What caused it?

[Ladybird L]

My asthma horse has just had another episode… I’m struggling to figure out what caused it?
She’s been on shavings and haylage for nearly a month, no problems. Until Monday, she coughed once on our hack, and on Tuesday she was full blown asthma. The only difference I can think of is that I started introducing some new cubes into her dinner a few days ago. Is it possible they caused it? What else could it be??

 

[SEL]

There's a lot of mould spores around at the moment - my little pony is wheezing badly and she never usually has a problem at this time of year.

Although I'd be taking out the cubes just to reduce my stress levels in your position - how is your mare today?

 

[Ladybird L]

The cubes are gone!! I’m not taking any chances

She’s still puffing a bit this morning..

 

[Highmileagecob]

Check the shavings. Are they nice and pale, or is there any sign of darker coloured hardwood shavings in the mix? I've had good results using Loratadine anti histamines for my boy over this summer. Granted, the pollen has been damped down a lot (!) but one 10mg tablet per 100kg bodyweight once a day has seen him hardly cough, and no distended nostrils.

 

[Ladybird L]

Like this?

Light vs dark?

 

[Exasperated]

My asthma horse has just had another episode… I’m struggling to figure out what caused it?
She’s been on shavings and haylage for nearly a month, no problems. Until Monday, she coughed once on our hack, and on Tuesday she was full blown asthma. The only difference I can think of is that I started introducing some new cubes into her dinner a few days ago. Is it possible they caused it? What else could it be??

Are you somewhere foggy and mild at present?!
After several cold nights (frosts) and sharp winds, changed Sunday / Monday night - is currently very still, temperatures swung upwards by 15 degrees, clammy fog hanging about - we’ve now got a couple of calves suspect pneumonia, all the doors and windows wide to optimise fresh air, with horse definitely ‘outside’ until it changes again.

 

[MidChristmasCrisis]

I’ve heard a couple of ponies on the yard coughing in this muggy warm wet weather

 

[Ladybird L]

Are you somewhere foggy and mild at present?!
After several cold nights (frosts) and sharp winds, changed Sunday / Monday night - is currently very still, temperatures swung upwards by 15 degrees, clammy fog hanging about - we’ve now got a couple of calves suspect pneumonia, all the doors and windows wide to optimise fresh air, with horse definitely ‘outside’ until it changes again.

This is exactly the weather at the moment.

 

[PurBee]

Like this?
View attachment 148539
Light vs dark?

Softwoods are usually used for shavings. Theyre faster growing than hardwoods and a more sustainable use for bedding waste materials.
The colour difference we see with some shavings is likely due to the difference between softwood inner and outer wood. The heartwood of some softwood trees can be darker than the outer lighter layer. Many mature fir trees have a darker heartwood, which are the dominant use for chipboard and bedding materials.

Hardwoods are too precious a resource these days to be used for waste materials like animal bedding and are usually instead reserved for highend furniture making, instrument making etc. The cost of hardwood is now eye-watering and would make a bag of shavings £30+!

 

[Ladybird L]

Softwoods are usually used for shavings. Theyre faster growing than hardwoods and a more sustainable use for bedding waste materials.
The colour difference we see with some shavings is likely due to the difference between softwood inner and outer wood. The heartwood of some softwood trees can be darker than the outer lighter layer. Many mature fir trees have a darker heartwood, which are the dominant use for chipboard and bedding materials.

Hardwoods are too precious a resource these days to be used for waste materials like animal bedding and are usually instead reserved for highend furniture making, instrument making etc. The cost of hardwood is now eye-watering and would make a bag of shavings £30+!

So shavings are good then, thank you

 

[PurBee]

So shavings are good then, thank you

I tend to find the amount of dust in shavings varies. They all say kiln dried and dust extracted, but still there’s always some dust. Mine are ok with some dusty bedding, but i imagine a horse with cough/lung issues would likely react to it.

As exasperated mentioned, the weather here has just turned from being fairly dry and crisp with night frosts, and returned to muggy, damp air with mild temperatures. Its been quite a drastic change of conditions so maybe has caused a trigger for yours?

 

[Ladybird L]

I tend to find the amount of dust in shavings varies. They all say kiln dried and dust extracted, but still there’s always some dust. Mine are ok with some dusty bedding, but i imagine a horse with cough/lung issues would likely react to it.

As exasperated mentioned, the weather here has just turned from being fairly dry and crisp with night frosts, and returned to muggy, damp air with mild temperatures. Its been quite a drastic change of conditions so maybe has caused a trigger for yours?

They don’t seem really dusty to me, but it’s definitely possible I suppose, although she’s been on them a month so I don’t see why she’d start having issues now…

Yes it’s the same here, so could be that.

 

[Exasperated]

This is exactly the weather at the moment.

Not good conditions for animal respiration, they’d almost be better tied up on the yard than standing inside.
Can you turn her out anywhere? Or do anything to increase air movement through her stable? Replace half door with a breast bar? Punch a head-height hole through the back wall? Ceiling fans are no good with shavings, either.
Even if your shavings are usually ok (and all brands have some dust), this weather will aggravate any sensitivity.

 

[Highmileagecob]

Like this?
View attachment 148539
Light vs dark?

Yep! The dark shavings are likely to be from a hardwood. My ex was a joiner and he used to go to work laden with face masks if he was working with hardwoods. He said they were nasty and got on his chest. Gather a handful and see if they have a different smell to the clean pale stuff.

 

[Highmileagecob]

Our yard used to source shavings from a man who collected waste from the sawmill. First quality was always pale softwood, but second quality could be any old stuff. Depends on your source I suppose.

 

[Ladybird L]

Oh no! I buy them from a sawmill, he makes them especially for horses

I’ll have to out and have a smell.

 

[Ladybird L]

The light ones had a strong smell; the dark ones barely had any..

 

[Highmileagecob]

Might be as well to ask whether you are getting any hardwood, or tanelised wood in the mix. Either could cause coughing, but easy to remedy!

 

[Bonnie Allie]

As a severe asthmatic myself it’s only recently I’ve started to understand my triggers and they are NOTHING like the traditional triggers that health experts had me believe were impacting my breathing.

I’m a data geek and began tracking my peak flow against things such as sleep, amount and type of exercise, weather, pollen, seasonal changes, dust, mould.

The only consistent trigger for me was change in air pressure. In thunder storm season my peak flow would be low and asthma worse if I hadn’t had good sleep. However I could negate this by increasing my cardio exercise in the mornings and upping my preventor meds if the forecast had a cold change or storm coming through.

I mention this as it might not be pollen, dust etc - it might be something else entirely. Start tracking data and you will begin seeing patterns emerge. Then you can manage rather than just treat.

 

[CJoe]

if they are not dust extracted and designed for horses, I would avoid personally, unibed is only stuff that my asthmatic horse tolerates well

 

[PinkvSantaboots]

This warm damp is awful at the moment Louis has been puffing just walking he gets respiratory issues that are pollen and weather condition related, he struggles with sudden weather changes especially if it gets warm suddenly with no breeze and humid which is how it is at the moment.

I can imagine that will affect a horse with asthma.

I use Hunter or mega spread for mine but they mainly live out, but a horse with asthma I think I would buy something that is dust extracted, the saw mill shavings that people get round here have never been great.