It's Warm Weather but My Horse Coughs - What's the Problem?

Newsdate: Thu 28 July 2016 – 6:15 am
SAN DIEGO,California

During the warm weather of summer time, seeing or hearing a horse cough may seem unusual, but horses and people sometimes have respiratory problems that lead to coughing during any season of the year.

Coughing horse

Coughing horse

If your horse coughs at the beginning of exercise, he may have upper airway irritation, tracheal irritation, allergies or inflammatory airway disease.

If your horse coughs several times at the beginning of exercise, he may have upper airway irritation, tracheal irritation, allergies or a respiratory condition called inflammatory airway disease. Inflammatory airway disease is a chronic inflammatory condition of the lower airways of younger horses characterized by chronic cough, excess mucus in the trachea, and mild exercise intolerance.

Horses with upper airway irritation usually have normal attitudes, appetites, and temperatures and do not exhibit increased respiratory effort at rest. Inflammation and mild airway obstruction with mucus occurs in the bronchi and bronchioles resulting in bronchitis. It is often caused by substances that irritate the airways such as molds, dusts, or pollutants. 

A general physical examination with attention to the respiratory system may or may not show that there is some clear or white discharge present in the nostrils.Listening to the lungs and trachea may reveal harsh sounds, crackles, wheezes, or fluidy sounds in the trachea suggestive of the presence of mucus or lung sounds may be normal.

If your horse has a persistant cough at the beginning of exercise, an examination by a veterinarian may be in order. In many cases, improving ventilation and decreasing dust in the horse's environment will ease the airway irritation and the cough may go away.

In addition, more turnout time, sealing hay storage or not storing hay above the horses’ stalls, wetting or soaking hay fed to the horses, and switching or supplementing the diet with forages will lessen irritation and prevent coughing at the beginning of exercise because the upper airway will not be irritated by dust, molds or pollutants.

About the Author

Flossie Sellers

Author picture

As an animal lover since childhood, Flossie was delighted when Mark, the CEO and developer of EquiMed asked her to join his team of contributors.

She enrolled in My Horse University at Michigan State and completed a number of courses in everything related to horse health, nutrition, diseases and conditions, medications, hoof and dental care, barn safety, and first aid.

Staying up-to-date on the latest developments in horse care and equine health is now a habit, and she enjoys sharing a wealth of information with horse owners everywhere.

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