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  Discussion on Roaring and Coughing are they related?
Author Message
Member:
ngossage

Posted on Tuesday, Mar 27, 2007 - 10:26 pm:

Evening! Dr. O, my horse is a roarer and makes noise. I knew this when I purchased him and it didn’t matter to me because it all other ways he was the right horse for me.

It seems the more fit he is, the less noise he makes. In addition, he’s always had a dry cough induced at the start of exercise (no mucus comes out of his nose that I’m aware of). He coughs deeply 4-5 times until he snorts and then he’s done. It’s almost like he’s clearing his throat.

He has not been scoped, but I have contacted my vet about having this done. Want to make sure his breathing capacity is ok with the work load we’re doing (4-5 times a week of flat work for 30-45 minutes and the occasional hour long easy trail ride).

He’s currently on 10-11 hours of pasture a day, 2-3 flakes of good quality timothy hay, and a quart of Triple Crown sweet feed, and pellets at each meal (so nothing dusty or moldy). Also, he does not have the cough when just walking.

My question is: Are roaring and coughing in any way related?
I’ve read your articles on roaring, laryngeal hemiplegia, and cough without a fever, but did not find any correlation between the two.

In the past when the vet has checked his breathing for our annual checkups, they have said his breathing was fine (though he was at rest). He also had a cbc done, but that was last summer, and everything came back fine.

Almost forgot-he yawns occasionally. He does this sometimes under tack when we’re walking before/after work, and without tack - in his stall hanging out. Don’t know if that has anything to do with it or not, just thought I’d mention it as an aside.


Thank you!
Nicole
Moderator:
DrO

Posted on Wednesday, Mar 28, 2007 - 8:52 am:

Hmm I don't typically associate coughing with hemiplegia but it may occur with soft palate displacement or irritation to the pharynx and both could be associated with the noise. The scoping is very important in ruling in and out these various causes. If it is a simple hemiplegia, I would look elsewhere for the cough and there are specific rule outs for cough at the beginning of exercise.
DrO
Member:
ngossage

Posted on Thursday, Mar 29, 2007 - 8:34 am:

Thank you for your response and time, Dr. O. I will post a response once I know something.
Nicole
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