My horse caughs when galloping?

Question

Hello everyone...

I have a 10-year old Quarter horse mare and she is caughing since February... She was also caughing last year and the vet came gave her some medicine and after 14-days rest she was ok, but his year is worse... we went to the clinic in April and the vet told me she is allergic to dust and needs to have wet hay, so we watered her hay but the caugh is still here... when we walk or trot it is ok, but when we gallop she starts to caugh and starts slowing down... some people told me she is spolid and that caugh is nothing, but i'm no so sure, because she is very temperament and when we are galloping with other horses she also slows down and starts to caugh... she is not loosing weight, is very happy and loves to eat ...

any ideas?

thank you so much for your suggestions

Answer 1

You might want to look into a product called Ani-Hist.  Its an antihistamine for horses that you add to their hay.  If she has seasonal allergy problems, and dust irritates her lungs, then its no wonder that she coughs when you work her harder, she has to breath heavier when you gallop her, so if her lungs are irritated, she will start to cough.  I've used Ani-Hist on horses in the past with similar problems, and had lots of luck with it.  I think its like $16 for a 45 day supply or something.

Ooh, I found it online, here's a link for it...its like taking allergy medicine for horses, and a lot cheaper than what the vet gives you:

http://www.valleyvet.com/ct_detail.html?...

or

http://www.valleyvet.com/ct_detail.html?...

Valley Vet has great supplements, I would request a catalog if you don't already have one.

Answer 2

I used to ride a horse that sounded like this.  She had asthma.  There wasn't a whole lot we could do, but there are new products out there that are available.  One thing that would also help was a longer warm up before we got to loping or galloping.  But she lived a very long happy life dispite the asthma.

Answer 3

It's not that she's spoiled or doesn't want to work.

She has heaves, or COPD.  It's kind of like asthma.  When she exercises, she's more likely to have trouble breathing and she'll cough.  I had a horse like this for years and years.  He'd always cough a bit when we started work, but warm up okay.  When the allergens were out, he'd cough so you thought he'd die of it when you tried to work him.  This was an OTTB, and he loved to run.  There was no WAY on this Earth he coughed to avoid running!

Try to figure out what the triggers are.  My horse was worse in some arenas than other (one of the show barns was absolutely terrible; I think there was some kind of mold). Try to keep her in a barn that stores the hay separately (many are reacting to the dust in hay).  Get her the best ventilated stall you can in the best ventilated barn.  If at all possible, the best situation is a run-in shelter at pasture for her.

You don't need to be afraid riding will hurt her; it generally won't.  There are treatments (ask the vet), and she should be happpy and useable for years and years.  But she's not spoiled, and the cough is real.

Good luck with her!

Answer 4

Sometimes this can be a reaction to the bit. My mum's horse has the same problem. We ordered a bitless bridle, and I think it will make a world of difference. If you want to check it out the link is bitlessbridle.com. These are not normal bitless bridles like hackamores or any of those others that could cause harm. The pressure is spread out over the entire head. This could be the answers to your prayers! Horses can't always breath properly with bits so I would recommend trying it because if you don't like it you can return it within 30 days for a full refund.

Answer 5

some horses I know do the same thing...my trainer says they just don't want to do what you are asking....or it is because of it being real dry or something...she will eventually stop if it is because of her temprate....just ignore in less you think it becomes a real problem

Answer 6

This sounds like the beginning of Heaves. You need to read up on it, see if you have anymore symptoms that follow this pattern, if so take that idea to your vet, it's a nasty thing and with Summer here and the heat on it will only get worse with time. Experts still aren't sure why some horses devlope it and others don't.  But even light work especially during this season is too much for them, it almost like Asama amplified and with strong allergies.