According to David Ramey, DVM, next to colic, the most common medical problems of the horse affect the respiratory tract. Whether it be the pneumonias that can affect young foals, the “shipping fevers” of adult horses that are transported around the world, or strangles: if you own a horse long enough, you’ll eventually have to deal with some sort of problem involving the breathing apparatus.
Respiratory ailments in young horses
Whether it be common colds or pneumonias that can affect young foals, if you own horses long enough, you will eventually have to deal with some sort of problem involving the breathing apparatus.
Fortunately, for most horses, like most people, respiratory diseases are often self-limiting. Viral respiratory diseases affect mostly young horses, usually in crowded housing situations. These young horses occasionally come down with the equine equivalent of the “common cold.”
Most young horses develop a ‘head’ cold with a runny nose, coughing and sore throat which reduces their appetite. This is due to increased upper airway mucus, tonsil reaction and occasionally mildly swollen glands under the rear angle of the jaw resulting from increased lymph drainage and inflammatory immune related reaction.
If these symptoms are not recognized, and the animal rested or treated and managed early in the infective stage, lower airway reaction and Inflammatory Airway Disease (IAD) can develop within a few days. This is often a complication in race horses, with up to 65% developing IAD if early symptoms are not recognized, which is aggravated by inhaled cold air during early morning fast exercise.
For some young horses, disease of the respiratory tract is a life-threatening problem, one for which thorough diagnostic work and aggressive treatment by a veterinarian is warranted.
Read more about Foal Respiratory Problems