COPD

Pepsi coke

Pepsi coke

sweet and bubbley!
May 7, 2002
97
0
0
37
uk
Visit site
How does COPD effect a horse?
does it effect the amount/sort of work it can do?
Does it get worse and worse over time if not managed?

How would you deal with a horse with COPD? should it live out?

any info apperciated!

thanks!


Pepsi
 
Well i only know a little about this as the horse at my yard has it.

She is stables at night (through winter) and during the summer she is out.

Only a little bit of dust sets it off.

so her owner has to try and keep her from dust.

she has her hay soaked and beded on shavings.

If she does get a cough or it comes back she has the vet out and he will give her some powder which i know is £50.00 a tub and that does help the horse.

Hope this helps

Hayley
 
it stands for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. think of it as horsey asthma. it's usually triggered by dust, and it varies in severity. some horses do fine on just soaked hay and dust-free bedding, others have to live out and use an inhaler and nebuliser (like a gas mask, you put it over the face and puff the inhaler into it.
it's usually treated with ventipulmin or sputolosin, both act by dampening the reaction of the lungs to dust. symptoms are coughing, wheezing and heavy breathing.
if not managed it will get worse. it depends on the severity of it how much it effects what work it can do, some live with it quite happily and do normal work, some just have to take it easy in summer when the ground's dusty, and some are severely limited.
have you found one you like with copd?
 
Originally posted by Pepsi coke
How does COPD effect a horse?
does it effect the amount/sort of work it can do?
Does it get worse and worse over time if not managed?

How would you deal with a horse with COPD? should it live out?

any info apperciated!

QUOTE]

A few year ago I had a ppony who suffered COPD. Depending on how badly they have it will depend on what work they can do. As Merlin was not too bad and needed no drugs to help him deal with it he could alsorts. As for geting worse over time I am not sure about. Merlin was stabled at night during the winter on a shavings bed and his hay was dampened down. During the summer although he also suffered laminitis I did manage to keep him out all day and night in a small paddock.
Click to expand...
 
Thanks for the info guys!

Es - I have indeed seen a mare that i think sounds wonderful but has 'diagnosed COPD' so i am ringing up tonight to get some more information and to find out how severe it is etc, but hopefully fingers, toe, eyes and ears crossed she might be the right one!

thanks again everyone!


Pepsi
 
It can be managed and the horse can lead a perfectly active life.

A dreadful livery yard I kept my horse at fed him mouldy hay while I was away on holiday. When I got back he was in an appaling state. NO vet called "because they wanted to see me before they called the vet" poor excuse.

Anyway I moved him 2 days later and the vet diagnosed a very bad case of COPD. After careful treatment and a dust free environment and LOTS of turn out even in winter he went on to win endurance rides. .....and has never suffered from it since.
 
There is probably a thread lurking in the archives that I started last winter when my pony was diagnosed with COPD.

We have managed to keep the condition under control - he was given steroids through an inhaler at first to get the condition under control. We've gradually reduced the dosage and at the moment he isn't on any drugs at all.

If it's a mild case you can keep it under control - but you do need to manage it by keeping the environment as dust free as possible. So bed on a dust free bedding - no straw. Soak your hay or feed haylage and feed from the ground not a haynet. Turn out for as much as possible - including in the winter (pony won't appreciate it!) and don't muck out with the horse standing in or around the stable.
Oh and de-cobweb regularly as well.
 
newrider.com
Top Bottom
Back