copd/laminitis= help!

[skye]

Punch has been doing well so far ,and has responded well to the heartbars for his founder but his COPD is proving more difficult to manage!
Before he had laminitis he was fed haylage and was on daily turnout,this kept his COPD undercontrol.since he has had laminitis he has been fed soaked hay and 1 hr turnout after his symptons cleared.His copd now is dreadful,he has been on ventipulmin(sp)? for 4 days now and still seems to be getting worse.Before he was on ventipulmin he was on becotide 4 times daily which gave him short term break from wheezing.At the moment he is on bute ,becotide & ventipulmin.The bute is minimal becotide 12 puffs and 6 plungers of ventilpulmin syrup.Is there anything else i can do to help him? He isn't bothered by it ,still lively and cantering round the field ,but it needs to be sorted.He is stabled on rubber mats and shavings and has the run of the yard for 3 hrs in the evening .Should i go back to feeding him haylage? obviously this would be best for his COPD but not for his laminitis.PLEASE HELP!

[Alison+Rio]

If your feeding him hay would it be possible to saok it? the best bedding ive found for COPD is the shredded paper. shavings can still be rather dusty whereas the paper is never dusty! there are many herbs on the market to help with breathing problems as well! ask as your local feed store for advice!

[Miriam]

Is there a small paddock you can put him in. Somewhere where he can have more turnout but less grass? This was the better eay to manage my ex loan pony who suffered from both COPD/Laminitis. Make sure that he is away from all the things thatcould cause him to get worse.

[skye]

He seems much better today,think the pollen count is a bit lower as that also effects him.He is fed soaked hay,off the floor which helps.He has 1hrs turnout wearing a bucket muzzle in the morning,but because his last laminitis attack was so bad we really can't increase the turnout time,and don't have any grass free pens! i'm going to order some electric fencing and fence off a really small area so he can have longer time out which should help,but only in the evening due to the pollen count.Thanks for your help!