Ask The Vet: Upper Respiratory Problems in the Sport Horse - July 08

Question: I have a 9-year-old pony mare that apparently has heaves. She started breathing hard and coughing about 3 weeks ago. I have had her since February and this is the first time any respiratory problems have shown. Her respiratory condition has been basically consistent since then, immediately after one of our rains she was pumping a little less hard. It seems that the antihistamines we are trying may be helping the breathing a little (although not the cough, she also leaks urine every time she coughs). I am in north Florida. Is this classic heaves or is there something else going on? I have been told that she looks like a mild case, but I had never personally seen heaves before. It doesn't affect her energy or activity level at all. I have no history on her prior to February, other than she went through two sales in as many months, first in Tennessee then Georgia. She has several other issues as well.

Question: i have a now 3-year-old colt that at 18 months, thought had contracted strangles.He had terrible discharge and seemed to be dying on his feet. The veterinarian cultured him and said it was not strangles. During all of his 2-year-old racing career he would scope with excessive mucus after the race and could not get his air. He was treated with everything repeated times. They did a wash and said it was resistant to everything but sulpher, but still has not recovered. He goes about 3/8 of a mile before he can no longer breath. Now he has come up with a huge open cyst under the right side of his jaw, which has now broken through the skin but is not draining. He also has what looks like raw burn spots on his coronet band and a spot on his shoulder. Is this bastard strangles? What can I do to clear him up? He also has always been given equistem.

Question: I have an 10-year-old gelding that has not raced since March of 2005. He was a bleeder. I use him for trail riding and team penning and I want to build-up his hindquarters. Will hill work, at a walk, affect his lungs and will he start to bleed again?

Question: My 10-year-old mare has laryngeal hemiplegia or "roaring," which has been a distraction when she exerts herself by the heavy winded breathing. I was told the left side of her throat is not opening and closing and stays in a simi-closed position, which causes the obstruction and thus the noise. A few weeks ago, my mare started to really labor to breathe. I took her to the vet and she was scoped. The right side of her throat was swollen and it looked as if she were breathing through a hole about the size of a soda straw. She was treated and still is treated with dexamethasone. My question, is tie-back surgery a fix for the laryngeal hemiplegia? My vet said it almost never works and the success rate is low. I would love to ride her again some day, but if I can't I would like to have her bred. I don't know if this would be a smart thing to do with her condition and if she had to take the dexamethasone again, would that abort the foal? The vet mentioned that if the problem got really bad next year, we could do a tracheostomy. I really don't like that Idea since her pasture has a tank on it and I would not be able to control her swimming in it. I would have to keep her up in a stall and don't feel like that is much quality of life. Any advice for what directions to take?

Question: I have two Tennessee Walking horses aged 13 and 16, living in southwestern Wisconsin. Both have developed a thick nasal discharge, the consistency and texture of cottage cheese. The 13-year-old, in particular, coughs for extended periods of time periodically. The 16-year-old also coughs from time to time. The coughs are not exercise induced. Bloodwork for one was completely normal. For the 13-year-old, it indicates "minor"muscle breakdown and ehrliciosis. Six doses of Doxycycline have been administered, but the cough and nasal discharge are not improving. I will, however, finish the treatment. The nasal and cough specimens indicate "normal flora" however, white blood cells are forming to fight off "some type of bacteria." My vet consulted with the UW vet school and they suggest penicillan for strep. My vet contacted the lab that said they tested for strep with negative results. What could this possibly be? How do I proceed?

Question: Here in Iowa, many people offer round bales of hay to horses for turnout during the winter. I have heard that they are often contaminated with mold and can cause respiratory problems. How much of a problem is this?

Question: Should equine respiratory issues be treated by oral antibiotics or injection to avoid diarrhea? Is it a serious problem to have cough with no fever or nasal drainage that lasts longer than 4 to 6 weeks? Also, should other precautions be taken to preserve the integrity of the gut while on antibiotic therapy?

Question: I have a 12-year-old Quarter horse that I have owned since birth. He has, since the beginning of riding him, never had good air. His body says go, but his lungs seem to say go easy. For the last 9.5 years I have gotten along well taking him on easy rides. He has never had a cough until last month I began seeing incredible volumes of Ponderosa Pine pollen, which severly affected his breathing and respiration (40 breaths per min). I had a veterinarian come and examine him and he concluded heaves. His heart sounded fine. We put him on Tri-Hist and am giving him one tbs. a day, since giving any more makes him groggy. I let the air clear of pollen and rode him today lightly for the first time. Unfortunatly, his breathing was so rapid I led him back to the trailer. I would be happy just to get him back to where he was prepollen, but how? Once again there has NEVER been coughing.

Question: I live in Northwest Florida and have a 15-year-old Quarter horse mare that has been diagnosed with allergies during the summer months.

This year, she is having constant labored breathing. She is currently on 20 tablets of aminophyline (200 grams each) twice a day and 5 cc's of dexamethasone once a day. We have placed a misting fan in her stall to keep the dust down and the air circulating. She is still having difficulty breathing without any exercise. The vet has not performed an endoscopy. We only have one equine vet within 40 miles. It hurts my heart to see her struggle so much to breath. Your advice would be much appreciated!

Question: I have a 7-year-old gelding that coughs when you go to warm him up or after we make a run barrel racing. I took him to a local vet and had him scoped and he said he had flem in his throat and that it was allergies. He put him on a series of shots of dexamethasone. It seemed to help, but has not cleared the cough. Would you suggest anything else? He has lost his run and seems somewhat sluggish.

Question: My horse isn't a sport horse, but I think he may have some respiratory problems. He has lost a bit of weight even though there has been no change in his feed or exercise. He has no discharge and no cough, but he stands in the pasture and sweats and breaths heavily. He looks like he just got through with a long run. Do you have any advice on what could be going on? There has been no change of behavior otherwise.

Question: I have a 17-year-old Thoroughbred.He has a cough, which gets bad at times and then nothing for months. He's been to a University and examined. All I was told was that I have a very healthy horse with mild throat inflammation and they proceeded to give me steroids for him, in which they do not work. I've tried everything on the market and then some. I have had some luck with ventipulmin but not much, same result with dexamethasone. I believe it's an allergy, but we don't know he could be allergic to. In or out of the barn, feed changes and barn changes and nothing seems to help when he gets this. I live in northeast Pennsylvania and he seems to get the cough the worst in March and again in July. I can't believe they don't make ANYTHING to get rid of a cough or is there something I don't know about? He's a wonderful dressage horse and this hinders his performance. Any suggestions? Antihistamines that are on the market are a zero.

Question: When I first start warming my horse up at the trot, he has to have a couple of coughs. After he does this, he is fine. He does the same thing at pasture in the summer. He gallops up to the barn, then coughs. He is a 9-year-old grey and just developed melanomas under his tail. Could this be related?

Question: We bought a horse to train for eventing several months ago, but he makes noise when he breathes. The noise is not super loud, but is noticeable when you are standing within a yard of him. I don't think it would be considered roaring and he also does it when he is not being worked, though it does not seem to get worse with work. What could this be stemming from and is it unhealthy? Should we rethink our goal in eventing him?

Question: My 8-year-old Quarter horse mare has been diagnosed with nasopharyngeal cicatrix. There is not much information on the Internet about this except in the latter stages, in which the horse has to have a trache tube to breathe. Is this very rare? There is a vaccine we are trying that is suppose to prevent the scarring from getting any worse. Have you heard of this?

Question: I believe I have given dusty or moldy hay to my horses for the past month. My daughter rode yesterday and I noticed that my 12-year-old gelding was coughing and breathing hard after she rode around our property. She did mostly walking and some trotting. Could he have COPD?