Stable Cough - Tips to make it better

[AndalusianSara]

Hi my boys not in full time yet but will be prob be by the beg of Nov. I have just bought all my hay and straw to see me through the winter however i had him in for approx 2 nights the other week and he quikcly developed a slight cough, i soaked the hay, hes not on any hard feed at the mo and hes also on straw. This is his first winter with me. Is there anything i can do, any particular time i should soak the hay for, or anything i can give him in his feed when hes in full time to help sooth it? Prev owner also kept him on straw and hay, its not an allergy, any tips would be great!
(Next year i will poss buy shavings & haylage)

[*Sez*]

My dad's cob developed COPD last winter, and as a result is now stabled on rubber mats and shavings and only gets haylage. He is in a well-ventilated area (right next to the barn door) and we are careful to put water down on the floor when we sweep up, as the dust from sweeping can set him off. Depending on the severity of your horse's cough it may be worth having the vet to see him.

I'm also told that you can buy cough syrup for horses, which may be worth a try. I've noticed a few around our yard have a bit of a cough at this time of year, possibly to do with the sudden change in weather we've had, and the increased amount of time spend stabled.

[Iron Maiden]

P tends to cough at the drop of a hat! I keep her off dry feeds - so she gets either haylege or steamed/soaked hay, her feed is a wet & soupy one and she is out in the field 24/7 for as much of the year as poss. If she's in at night she has a small amount of dust extracted shavings down on rubber matting. She's not been diagnosed with anything but I'm a wheezy asthmatic myself & I recognise the symptoms, I think she probably has a low level dust/fungal spore allergy. It's perfectly manageable at the moment but if it got worse I'd be onto the vet to see whether it might be worth trying her on anything to control it.