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10 TIPS FOR CARING FOR THE OLDER HORSE
by American Association of Equine Practitioners
RESPIRATORY DISEASE IN THE HORSE (PUBLISHED ORIGINALLY IN 'CREATURE CORNERS')
by Reggie Tschorn, DVM
VETERINARY DIAGNOSIS OF BACK PAIN
by Reggie Tschorn, DVM
CURRENT VACCINE PROTOCOLS
by Gregory Dowd, BVetMed, MRCVS
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Respiratory Disease in the horse (published originally in 'Creature Corners') by Reggie Tschorn, DVM |
Question: I recently was given a 20-year-old mare. She seems healthy, but when she breathes her sides push in and out and sometimes she coughs.
What you are describing, sounds like it could be a condition known as COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease) also known as ‘Heaves’. The old term ‘Heaves’ derives its name from the fact that the horse has to forcibly use its abdominal and respiratory muscles to push air out and pull air in. The owner may notice a large effort from the flanks, and in advanced cases, there will be a distinct line of muscling along the abdomen that astute horse traders know as a ‘Heave line’. In severe cases, a distinct whistling noise can be heard from the nostrils, referred to as an ‘expiratory wheeze’. As you can imagine, these horses will have poor endurance, and will often have a dry hacking cough.
Horses tend to have fairly sensitive respiratory systems and they can be easily affected by dust and mold as well as other chemicals and allergens that are common in their environment. Horses with allergies can react much like a person with asthma, with the airways becoming so inflamed that the passage of air is difficult. In advanced stages, lung tissue actually becomes less elastic and loses its alveoli (the tiny air sacs inside the lungs), and hence the ability to inhale and exhale requires more effort. At this phase, the condition could be compared to emphysema in humans. This disease is not curable in the latter stages, hence immediate attention to a dry cough or heavy breathing may be needed to prevent this condition from worsening.
Heaves can be manageable, both through good stable keeping and the use of medications. While horses that have this condition may not be suitable for racing, eventing or endurance work, often they can be used for pleasure riding and less strenuous work if maintained by medications and good management.
Here are some of the important factors that you and your veterinarian will need to determine.
- It is critical to make sure the symptoms that you are seeing are not a result of an active condition, such as a Flu, Rhinopneumonitis infection, pneumonia, pleuritis, or a collection of other breathing conditions that could be immediately life threatening. It is important to gather all the facts before you can come up with a treatment plan that will be of the greatest benefit to your horse.
- Your veterinarian will take a medical history and do a physical exam on your horse. A heavey horse will have an assortment of abnormal respiratory sounds that can be heard through a stethoscope. He will probably perform a ‘CO2 suppression test’, where the horse is made to breathe into a bag in order to increase his respiratory effort, which in turn increases the respiratory sounds and makes them more easily heard in early stages. Since heaves can start as an allergy, your vet may want to do blood work, including a complete blood count, to check for the presence of infection or evidence of allergic reactions. A fecal exam should be done to rule out the possibility strongyles, a parasite whose larvae can migrate through the lungs. There is also a diagnostic procedure called a Bronchial Alveolar Lavage (BAL) in which sterile fluid is injected through a tube that is placed deep in the lung tissue, and then collected and analyzed for cells, fungus or larvae.
- Special stable management is necessary to maintain horses with respiratory problems. Your veterinarian can help you assess your barn for possible conditions that may affect your horse. The most critical is to keep the affected animal in a dust free environment. These horses tend to do better in a situation where they are outside 24 hours a day, with available shelter from a run in shed. If they must be stabled indoors, a clean, well-ventilated stall is essential. Any urine or ammonia smell in the barn can be very irritating to the horse’s entire respiratory tract.
- Feeding top quality hay is essential. The last few years have been very challenging for hay farmers in the northeast! Good horse hay should be greenish in color and have a sweet pleasant smell and should not have been rained on, If you open a bale and take a big sniff of it, it should not make you cough or sneeze in any way. There are other subtle techniques for finding mold in hay. These include shaking the hay outside in bright sunlight, observing any clouds of dust or mold, and also rubbing the hay between your hands. Mold often leaves a ‘soapy’ feel on your fingers. If you have any question about the quality of your hay, you should thoroughly wet it with a hose, or it can be actually dunked in a tub full of water. (Since some respiratory conditions are the result of an actual allergy to specific spores, wetting the hay is not a remedy for bad hay, but it can help minimize the free floating dust particles). Buy the best hay you can, and store it in a well-ventilated mow, not on a dirt or concrete floor. Round bales tend to be dusty and moldy, at least on the outside layers. Even if the hay on the inside of the bale is good, the horses tend to stir up fine particles which are then inhaled as they sift through the hay.
- Bedding can also be a source of irritants. Be wary of extremely dry, dusty sawdust. Straw must be clean and have a shiny appearance. There are many new bedding products on the market that tend to minimize dust. These included pelleted wood products, shredded newspaper, and peat moss. While the use of rubber matting in the stall can cut down on the need for bedding, make sure that you use enough bedding to absorb urine and contain odors.
- Weather and time of year can play a big factor in the severity of symptoms. The same weather patterns that trigger hay fever and allergy attacks in humans can do the same to your horse. There may be days that you will have to limit your horse’s exercise and not push him so hard that he inhales large volumes of pollen filled air.
- Prescription medications can include steroids or NSAIDs (like Bute or Banamine) to reduce inflammation of the airways. Drugs like Albuterol and Ventapulmin open up the airways and allow air to pass more easily. Since all these drugs can have potential side effects, it’s important to understand their use and dosing requirements. Please do not be tempted to use drugs prescribed for someone else’s horse!
- There are many supplements and herbal products on the market that are supposed to aid in respiratory health. While these can be a helpful adjunct to prescription medication, there has been little testing, and no regulations involved in their manufacture.
In conclusion, COPD is a common equine malady. If it is caught early and managed properly, it is possible to prevent the end stage condition that you described above in your question. Horses can experience acute symptoms before the lungs become permanently damaged so it is important to identify the problem as early as possible. If this is done, the likelihood of permanent damage is lessened.
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