Sid is coughing - updated

[Jane&Ziggy]

When I got Sid he had a runny nose and a cough - the horse equivalent of the common cold, the vet who vetted him told me. It cleared up in a couple of weeks just fine. He had another last year.

Now, last time we hacked he coughed a couple of times. Today I paid more attention. He doesn't cough at walk EXCEPT after we have trotted or cantered, when he will ask for lots of rein, put his head right down, snort heavily, and then cough.

It's a dry cough and nothing comes up. All of Sid from his bottom forward engages in producing the cough! He coughs a couple of times, then stops. His breathing is fine, he is bright and happy, cheerful even, and is walking, trotting, and offering trot and canter as normal.

I am disinclined to call the vet at the moment as if he had any kind of serious respiratory illness he would be ill. I feel concerned though. It could be allergies - he is very sensitive, skin, eyes and nose, and I am sure he has some pollen allergies - or it could be that the hay is really dry now (he gets a haynet before we go out). We walked past the water trough on our way back today and he was very thirsty so that can't help.

Am I being over optimistic by leaving it for a bit? WWYD?

 

[diplomaticandtactful]

it's getting close to pollen time, Buddy is very sensitive to pollen, particularly hawthorn. He also when he is being shown in hand, has a bit cough when first trotted up, to clear his pipes never does it any other time so i always give him a trot up before we go into the ring to get it over and done with.

 

[Doodle92]

Not to scare you. But Robin almost died from a lung infection. He didn’t cough, there was nothing to hear with a stethoscope and he didn’t have any snot. It wasn’t until his resp rate went way up he was scoped and it was found. His lungs were so thick with mucus he couldn’t cough anything up.

 

[Jessey]

As everything else is well I’d damp the hay for a couple of days and see if that clears it, it’s all old now so doesn’t hurt.

 

[Jane&Ziggy]

@Jessey I'll try that!

 

[carthorse]

From what you say I wouldn't be calling the vet at this point. Like @Jessey I'd be damping his hay and keeping an eye on him, maybe keep a note in your diary to see if there's a pattern to it.

Another thing to throw into the ideas pot is this very changeable weather unsettles my asthma, could it be something like that?

 

[Skib]

Today I paid more attention. He doesn't cough at walk EXCEPT after we have trotted or cantered, when he will ask for lots of rein, put his head right down, snort heavily, and then cough.

This may not apply to your horse. I will simply report that Maisie would sometimes snort and cough similar in canter. I was told that when horses are exerting themselves (as in canter), they breathe more deeply and because they are then fillng their lungs to capacity, any mucus in the depths of their lungs then gets expelled - which doesnt happen if one is riding more slowly. Ella snorted in canter today, And you are right, they need more rein to do this and I have been ticked off for not keeping both hands on the reins in canter. However, in my view everything depends on the horse and the surroundings. I have cantered miles on Maisie and now on Ella so it is fine to give more rein. If there were dog walkers or people on the track then of course I wouldnt.

 

[PePo]

It's a funny time if year I've found as lots of energy is going into coat change, they can get a bit run down and I am allergic to many types of tree pollen and feeling the effects a bit already. Plus our weather has been so up and down in the SE!

Presuming his respiratory rate & temperature is fine, I'd be tempted to soaked the hay before feeding and see how he goes before doing too much else.

 

[chunky monkey]

Dampen all the hay. Mine dont like it soaked but if its been put out in the field and gets a bit of rain on it they will still eat it.
Is he having any hard food. If so damp that or add some sugar beet so the feed is always fed moist.
I buy human cough mixture. Covonia. The dry tickly cough, linctus one. Has a purply label. (Not the red/orange label one). You could give him 30- 50ml syringe just before you go out for a ride. Or add to his daily food. Certainly helped Chunkys cough.

 

[MrA]

I'd check temperature first and then respiration rate. Any nasal discharge apart from clear I'd probably ring vet for advice. Do horses get colds frequently? I've never experienced one with Ale, so I'd probably chat that over with a vet too, just for my own lack of knowledge really.

 

[Jane&Ziggy]

When he was vetted the vet told me that some horses were prone to colds, mostly not. There's no discharge at all but I will watch it. Covonia for horses @chunky monkey ? Who knew!

 

[chunky monkey]

I spoke to my vet as chunky has had wet nose discharge on and off the last few years even in the summer. They said just monitor, nothing to worry about if its completely clear.

 

[chunky monkey]

I was told about using cough mixture by a friend. Im sure there was someone else on here who used cough mixture to.
The reason i said the purple one is because it has a nice liquorice/sweet taste.
I was given the red one years ago when i was younger and it was vial. Mad me throw up something awful. Bit i love the purple one. Chunky and Billy both lick it off the syringe. They dont do that with wormers. So they approve.

 

[newforest]

A clearing his nose snort I would say he's using his diaphragm and working. That part is normal.
But if he's been eating dry hay, that could then cause an irritating cough?

Other thought has he sniffed or been near a horse he doesn't know recently? Maybe one that's new to the area or youngster.

 

[Jessey]

I use cough mixture for Jess when she gets a persistent cough with her asthma, but I wouldn’t necessarily jump straight to it for an occasional exercise only cough. Classic benalyn drowsy or corvonia both work well, you can also buy horse cough medicine from tack shops, I like the Lincoln koff syrup. I’ve also used liquorice tea with some success.

 

[Mary Poppins]

I would keep a close eye on his temp and respiration, and I would also be wetting his hay. Ben developed a cough after I had owned him for about 5 years and it always came back on dry hay after that. Feeding the hay wet stopped the cough.

I personally wouldn’t use cough mixture for either humans or horses. The cough is there to clear the lungs so if he needs to cough you don’t want to prevent him doing so.

 

[chunky monkey]

Interestingly i saw on the news last night that some cough medicines are being withdrawn from sale. Think it was due to ingredients. No idea which ones though.

 

[Jessey]

I personally wouldn’t use cough mixture for either humans or horses. The cough is there to clear the lungs so if he needs to cough you don’t want to prevent him doing so.

The corvonia (well liquorice and burdock root) is an expectorant, not a cough suppressant, so it actually makes the cough more effective as it helps break down mucus and get the muck out of the lungs.

 

[chunky monkey]

I understand what Mary Poppins was saying and i knew there was a reason for giving it. Well done jessey you explained it. My brain just goes blank. The glycerol in it also helps to lubricate the throat so it stops the soreness/dryness/irritation.

 

[blazer]

Covonia is one of the cough syrups that were withdrawn from sale yesterday as it contains pholcodine