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  Discussion on Cough- Observe or Treat?
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Member:
9193

Posted on Friday, Jul 18, 2003 - 10:28 pm:

I have a 14 year old TB that we bought in March. He was underweight and has gained about 100 lbs with regular feedings of grass hay and LMF G formula. He is stabled in a stall with rubber mats and shavings. He has access to an outside paddock with no grazing. His grass hay is placed in a feed bin but envariably gets tossed to the ground where he ends up picking thru the shavings to get every last crumb. He is turned out in a common pasture 3-6 times a week. He is current on all his vaccinations.

In the last three days, he has demonstrated a deep, dry cough at some point of exercise either in the arena or on the bridle trail. He has never coughed more than four times during a one hour workout. He has a small amount of clear nasal drainage, but if you wipe it, it does not come back for at least an hour. His temp one hour after exercise today was 100.2.

I have read all the articles available on this forum regarding coughs, heaves, COPD ect and have learned a great deal, but my questions are...

1. What is just a cough to clear the airway during exercise and when does a cough during exercise become "heaves"?

2. What is a reasonable sequence of care or observation at this point with my horse? Do I continue to ride and as long as he coughs only a few times keep riding? If he was to keep coughing every time I ride him for the next few days, but his temp and energy is ok, do I stop riding him and treat him somehow or just watch him? Certainly if the cough, nasal drainage and temp change to the worse then I will call the vet, but if he is still just coughing this small amount in a week with no other changes, is this symptom a precursor to a bigger problem and I should have the vet come examine him?

3. Should I refrain from turning him out in the common pasture while he has this cough? Could he have picked up something from the pasture?

I was very interested in the hay allergy information and was wondering at what point would I start watering down my horses hay? If he was to stop coughing after watering the hay, does that mean he is allergic or could he have gotten better. Is it prudent to experiment at this point?

Could the ingestion of small pieces of shavings or carrot treats get caught somewhere in the throat and cause irritaion that leads to coughing?

Thank you for any help and guidance you can give me with our horse.

Debra Dove
Moderator:
DrO

Posted on Sunday, Jul 20, 2003 - 3:19 pm:

Hello Debra,
The problem is that I cannot examine your horse and therefore cannot answer questions about him directly. However the article tells you HOW to answer at least some of your questions but others may require a veterinary exam. If you study the article with your questions in mind I think you can get closer to deciding if you need help. But as the article explains in general heaves is not considered unless there is cough (description in the article) of some duration unless your hay is dusty with hay mold spores.
DrO
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