her fit; plenty of slow hill work progressively working up to intervals and fast work. I have tried supplements but found that generally she was better without most commercial supplements. I am really glum about this. I know coughing is not normal but I have no idea what we can try next. She is not insured and so far I have spent several thousands on scoping, vet visits, treatment. I had said to OH that we would give Alw a full year here in this new environment and try every possible management change but then we would be at the last chance saloon. I am stumped and my vet is a bit too as the original diagnosis was mild asthma that my vet felt would be relatively straightforward to manage. We are not getting something right clearly! The coughing is frustrating as tbh if if were not for that I would say I have never known the horse fitter, keener or feeling better in herself. If anyone has any insight or suggestions as to what to try in terms of vet expertise I would be really grateful! My current vet is an equine vet and seems really good; I trust her. My second opinion vet is also an equine vet - I like him a bit less but respect his experience iykwim.
My poor vet actually...I know what she is telling me, but I can see that she sees the concern and upset when I am discussing Alw and yet, somehow, incredibly diplomatically and with veterinary evidence to hand she reassures me that we are dealing with a mild, manageable issue. It just doesn't always feel like it I guess...And the mare means a huge amount to me. And she is a fabulous ride, a wonderful character and exceptionally beautiful and clever to boot so I just really, really want the best for her. Of course, today, I haven't heard the blummin thing cough once!! I guess at least I know what we are dealing with as generally mystery ailments are utter horse-owner torment territory.