Horse condition referred to in the Black Beauty movie?

Question

What is the condition referred to in the Black Beauty movie (the one with Sean Bean), after Ginger's race, when she's coughing and her sides (around the ribs) are white , and the one man says "You've broken her-- she can't breathe properly"? I have seen horses with white sides like that, and I'd like to know what causes that and where I can learn more about it. Is it COPD? If so, why can I find nothing about white sides being a symptom of COPD?

Thanks very much for your time.

Answer 1

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a lung disease that resembles human asthma. The condition is also known as heaves, recurrent airway obstruction, broken wind, emphysema, chronic bronchitis or small airway disease.

COPD is common in countries with cold climates, where horses are kept in barns for prolonged periods of time and where hay is often mouldy. Horses that suffer from the condition are usually allergic to mould particles in hay dust, although other allergens such as pollens, chemicals, microbes and substances found in foods, medications and the environment can also trigger the condition.

COPD is most often seen in mature horses (usually seven and older) that are stabled during the winter months. It is rarely apparent in warm, dry climates where horses are kept outside all year. COPD often causes the premature end to a horse’s athletic career.

Answer 2

It is broken wind.  It means that the horse is strained on the lungs because of not being trained properly.  It's not the same as COPD.  COPD is Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disorder and is where the horse is allergic to spores in hay and bedding.  This is also known as the heaves.  Kind of like asthma.

Answer 3

It was the condition which used to be called "broken wind"- or COPD, or RAO, if you want to use a more modern medical term. In Ginger's case, she was forced to run a long steeplechase or point to point race without ever being physically trained or prepared for it- her owner was only interested in the money and the glory of it, he could have cared less about his horse or her well being. The exertion and stress of trying to keep up with the other runners and finish was what damaged Ginger's lungs and destroyed her ability to breathe normally. After that one run, she never raced again, and she was eventually sold on, as the book indicates. Beauty would not see her again until he was in London working as a cab horse for Jerry Barker- and by that time, the poor mare was in dire shape. The point of this whole thing was to show how cruel people can be to both horses and each other when all they can think about is money or fame. Ginger paid a huge price for her owner's stupidity, and ultimately, so did her friends.

The man in the movie who said " You've broken her" was Lord W- Ginger's riders' father. This was the same person who would ultimately decide to sell both her and Beauty at different times.  

Answer 4

I always thought in the movie she had the problem because the stupid rider/owner never trained her enough to perform at such a level and she was out of shape.  But it could have another thing added to it?

Answer 5

I am in the horse racing industry. Ive heard the term "broken them" plenty of times. It can be used to describe a medical issue but is mostly used as a "slang".

It means that your horse was not properly fit to do the task that was asked from it. For example, say you only jog a horse once a week and decide to race them. after the race chances are they will be "broken" meaning that they are extremely overly exhausted.

Its hard to explain in words but for a human example. Say you take a 300lbs person and tell them to run 10 miles. By the end of that run they will probably be too tired to stand, drink, eat or function properly. They were "broken".

Answer 6

I believe it was stress failure (stress induced lung failure) with pulmonary edema.  It is a condition in racehorses brought on by overexertion, and has nothing to do with RAO (new name that replaced COPD formerly thought to exist, means recurrent airway obstruction), or heaves (also an antiquated term now).

Answer 7

i heard of "heaves" in horses.Its similar to peoples asthma.

You could google it:heaves is maybe the old name for the same disease COPD?