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  Discussion on Sudden coughing with nasal discharge
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Member:
Sparky

Posted on Friday, Nov 12, 2004 - 1:12 am:

I hauled my two geldings today for a 45 minute trailer ride to a friends. I have 2 horse angle Trails West Warmblood trailer with stock sides. We had hauled hay in the trailer the last time it was used. When we swept it out - both my husband and I and put it away. On the way home both of us complained of dry throat and coughing. This lasted for a couple of days. We felt like we had a sudden case of hay fever. Today after unloading the horses, my old gelding started lightly coughing 5 minutes into the ride. We were only walking. He coughing started to get worse as we went and we decided to turn around and go back to the barn. He started to cough harder and then sharply inhale. He had a white discharge coming from his nose. He coughed like this about 7-8 times. While putting our stirrups up he grabbed a few bites of grass. He did not cough again while being hand walked back to the trailer and seemed to be fine. I swept out the trailer again and there was quite a bit of dust and still some hay - about one small shovel full. I am now sitting here with a dry scratchy throat. Can horses and humans suffer the same type of reaction to dust? I really didn't think that there was that much dust that flys around in the trailer? I always thought that I kept my trailer really clean. We just started feeding the hay two days ago and it looks really good. Not dusty. My other gelding is fine. When I called them in from the field they came a running with no coughing. Should I be getting my hay tested and if so what for? I know lots of people who haul with sawdust in their trailers - I guess that could be a whole other topic - to haul with or without. I am thinking that maybe I need to lightly water down my trailer when I haul or vacume it out. It was pressure washed this year and really cleaned inside. I feel really bad thinking that I could have caused him to suffer this way today. Any ideas Dr. O? is this like a sudden asmma (can't spell) or hay fever attack? The gelding is 19, never been colicky, healthy and up to date on all his shots and worming, and not overweight.

thanks
Janet Schmidt
Member:
Eoeo

Posted on Friday, Nov 12, 2004 - 1:25 am:

What would you test for? Hay, no matter how good it is will have a certain amount of it left wherever it has sat, as in your trailer. Whenever we haul anything in our trailer, even bags of shavings, which will have some fine wood dust on them, we sweep and hose the trailer out with water. If you had a shovel full of hay dust, you had more than enough to cause the one gelding to inhale and irritate his respiratory system. Ride back there and see how much air movement there is along with what is kicked up into the air from the horses moving around. You said yourself, it bothered you from cleaning it out. That much left in there would be disturbed and likely caused the gelding's problem. Hose it out and you probably won't have any more problem. Just my thought on it. EO
Member:
Sparky

Posted on Friday, Nov 12, 2004 - 2:12 am:

I was really suprised at the amount of dirt and dust that was swept up with the broom as I had swept it out once already with one of those big wide brooms. This broom was a regular tall one. I wonder why only one horse was affected? I think I may just put my husband in the back with his SCBA and take him for a ride and see how windy it is in the back. One of the ladies that was there said that I should not tie them in the trailer because they can't get their head down to stretch out when coughing and that they get relief from dust when they can put their head down. I did give him a longer length when I brought them home. Some of the stock trailers have openings in the back door but my trailer does not. The newer trailers seem to have gaps in the top of the back door if they are the stock type. I wonder if I should be putting some sort of vent in the back door?
thanks
Janet
Moderator:
DrO

Posted on Friday, Nov 12, 2004 - 8:36 am:

To answer your question: could what caused you and your husband to cough and what caused the horse to cough be the same, the answer is yes. However I cannot examine your horse to know for sure what is going on. I agree that testing seems a bit nebulous and far more productive would be to remove the dust. I cannot explain why your other horse is not coughing: maybe he did not get a big dose of the stuff? Unless a horse is by himself in a box trailer, we recommend tying the horses.
DrO
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