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  Discussion on Rapid breathing in Haflinger mare
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Member:
judyhens

Posted on Saturday, Nov 1, 2008 - 11:25 pm:

We noticed that our Haflinger mare is breathing rapidly today. Other than that she is acting essentially normal. No cough. No nasal discharge. She eats anything put before her, did her tricks (does math, plays the piano and guitar) for visitors three times today, and greedily snagged an apple out of my hand a few minutes ago. A few hours ago, my husband gave her Trihist, thinking she might be allergic to something in the air. However, she is still breathing rapidly. Since her affect is good, we are hesitant to call the vet tonight, but will if it continues in the morning. We have not yet taken her temperature, which we will also do in the morning. The breathing doesn't appear labored or forced - she is just tachypneic. We have some left over Ventipulmin from a foal who recovered (praise the Lord!) from R. Equi pneumonia last summer. We were debating giving her some of that, but don't know how to dose her or even if it would help the situation. Guess we will wait on that for the vet. She is about 1400 lbs. A big girl! Anyway, was just hoping for some input until we can get hold of the vet. She is out in a pasture without lights and other than having her come up to us, beg for treats, and snag my apple we really couldn't adequately evaluate her.

Does this sound like any disease to any of you? We have never seen this before in an otherwise healthy appearing horse. Your input is appreciated!
Judy
Member:
mrose

Posted on Saturday, Nov 1, 2008 - 11:47 pm:

The only time I've had a horse with rapid breathing (and no exercise), upon examination it also had rapid pulse and fever, with no other symptoms. I took her to the vet, and he put her on antibiotics as horses near us had been ill. She was a little lethargic and off her feed for a couple of days, then recovered. Sorry, but this was quite a while ago and I don't remember what the other horses had or what he suspected we had caught early, so I'm not much help there. IMO rapid respiration without physical stress can be indicative of several conditions. I'd have the vet look at her in the a.m. Is there somewhere you can keep an eye on her tonight?
Member:
scooter

Posted on Saturday, Nov 1, 2008 - 11:57 pm:

Hi Judy, I'm not sure where you live or your weather, I know this sounds simplistic, but is it warmer than normal? We are having unseasonably warm weather and my hairy geldings resp was higher, the cows and calves are all breathing hard and one of the dogs was panting! With the winter hair the warmth seems to be affecting them....some more than others.
Moderator:
DrO

Posted on Sunday, Nov 2, 2008 - 9:38 am:

Hello Judy,
To even begin a accurate appraisal we would need the horses vital signs and the character of the breathing for more on this and some Diseases of Horses » First Aid » Taking Temperature, Pulse, and Respiration. If the temp is near normal, the breating a bit labored when breathing in (inhalatory dyspnea), and the hay or barn been a bit dusty lately I would consider heaves, Diseases of Horses » Respiratory System » Heaves & Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease.
DrO
Member:
judyhens

Posted on Sunday, Nov 2, 2008 - 10:31 am:

Hi,
Thanks for everyone's input. This morning she came galloping across her 8 acre pasture for her feed and she wasn't breathing any harder after running that long distance than she was yesterday. Her temp, after running, was 100.6. Her breathing doesn't appear labored, just rapid. She is getting a thick coat - probably secondary to very cold temps (upper 30s) a couple of weeks ago. We are in Tx. and are in the middle of a very warm spell: daytime temps in the 80's. She still has no other symptoms at all. No cough, no lethargy, no runny nose, great affect, great appetite (we offered her treats just to see if she was off feed - clearly she wants anything in front of her). Since our local vets will only see horses on Sunday on an emergency basis, we will probably not be able to get her seen until tomorrow. She is a draft horse, gets very, very little besides hay and grass, lives outside in an 8 acre paddock and is with two other mares who are asymptomatic. She is one of those easy keepers who stays plump off nothing. She does have thick pasture, but we are in the middle of a DrOught, so dust could be a factor....

Anyway, thanks again for your input. Will keep you posted!

Judy
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Moderator:
DrO

Posted on Monday, Nov 3, 2008 - 7:32 am:

Overweight, thick coat, warm spell, this could be an attempt to thermoregulate her body back down to normal but will require a exam to know for sure. Does the problem exist in the morning when it is cool and then appear as the day warms up?

You could try an experiment with a fan on her in a cool barn or a long cool shower with water to see if it went away.
DrO
Member:
erika

Posted on Monday, Nov 3, 2008 - 4:04 pm:

Judy I posted a few weeks ago about my half-Friesian mare not being able to stop panting during mild exercise. She was also a bit chubby, and it was unseasonably warm.
Now that she's slimmed down and it has cooled off, she seems normal.
I do worry that panting is a sign of pain, too, though. So I'm sure you'll keep an eye out for other signs of distress.
Erika
Member:
shanson

Posted on Tuesday, Nov 4, 2008 - 11:23 am:

Judy, I sympathize with you. I'm in central Texas and my mustang gelding has put on his usual heavy winter coat that could withstand a Montana blizzard. Instead, we have mid-80s in November!
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