Talk to me about COPD

sidesaddlegirl

sidesaddlegirl

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Wigston, Leicestershire
www.sidesaddlegirl.co.uk
What is it and how do I deal with it?

Hattie coughed up bloody mucus this morning in her stable and has been dripping a creamy discharge for the past two weeks since I got her. I've been reading about COPD and from all that i've read, it sounds bang on with what has been going on.

Her last loaner used to soak her hay and had her on a straw bedding (her stable was also facing an open wall of the barn. Then when she came back off of loan, her owner started just feeding her regular unsoaked hay which I have been doing as well for the past two weeks since I got her but I've been having the feeling that she's allergic to dust or something by how she starts coughing when I first start riding and how she coughs in the stable.

She doesn't cough in the field but when I school her in the indoor menage she coughs at the beginning so I guess I'm going to have to start using the outdoor one which has rubber shavings!

I use normal wood shavings in the stable but they are dusty so I took everything out of her stable this morning and replaced it with straw, wiped down all the walls with a wet sponge. I have a traditional stable with stalls facing outside so she does get good ventilation (I don't have any top doors to the stables).

I just read about soaking hay and plan to start soaking it tomorrow to cut down on dust but have just read that straw bedding is bad too but I don't have any rubber mats to put in her stable as an alternative. What else can I use then? Do I need to call the vet out for this or is it something that I can manage myself? We're not doing anything strenuous, just low levels of dressage and hacks.
 
i would call the vet and get a true diagnosis 1st!!Do all you can whilst waiting for vet to come out...numerous beddings available..shredded paper is fab...get all ya friends shredding
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soak hay well or put onto haylage..turn out as much as possible,i know alot of people that have had horses with copd,and they have left them living out which managed the problem fantastically
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She could just have a virus...i wouldnt ride her until vet has been to have a look
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Hija,

It really depends on her level of COPD. I would call the vet and get their advice. River has COPD and has to live out and cannot have hay - even soaked, but his is pretty severe. He also had an injection of Ventapaulin and whilst he was stabled had a powdered Ventapaulin in his feed to ease his breathing.

If she is coughing this much I really would advise getting the vet - just so you can get a handle on it.

Good luck and let me know how you get on - PM me if you want any further info.
 
When I was at uni doing Speech Therapy I had a placement on the stroke unit in the local hospital. My clinician was very impressed when I could rattle off that COPD was chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder. She was not best pleased when I said I would change the patient to a dust free bed and soak his hay...
 
COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disorder) is an asthmatic type allergic reaction to aspergillus fumigatus (sp?) fungal spores which are carried in the hay/bedding and inhaled. Keep the environment as dust free as possible, soaking hay, dust extracted shavings, good ventilation, maximum turn out time etc.
Straw isn't a good bedding choice for COPD has it has large quantities of fungal spores. Sufferers are more susceptible to secondary bacterial respiratory infections so keep an eye on the discharge, if it isn't clear or is green this is a sign of infection.
Severe cases can be treated with steroids and inhalers, I'd get the vet out to confirm and discuss a regime it isn't a problem for 90% of cases but needs managing.
 
I would have the vet out promptly if there is blood in the mucous.

My Dales pony had COPD complete with heave line.

She was on Bedmax shavings and Horsehage but still used to get flare ups. She was on Ventipulmin and Sputulosin as required.

Holly never dripped mucous and never had blood in it either. She would hawk it out. It was so viscous you could roll it up from the floor on a piece of paper and show it to the vet (they loved me!) It used to be a yellow/greenish colour and probably £ 2 coin size.

Sorry if that sounds a bit rough but it sounds like you need a proper diagnosis ASAP.

Jo x
 
Just a not to say, Holly was a severe case because she had a cleft palate, which would occassionally let food go down to her lungs. This would then result in a lung infection. That is why it was so severe.

Jo x
 
Ask your vet before the COPD gets any worse, they will have the best solution. We have a pony who we nearly lost through COPD, he got it from being next to a field of carrots which were mulched with straw which got wet and mouldy. We had a fantastic vet, tried everything and in the end imported an inhaler spacer device from Canada (I am going back around 7/8 years, you can now get them in the UK I believe) - our vet sorted this for us and we were able to obtain it through our insurance - we used this with a normal human inhaler - salbutamol twice daily and a steroid inhaler beclazone once a week. We changed to shavings and haylage but as the pony is also very prone to laminitis we have to watch him like a hawk and when he starts looking a bit sore (he no longer gets fat or chubby even) we put him on hi fi lite twice a day and soaked hay as he also gets squitty if he is starved so we have to keep his gut working. He was on the inhaler for about three years but, touch wood, he no longer needs it apart from if it is dry and dusty (yes he is high maintenance but he has been such a little star for 11 years he is still worth it and we love him to bits!)
 
Hatties isn't green, it's like a cream color when she coughs it out. I turn her out in the morning and then bring them in about 3-4 in the afternoon but can't have her live out all winter as I wouldn't have enough grass and would have to give her hay to replace the grass! I do plan on leaving her out in the summer though. She doesn't cough all the time, it seems in the morning in the stable and a bit when I first start riding her although she didn't do it today when I rode her.

Her owner said that Haylage makes her fizzy and she's a good doer anyways so she'd just get fat on it anyways.

Yup, going to call the vet out then to be sure. I suffer from mild asthma too so I would hate to think she feels the same way I do sometimes!
 
Definitely get the vet ASAP if there is any mucky discharge, esp with blood in it. She may well need antibiotics, it sounds as if there is some infection.

COPD and straw are not a good combination. We use Aubiose, which is expensive to set up but we find it pretty economical in use.

Winergy Ventilate is working well on our old 14.2, started it on vet's recommendation and it has eliminated the need for Ventipulmin. He has soaked hay but in vile weather we can get away with steaming it without it affecting him. He has a dry cough when first trotting or cantering if he eats any dry hay.

But before working out how to alter your management, do get the vet to see her.
 
I'd get the vet out ASAP - sounds like a course or more of ventipulmin is in order!
In the mean time, soaked hay and the most dust free bedding you can get hold of, a friend of mine had success with paper another swears by easibed for there COPD horses(both have rubber mats too, mine has a slight touch, but I can use dust extracted shavings fine - she is never allowed dry hay has to be soaked, although she is on haylage right now.
And as much time out of the stable as possible.
 
Thanks guys for all the ideas and comments. I've been wanting rubber mats for some time and saw some at the tack shop today, £38 for 6' x 4' but think with Hattie being the way she is, that it's time for me to convert to them. At least then it will cut the dust down and I won't have to deep litter saving me the high cost of going through bale after bale of dust free bedding!
 
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Hatties isn't green, it's like a cream color when she coughs it out. I turn her out in the morning and then bring them in about 3-4 in the afternoon but can't have her live out all winter as I wouldn't have enough grass and would have to give her hay to replace the grass! I do plan on leaving her out in the summer though. She doesn't cough all the time, it seems in the morning in the stable and a bit when I first start riding her although she didn't do it today when I rode her.

Her owner said that Haylage makes her fizzy and she's a good doer anyways so she'd just get fat on it anyways.

Yup, going to call the vet out then to be sure. I suffer from mild asthma too so I would hate to think she feels the same way I do sometimes!

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I personally think after your last description she has a virus...my lad was the same last yr...without the blood in snot mind....call vet out and dont work her until vet has been
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From the discharge you have described I too suspect more than RAO, and best get the vet out.
Our cob has RAO and was on regular ventipulmin before we bought him. He has lived out 24/7/365 since we got him four years ago and only once had very mild problem, but has not had any medicatio for it since we got him.
 
Just bought some stable matting on Ebay so that should hopefully arrive this week. From all their positive feedback, they seem to take about 2 days to deliver.

Should I keep Hattie out 24/7 (well rugged) until the rubber matting comes and the vet can come out? She's 3/4 TB so doesn't have a heavy winter coat (only a bit more furrier than her normal summer coat) and it's currently -4 here. I have a couple of full necked heavy weight turnouts, a newmarket rambo fleece and a thermatex under rug that I can throw on her!!
 
personally i wouldnt change her routine that quickly....if you call vet in morning and mention blood in snot etc,am sure they will get someone out to you same day...or at least advise you what to do
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My horsie has a very mild case, but I treat it as if it was severe. I soak all her hay, she is beded on dust extracted shavings and because the horse next door is on straw i've put some tar poolin over the gap between stables. She only had mucus when i first got her and that was a slight green colour never with blood. I would call your vet about that. If she does cough i have some cough syrup from vital equine called Air Force which is really good, a respiritary lick may also help. It's not much to do but may make a dramatic change in her. Good luck
 
Yep the vet is definately the first call!

Rubber mats will be good too, probably save you a fortune!

If the mare goes nuts on haylage you'll have to soak hay instead. Hay being a lot cheaper too of course.

Ooh I've gone all frugal in my old age!

I hope you get it manageable soon. I guess a dust free environment will be a lot better for your asthma too. Double bonus!!

Jo x
 
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