My horse breathes really hard?

Question

every time i run my horse even just a short lope she breathes very heavy and fast, it also takes a long time for her to stop breathing so heavy, obliviously theres a problem and i will be taking her to the vet in a few days, but does any one know what might be wrong, i would just like to know if it needs vet attention asap

Answer 1

My bet would be allergies. In allergy season we give our horse vet prescribed antihistamines and t does much better. If you have just moved it to a different location, that can make allergies flare up more.

Answer 2

she MAY be a roarer...google it and you can learn more about it to see if she fits the charasteristics...

Answer 3

google heaves

Answer 4

your horse might have heaves. My horse had a minor case of heaves and we had to go to the vet and get steroids for him. Every once in a while he will get a flare up. I've elimated all things in his environment that could be causing it, dusty hay etc.

Hope that helped some!

Answer 5

it could be anything.

is she overweight or unfit?

Answer 6

Please have a vet check him out.  There could be a probably with his lungs.

Answer 7

Does her abdomen seem to draw up on breathing out?  If so it could be a sign of copd - chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.  This would happen at rest too and she will start to show more defined muscles in that area.

It could be she is just unfit.

It could be allergies - ie pollen, hay dust etc - yes, horses can get asthma too.  They can be nebulised though it is a lengthy process.  She would need to be kept on shavings and all her hay and feed must be damp before she can having it.  And probably long term medication.  

From your language I guess you come from USA and I know that you often use barn stabling.  She would be better off in an outside stable, away from other horses kept on straw and fed dry hay.  When sweeping the yard you could try damping it down before sweeping to stop dust.  Also a good way of making it easier to sweep and keeps they yard cleaner.

I would get the horse to the vet sooner rather than later!

Answer 8

she may be really un fit or had a head injury, but a horse at my stables does that in the canter every stride sounds like he is sneezing but if u work her and she gets a nose bleed head injury for sure, i wouldnt worry too much if it gets worse call a vet or someone

Answer 9

Well, she could just be out of shape, or she might have a condition affecting her heart or lung function. If she continues to breathe heavily when she's at rest, I'd get the vet out asap.  If she breathes normally at rest, it's probably okay to wait, unless she develops other symptoms as well.