Does your horse need breathing support?
Managing the symptoms:
In some cases, a vet may treat the condition with medication, although for most horses, the most important treatment is careful environmental and dietary management.
The stable environment is full of tiny particulates that can infiltrate the horse’s respiratory tract and cause irritation. These include dust and mould from hay and bedding, ammonia from urine, endotoxins from manure and hairs and scurf following grooming or rug changes.
If your horse is suffering with a cough or nasal discharge, as much turnout as possible is recommended. Although we are aware, particularly at this time of year, this isn’t possible for a lot of horse owners, in which case it is helpful to eliminate or at least reduce the common irritants.
Ventilation – when your horse is stabled, ensure there is good air circulation by keeping any windows or barn doors open.
Forage – either steaming or soaking hay for approximately 20 minutes before feeding, helps to reduce the fungal spores that can irritate your horse’s respiratory tract. In some cases, the horse may benefit from a pelleted diet.
Bedding – similarly, some types of bedding can be dustier than others so opt to use a low-dust bedding such as wood shavings.
Mucking out – ensure all muck is removed daily from the stable as ammonia found in urine is a common respiratory irritant. It is also important to remove your horse from the stable when you muck out, as by disturbing the bed you are increasing the dust particles in the air.
Grooming – try to groom outside of the stable if possible, to reduce the mud and scurf particles becoming airborne in the confinement of your horse’s stable.
Supplement – consider feeding a respiratory supplement which can benefit horses that are stabled regularly. A supplement, such as Feedmark’s Clarity, can work by helping to thin and expel excess mucous and remove harmful dust particles, therefore soothing the airways. Clarity is a natural and powerful blend of seven herbs; garlic, oregano, lemon peel, liquorice root, coltsfoot, elder flowers, and sage, which effectively support and soothe the respiratory tract.