Managing equine asthma: Owner adherence

Managing equine asthma: Owner adherence, practical constraints and environmental protocol evaluation

Equine Vet J. 2026 Nov 3. doi: 10.1002/evj.70355. Online ahead of print.
Authors
Lea Stucki 1 , Gertraud Schüpbach 2 , Alessandra Ramseyer 1 , Conny Herholz 3 , Vinzenz Gerber 1
Affiliations

1 Swiss Institute of Equine Medicine (ISME), Department of Clinical Veterinary Medicine, Vetsuisse-Faculty, University of Bern, Avenches, Switzerland.
2 Department of Clinical Research and Veterinary Public Health, Vetsuisse-Faculty, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland.
3 School of Agricultural, Forest and Food Sciences HAFL, Bern University of Applied Sciences, Zollikofen, Switzerland.

PMID: 42975133
DOI: 10.1002/evj.70355

Abstract

Background: Adherence to recommendations for environmental management is central to equine asthma (EA) treatment. Reasons for non-adherence warrant further investigation.

Objectives: To: (1) evaluate adherence to recommendations for environmental changes, identify reasons for incomplete implementation, assess changes in clinical signs and medication use; (2) evaluate owner acceptability, practicality and perceived usefulness of a structured stable-side protocol.

Study design: (1) Retrospective online survey and (2) prospective onsite testing with owners of EA-affected horses.

Methods: (1) Online survey on implementation of standardised recommendations, clinical progression and medication use; and (2) environmental protocol evaluation during stable visits.

Results: Seventeen of 40 horses still received dry hay and 13/40 were bedded on straw. Reasons for non-implementation included time, financial and infrastructural constraints, boarding stable restrictions, group housing, weather dependence, use of self-produced roughage, perceived ineffectiveness and individual horse preferences. Owners reported that overall clinical impression had improved and the proportion of coughing horses decreased from 88% to 55% (p < 0.001, OR = 0.07, 95% CI 0.002-0.47, n = 40). The other clinical outcomes did not reach the Bonferroni-adjusted significance threshold. Twenty-two horses were still coughing, and 7/40 had received medication within the previous 3 months. All interviewed owners found the environmental protocol helpful, 11 reviewed it again and 5 used it for discussion with others. Main limitations: Use of small convenience samples, lack of a control group and potential selection and recall bias. Conclusion: Owner non-adherence arose from diverse and often structural constraints. The environmental protocol was well accepted by owners and helped to structure discussions on risk factors. Keywords: airway inflammation; dust; hay; horse; straw; ventilation. © 2026 The Author(s). Equine Veterinary Journal published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of EVJ Ltd. 39 references 5. Science-in-brief: Pain in horses as a multimodal neurobehavioural phenomenon Equine Vet J. 2026 Nov 3. doi: 10.1002/evj.70357. Online ahead of print. Authors Natalia Piórkowska 1 2 , Alan Ostromęcki 2 , Justyna Domagała 3 Affiliations 1 Faculty of Information and Communication Technology, Wrocław University of Science and Technology, Wrocław, Poland. 2 wAInot, Equivo Project, Wrocław, Poland. 3 Department of Internal Diseases with Clinic of Horses, Dogs and Cats, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Wrocław University of Environmental and Life Sciences, Wrocław, Poland. PMID: 42974948 DOI: 10.1002/evj.70357