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  Discussion on Coughing Horses
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Member:
stuart05

Posted on Saturday, Oct 22, 2011 - 2:17 pm:

Hi, I posted a series of questions about my TWH gelding earlier this spring who had runny eyes, nose and cough. It finally cleared up in April. Well, here we go again but also with my new yearling.

I bought a yearling TWH and brought her home September 10. She has been isolated from my other horses until last weekend. 3 days ago I noticed a glob of white/yellowish snot in one nostril. I took her temp it was 100.9. She was eating and active. At the same time, my older gelding started coughing again, no nasal discharge, somewhat runny eyes but not extreme.

The next day the yearling had another glob of snot. She was eating and temp was 100.1. Older gelding still coughing. Next day, yearling started coughing, dry hacking, did not notice snot but nose did look like it had some crustys on it. Gelding still coughing.

We are now at day 4. Yearling is coughing, no fever and acting and eating normal. Gelding is normal but is coughing.

Two other horses on property have no symptoms.

They are outside with access to stalls. They have been fed the same feed and hay since last spring. The hay is not dusty.

Does this sound like a cold, or allergies? The hacking cough in the yearling concerns me.

I called my vet the second day but told him to just come out when he was close by since nobody had a fever. Any suggestions? I do not know the specific vaccination history on the yearling. They said she had EWT Rhino/Flu, I don't think she has had strangles vaccine. My older horses are vaccinated for everything.
Member:
stuart05

Posted on Saturday, Oct 22, 2011 - 6:21 pm:

Update...after posting this afternoon I went back out to the barn and heard her really coughing hard. I decided to call the vet out, my primary vet is at a conference so I called the expensive back-up vet.

When she took her temp is was 101.8, so I guess my thermometer was off since mine never read above 100.9. She also said she heard something in her lungs when she took a deep breath so not just an upper respiratory infection.

Treatment plan - small doses of bute for a couple of days, 7 days of SMZ/TMP and she gave her a shot of EqStim. I guess I am curious if this sounds like a secondary infection, or something viral? She is still acting normal and eating normal.

Older gelding has no lung involvement and no fever.
Member:
stuart05

Posted on Sunday, Oct 23, 2011 - 7:55 am:

Hi, I'm going to post again today because it makes me feel like I'm doing something and it makes it easier for me not to forget specifics.

This morning gave the yearling smz/tmp and 1/2 gram bute. It was a struggle with the smz/tmp. After getting it in her mouth she had a coughing attack and I was afraid I got it into her lungs but nothing came back up her nose.

I bought a new thermometer and this morning it read 99, old thermometer had the same so I don't know if I have two bad thermometers but it is 45 degrees outside this am. She is alert, active and is eating well. She just sounds horrible between the cough and sounding stuffy and congested. Just a little glob of white/yellow snot this morning.

I started thinking about what led up to this. We brought her home Sept. 10. She had been at a yearling sale Sept 2. We did trailer her about 400 miles. Yeah, I know, 2 great ways to pick up something respiratory but after getting here she had been isolated from other horses for about a month with no symptoms.

I double checked her vaccination records:
EEE, WEE, & VEE Encephalomyelitis,Tetanus Toxoid
EHV-1 & EHV-4
(Respiratory Rhinopneumonitis)

She was given all of those on 09/26/2010, and a booster on 10/31/2010.

Last week (10/10-10/16) I was out of town and my neighbor was taking care of her at her place. She would have had nose to nose contact with one 15 yo mare. I brought her home on Monday and noticed the snot on Tuesday. We did have a dramatic weather change last week from dry and warm to cold and wet.

Would it be possible this could be some kind of Flu that has turned into pneumonia? I just think given the time from bringing her home it isn't related to the travel or picking something up at the sale but could it have been brewing that long? I wonder if she had a URT thing going on last week and my neighbor didn't notice and that's how it spread to the lungs.

The vet said it was okay for her to be out during the day but reading the flu article it says rest is better, should I keep her stalled?

I guess I was hoping for some improvement this morning but I know it may take a while.

Any suggestions for additional treatment are appreciated.
Moderator:
DrO

Posted on Monday, Oct 24, 2011 - 8:31 am:

Hello Kim,
I not much on speculating exactly what is happening with your horse that I have not examined but your description is certainly consistent with flu. This has little to do with the weather unless the cold weather has brought the horses inside in closer contact. As long as you buy young horses and bring them home you will from time to time have this happen. Aggressively vaccinating your horses for respiratory diseases will minimize the symptoms but not eliminate the disease.

I recommend rest in a dust free environment while recovering. The article on pneumonia describes the appearance of secondary pneumonia: does your horse display those signs? The outside temp will not effect the thermometer as long as it is left in an appropriate time, 3 minutes is good if it is cold. A very cold thermometer will take longer to come up to temp so keeping it in a warm place until used will shorten the time till you can read it.
DrO
Member:
stuart05

Posted on Tuesday, Oct 25, 2011 - 3:30 pm:

Thanks, What I meant by the temperature is that would her body temp be lower in the morning as opposed to the afternoon after being out in the sun all day?

Also, the vet gave her EQstim, what are your feelings on that. I couldn't find a discussion on it.

Her symptoms are not completely consistent with the pneumonia article. Really the only symptoms are an occasional deep/raspy cough and after the cough a small bit of white/yellow snot. Her nose is dry between the coughing, not even runny. She has never been off her feed and has been her usually alert active self, and no fever even with me taking it at least 3 times a day.

I have had two vets look at her. One hears changes in her lungs with deep breaths the other doesn't. One thinks antibiotics, one thinks its a virus. The vet that hears the lung changes measured her temp at 101.9. The highest I have measured is 100.9 and that was last Saturday when I called the vet. It hasn't been over 100.2 since then and usually 99.2-100.

The next step that is being recommended is blood work. I have put that off until Friday to see if the antibiotics change anything or if she just gets better.
Moderator:
DrO

Posted on Tuesday, Oct 25, 2011 - 8:42 pm:

If her respiratory rate is normal and temp normal, infectious bronchitis or pneumonia is unlikely. Though I do not use a lot of EQstim, there is some work to suggest horses recover from the flu a little faster with it.
DrO
Member:
stuart05

Posted on Saturday, Oct 29, 2011 - 6:21 am:

Curious Update....
While the yearling has slowly improved, my SSH with the cough all of a sudden started acting colicky yesterday. The vet just happened to stop by to check the yearling so she checked out the gelding. No fever, gums fine, reduced gut sounds. She did a rectal, minor impaction and lots of gas. Tubed him. He was much better by the evening. Checked him all night. This morning early, my other SSH mare would not eat and acting off, like she was colicky, and my old QH gelding ate but was somewhat off. I have the vet on the way.

I have never had 3 horses act colicky in 24 hours. At first I thought the SSH gelding was a little colicky from bute for his cough but now the others? Also, I have been wetting their hay could this have contributed? They have had no change in feed or hay or routine this week, except wetting the hay. Could this all be virally related?
Member:
mrose

Posted on Saturday, Oct 29, 2011 - 11:04 am:

Hi Kim, is there any possibility of anything in their hay/feed? A weed? Did hay come from same source as normally? Did it get sprayed with anything? Wetting won't hurt the hay unless the weather is really warm and the hay sits long enough to mold. I doubt that's the case! Let us know what the vet says. Best of luck. Sounds like you have your hands full!
Member:
vickiann

Posted on Saturday, Oct 29, 2011 - 2:30 pm:

Is there mold/dust in the hay? (Or anything else foreign, as asked by Sara)?

How about in their outdoor area? Weeds, nuts, etc.?
Member:
stuart05

Posted on Sunday, Oct 30, 2011 - 6:46 am:

To update; The SSH mare I thought was colicky actually had a fever. I thought about it before the vet came out. I went and took her temp and it was 101.8 but when the vet came out it was 102.1. She had also pooped by the time the vet had come out.

The horses are eating the same hay batch since August, I have been buying hay from the same place for about a year. No change in grain.

So to recap -
Yearling - cough, vet hears wheezing on deep breaths,spotty nasal discharge, no fever, never off feed

SSH gelding 11 yo - cough which has gotten better, no lung involvement, no fever, colicky on Friday now okay.

SSH Mare 16 yo - fever, no cough, no lung involvement, no colic, still a tad off feed day 2, temp down to 100.4.

Only other horse on property - 29 yo QH gelding - checked out fine yesterday but may have been a little off feed last Wed.

I do have acorns this time of year that the horses will crunch on, but they have not really had access this week. They did last Sunday. Acorns? Have lived here for 4 years and never a problem before. Virus? This has got me stumped. Are the illnesses related or just coincidence or weather change? Except for the yearling, I have had these horses a long, long time and we have never been through anything like this.
Member:
stuart05

Posted on Sunday, Oct 30, 2011 - 8:14 am:

8am update; mare's temp back up to 101.2 on my thermometer. Hand grazed her for about 20 minutes which she enjoyed. She only ate a little bit of the senior horse feed I gave her this morning. Tried again with a handful of feed and she is uninterested in feed but did eat grass and is picking at some hay. Vet recommended some electrolytes which I gave her a half a tube. She does not seem to be drinking too much water.
Moderator:
DrO

Posted on Sunday, Oct 30, 2011 - 10:29 am:

It would be typical for influenza to move through the barn Kim and affect the horses differently. I don't think colic is likely to be related to flu.
DrO
Member:
stuart05

Posted on Sunday, Oct 30, 2011 - 11:01 am:

Thanks, hopefully they will all come out of it okay. Mare at 11 am more interested in feed. Temp 100.7, drank almost a half a bucket of water, ate grass. She has loose stool, I can't remember if that is a flu symptom, I will go back and look at the flu article.
Member:
stuart05

Posted on Monday, Oct 31, 2011 - 12:29 pm:

Update Monday - last night mare ate and drank and her temp was down to 99.2. her temp was similar this morning. Gelding was active and back to almost normal feed. Yearling is on Naxcel now but agree it was probably a virus. Old gelding never showed any additional signs.

Blood work done on yearling was normal - no elevated white count. Fecal on gelding clear, I had that done because I do worm but they are due November 1.

So Dr. O, I guess it does sound more and more like the flu - except the colic but I guess he could have been off water, I noticed it didn't seem like they had drank much water last week.
Member:
vickiann

Posted on Tuesday, Nov 1, 2011 - 10:38 am:

Glad that it is going better, Kim.
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