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  Discussion on Can't shake cough
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Member:
dvjl

Posted on Tuesday, Jan 6, 2009 - 10:48 am:

Many horse in the barn were coughing and my horse picked it up as well. Vet listened to lungs and said they sound raspy on both sides, but to first see if he can fight it off himself. 10 days later he went off feed and got some nasal discharge, never developed a fever though, vet said to pick up antibiotics for 10 days, which we finished 5 days ago. Horse improved, eating well again, seems bright and alert, but is still coughing. Vet wanted me to exercise him lightly and he would cough a lot in the first 5 minutes and then get better. Yesterday though he couldn't stop coughing. He stretches his head way down and tries to cough mucus out. It sounds like it's stuck in his throat - is that possible? He did have a bit of yellow discharge in his nostrils after the ride, but no steady discharge during the day. And no fever. I have another call into my vet, but I wanted to seek some information here.

Should he be back on antibiotics because of the yellow discharge or would maybe an expectorant alone help loosen the mucus?

Should he be checked for something more serious in his throat because of what it sounds like?

I have read in your article and other posts that coughs can take a while to recover, but I am a bit concerned about him.

By the way, he gets out all day and is stabled at night. It's freezing cold here now and the paddocks are snow covered. They do have a round bale of hay in the paddock.

Thanks for listening and any advice
Moderator:
DrO

Posted on Wednesday, Jan 7, 2009 - 8:43 am:

Hello Delia,
As you state "coughs for upper respiratory infection can take a while to recover" so it is not clear that you have anything odd going on. I certainly do not recommend exercise in a horse trying to recover from a URT infection. We discuss this in the article associated with this forum and this along with the other management considerations in the article (Diseases of Horses » Respiratory System » Fever & Cough in Horses) need to be carefully reviewed. In particularly I want you to assess how dusty is the air and hay. This can greatly slow down recovery and while the horse is sensitized may result in the long term complication of heaves.

To make the assessment of whether he should be on antibiotics or not requires a veterinary examination and from that exam will stem the decision of whether further diagnostics are required for other problems. For more on the exam of a horse with a cough but no fever see the article Diseases of Horses » Respiratory System » Chronic Cough Without Fever. Knowing your horses vital signs is an important first step to deciding whether you need veterinary assistance. For more on this see Diseases of Horses » First Aid » Taking Temperature, Pulse, and Respiration.

I know this is a lot to take in Dalia but all must be considered to answer the questions you ask.
DrO
Member:
dvjl

Posted on Wednesday, Jan 7, 2009 - 4:30 pm:

Thanks, Dr. O.
The air in the barn is good, nice high ceilings, lots of fresh air. I did however discover some moldy smell on the outdoor round bale after peeling some layers away. I will have to remove that bale, but right now it's frozen into the ground.

So, with this assessment I can probably assume that the hay is adding to the trouble and causing the extended coughing. My vet thinks my horse will benefit from an expectorant, so I will get that soon.

How high is the risk that a horse with a URT infection will develop COPD from one bad round bale (first one this winter), which they haven't even touched much (now I know why)? I can see it delaying the healing, but hopefully it won’t cause everlasting damage.

Re exercising – my vet stated that it’s good to get the breathing activated to encourage phlegm to loosen and make it easier to cough up. We are talking very light work for a really fit horse. I bought into that theory as I have notice benefits from that myself when having a human URT infection.

Thanks again.
Moderator:
DrO

Posted on Thursday, Jan 8, 2009 - 6:58 am:

We don't have any numbers on "chances" but you can read more about how this develops in the article on heaves.

While we recommend exercise in the case of COPD exactly for the reason you put forward the problem with exercise and resolving respiratory infection is the damaged upper air ways. These airways are inflamed and can be sensitized to the changing temperature and humidity when irritated resulting in bronchoconstriction and may even increase secretions and exudates. It appears pretty well established that early return of horses to work tends to prolong the problem and set horses up for complications.
DrO
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