Breathing problems...! Questions - HELP Please?!

Kis Vihar

Kis Vihar

Nutty Saddlers !
Feb 14, 2008
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Norfolk, UK....or Hungary!
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Hi :)

I have a 21 year old Welsh D, Fella, he is just about retired and lives out in our herd having a great time, and he has never had any problems with his breathing until this year. I think there were a combination of factors which started it, including:

  • 35-40 degree heat for ages! :eek:
  • The fact that he turned one corner of the 20 acre paddock into a dust bath and stood digging in it for hours on end, with the other horses, making a huge cloud of dust he stood there breathing in! (Dur):rolleyes:
  • The huge sunflower crop in the adjoining fields.:)

I had my equine vet look at him, as his breathing became noisy - especially I noticed it at night in the stables when everything was quiet. He wasn't coughing, just the VERY occasional cough which I didn't worry too much about. His nostrils are now nearly always 'flared' and although he's not in distress, he definately makes more of an effort to breathe than he should.

The vet said he most likely had an allergy to something in the air (probably the dust cloud he made himself!) and prescribed him an injection of Corticosteroid (sp?) and a week's course of Bisolvan. I apologise if you don't have Bisolvan in the UK - it clears the lungs! Also, he has a face-mask on in the field, and Vaseline in the nostrils (which he didn't like, but got used to!:rolleyes:)

Anyway, Fella improved a little, and the vet was on our yard last week so I had him check Fella over again. He said his breathing was not very good, but not terrible, that it would possibly deteriorate in the heat next year and he may need Ventipulmin then, but that Fella didn't need 'medication' as such right now. He recommended I try some herbal supplements. In Hungary we have 2 kinds of 'supplement type' feeds - Loherba (horse-herbs) and Strucomix - a chaff type feed with loads of herbs in - good enough to put on your own dinner! BUT it's HUGELY expensive (some stuff here is SO CHEAP, but 'luxury' things like this are just stupid money - I'm loathe to buy a 20 kilo sack of herbal feed that Fella probably won't eat - he's a bit fussy!

What do other people use please? :) I like the idea of Horselyx Respiration - the stable lick. Does anyone use one - does it work?? I know fella loves licks and things, so he'd most likely use it! I'd 'import' it from the UK for him!

Also, please can someone explain 'Honey' to me - I know what it is, obviously, there are millions of beehives locally, so I can get local honey for free, what does it do? Why could it help feeding it to my horse?:confused:

Sorry for the questions. Because my internet connection is so dire, I can't 'search' for stuff very well - I'm not being lazy in not looking stuff up, honest, it just keeps 'crashing' the internet!!!! If anyone has some website links I can go to without the internet taking 2 hours to find them and switching itself off, I'd be so grateful!!

THANK YOU! I appreciate your help!! :)

K
 
honey for horses

this is what Baileys horse feeds say about honey : " A number of health giving benefits are associated with honey and these include containing an array of vitamins and minerals, some of which are anti-oxidants, as well as containing natural sugars which act as prebiotics by providing a food source for beneficial gut bacteria."

thats about all i could find tho.

x
 
We had a horse that struggled with his breathing every summer. To be honest, we didn't find that the supplements worked that well. He did occassionally have Ventipulmin but we found the best way to deal with it was to 'manage' his condition. When he was in the stable we made sure it was as dust free as possible - kept it swept free of cobwebs, had him on a good dust free bedding and soaked his hay nets for half an hour. It sounds like you're doing all the right things with the face mask and the vaseline, but another thing you could try is some metholated crystals (buy them from the chemist - they're v cheap!) in a bucket of boiling water. Once the water has cooled a little, try putting the bucket under his nose and letting him breathe the vapours. It won't clear his lungs but it will provide him with a bit of relief, especially if his condition is causing him some congestion. Good luck x ;)
 
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Hi

Thanks for the replies. The vet says at the moment his lungs are not congested with mucus (sp!) but I'll certainly look into thos crystals from the chemist. I'd like to try the honey-thing, anyone know how much I should feed?? I have no idea how much to try how often!

Regarding managing Fella, he is stabled at night, on straw, because that is what we can get in Hungary! BUT it's superb quality and not at all dusty. We buy our hay and straw from the National Park, so it's all chemical free, and much nicer than what we had in the UK! His hay is soaked, as is his feed, and his stable is fairly cobweb-free, but we have a huge mosquito problem so we like to leave some cobwebs and encourage the spiders - it keeps some of the mozzies down! We can't win really - no cobwebs and Fella is eaten alive! And no, the fly repellants DON'T work!

I'd still be interested to hear from anyone who's tried the Horselyx thing for their horse! And the honey!!

THANKS!

K
 
hi, my stallion has copd, in the stable he always has access to a Horselyx Respiration, i dont think it does an awful lot to be honest, it contains, ecyalptus (sp) etc, which is a known airway clearer, but to be honest the main ingrediant is mollassses, it will also help lubricate the throte etc, but like us if we have a tickle and need to have a cough to shift it, a drink etc will get rid of it;

to be honest i think you would be better off trying some other supplements, all the big companies sell them, and im sure they will ship abroad.

other than that, if possible try and get hes body fitness up a bit, even if its just a short walk a day, as this helps open up the lungs, ie, giving them more air space.

my boys copd is dust affected but im not sure that mud dust makes a difference, as hes a real mud monster, and often comes in with eveything including mud in/around hes nostrails, it seems to be more hay dust etc that effects him.
 
Hi:)

Jaydevon, thanks for the info. The only difference this year was the 'mud dust' and the extreme heat (and sunflowers!) - maybe my horse is more of a 'mud dust sufferer' or is allergic to sunflowers - we won't have them on our fields next year - too much hassle - oats are so much easier!

Fella seemed to mostly inflict his breathing problem it on himself, he made all the dust in the field, and stood breathing it, dopey horse! :rolleyes:

I take him out over the National Park when I hack my cob out, he 'rides and leads' so although I don't ride him very often now (he is a little unsound sometimes due to an old injury) he gets exercised with his friend when I hack her out. He's very enthusiastic, just 'noisy' in his breathing.

I'll see which supplement companies will export to here - anyone got any 'preferences' which supplements are better than others, etc?

THANKS! :)

K
 
i havnt actually tried any supplements, as have my boys well under control. have a search on here for copd, theres a few threads about that suggest various supplements, it may just be a case of trial and error,

where poss id deff keep up with the exersise as it can help them and if he has a cough dont panick, they often need to to clear them selfs out, only if it becomes constant would i worry,

i was reading some where that honey helps with various allergies, so if hes had a reaction to anything it could help, its not expensive so id give it a shot, its another one where you can only but try.
 
The idea behind the honey (this is the same for human hayfever sufferers), is that you have some LOCAL, and it must be local honey to have the same pollen etc in it, and basicly your body learns to 'cope' and build up an imunity to those specific allergens/pollens from within then it is not supposed to affect you when you inhale them. I haven't had the chance to try it myself, all the 'local' honey comes from at least the other side of the county.
 
i am suspecting that my horse has the same as yours - have been trying to diagnose his illness for a year now and was told by vet that he had liver disease, then a virus,he has been very down with red eyes and very lethargic. now all his bloods have returned to normal am thinking along the lines of copd or hayfever etc. he is on ventipulmin at the mo. and seems to be improving. have been recommended the suppliments ' winergy ventilate' and 'naf respirator.' i'm also going to look into allergy testing depending how he gets on with this course of treatment. have also been recommended local honey.
 
Thanks for the replies everyone. I've looked at the NAF supplement - all the different brands seem much of a 'muchness' really, just the price differs a bit!

I can get local honey - as local as next-door! My next door neighbour has hundreds of beehives and bees - they make different kinds of honey - translation time...In English it would be called 'Flower Honey' (general stuff!) 'Akac Honey' (from Acacia (sp?) tree flowers) and 'Sunflower Honey' - from the bees which just 'visit' the sunflowers on the farm! Seeing as Fella started his allergy this year when he was surrounded by sunflowers, I reckon that this may be worth a try!

How much do I give him??? :confused:

Like, a teaspoon full in his feed, or a cup full or what!!? I have no idea how much is the right amount! But I'll certainly try it!

Thanks again! :)
 
Well not sure for horse quanties, but they say for an adult human one to two spoons. I would just start small and play it by ear. Good luck and hope he seems better soon.
 
since my horse came down with breathing problems, i give honey in the food. i put two teaspoons per meal in a dish and had a little bit of hot water so it melts, then just add it in. I was told it opens the airways or unclogs them (not sure which) but as honey and lemon is used in most cough medicines it must be good for the airways.
horse loves it.
 
THANKS TALSMUM! :D

I was going to experiment with 1 - 2 teaspoons of honey in his feed.... I'll make it up in a mug when I make my honey & camomile tea tonight!!! Then I can let it cool, and chuck it in his feed. He'll either love it, or stand in the back of his stable snorting at his feed bucket! :rolleyes: :D
 
I had similar problems with my horse which seemed to worsen very gradually over the years. Starting off very slight and occasional in winter. I have found that homeopathy is very good. It has taken a long time to get on top of it because it was very deep rooted but we are getting there.

Good luck with the honey, natural is always best if you can.
 
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