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  Discussion on Coughing since January, allergy tested
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Posted on Saturday, Mar 3, 2001 - 4:34 pm:

Hello! My 8-year-old Hanoverian/Thoroughbred gelding has a history of what till now has been a seasonal (warm months) cough, aggravated by exercise, which has passed after time. We have soaked his hay, which seemed to help. This year his cough began in January and he's still at it. It has not been this severe nor lasted as long before. His coughing worsens with exercise, and I've heard him cough also after drinking water in his stall. No other clinical signs. He has been out to pasture 22 hours a day for several weeks now with little to no riding, and after reading on this site and others, I'm now going to have him out 24 hours a day and switch him to alfalfa cubes and then complete feed if he doesn't improve. He was allergy tested by his blood and I've started the shots. I was disturbed to read, Dr. Oglesby, that the allergy tests that have been tested are ineffective and even inaccurate. Now I'm wondering whether I should even follow through with the shots.

My horse also has a grade 3.5-4/4 left laryngeal hemiplegia, so I've been wondering if the coughing is related to that. He has had no surgery for the hemiplegia.

Any information would be appreciated!

p.s. I also posted this message at the end of a "Heaves" discussion and couldn't figure out how to delete it. Sorry.

Posted on Sunday, Mar 4, 2001 - 11:34 am:

No problem Barbara,
Yes the LH could be causing the cough but I would not have expected that to be seasonal: perhaps it has worsened? I make it a point, Barbara, to provide the facts but never advise you different than your vet recommends (unless I think it is dangerous). I would be interested in your vet's information that this is a useful practice...the books all hedge on the point. I like your plan let us know how it works.
DrO

Posted on Sunday, Mar 4, 2001 - 12:14 pm:

Thank you, Dr. Oglesby, for your prompt response. Could you point me to information on the allergy-test reviews? My dog and cat vet had questioned the effectiveness, too, when I told him my horse was being tested.

If the coughing is caused by Rio's laryngeal hemiplegia, I wonder if surgery would stop the coughing--I read that sometimes coughing is a RESULT of the tie-back surgery.

I have one concern about my horse being out all the time, and that is that there are no run-in sheds where I board. If necessary, I could move him into the most ventilated stall possible, but then he'll still be exposed to hay in the next stall and nearby. One night does make a difference, huh?

Posted on Monday, Mar 5, 2001 - 6:55 am:

Yes the tie back will cause a cough also: it is irritating and no one night will not help the reaction in allergic respiratory disease. Equine Diseases: Respiratory System: Heaves & Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease for more information.

Concerning the allergy testing review, if only it were so easy as to point to a few papers. The problem is that this is not a simple procedure that can be compared from test to test. In these tests the substance injected is called an antigen. Which antigens are selected, how the antigen is prepared, the concentration and amount of antigen injected, the vehicle the antigen is put in, the location the injections are placed and the precise way they are injected will all affect results. There may be a future intradermal test that will work but currently the variables present and lack of testing and standardization make the procedure more than highly suspect. DrO

Posted on Tuesday, Mar 6, 2001 - 7:53 am:

Dr. O,

When you say antigen, are you talking about what I'm injecting when I give my horse his allergy shots? Or are you talking about what a vet injects for an intradermal test? My horse's blood was tested; we did not do skin tests on him.

Posted on Wednesday, Mar 7, 2001 - 6:17 am:

Hello Barbara:

antigen (Ag) ante-jen
Any substance that, as a result of coming in contact with appropriate cells, induces a state of sensitivity and/or immune responsiveness after a latent period (days to weeks) and which reacts in a demonstrable way with antibodies and/or immune cells of the sensitized subject in vivo or in vitro.

Using the above definition you can see both the intradermal tests and desenstization are done with antigens. I don't know how they do the blood tests and think they have even less merit that the intradermal tests: I can find NO information that justifies the use of a blood test to determine what animals (or humans) are specifically allergic to. At least with the intradermal tests there has been some work and a logical framework. The problem seems to be that horse skin reacts differently than human skin to antigen. I could be once they get the concentrations or the type of antigens right, it may be useful.
DrO

Posted on Monday, Mar 12, 2001 - 7:06 pm:

Hi Dr. Oglesby,
It has been 8 days since my horse was turned out 24 hours a day (versus a couple of weeks at 22 hours a day) and I switched to alfalfa cubes vs. hay. I tried riding him 4 days after he'd been out 24 hrs./day; we walked and trotted only. Day one and two he coughed two very small coughs, day three he coughed a few big coughs. I gave him a day off. Today he coughed 4 or five times, twice while trotting up a hill and couple more times when bending at the poll (I don't ask him with my hands). I think I'm answering my own question. I don't think he's ready to begin working yet. I did ask him once to canter, and he began coughing after cantering a short while. I'm wondering if corticosteroids would help him feel better faster so that we can begin working again. Or, should I just give him another 2 weeks off? I of course miss riding him, but his health is first and foremost. I'll give him as much time off as he needs. Any ideas would be great to hear.

Posted on Tuesday, Mar 13, 2001 - 7:46 am:

Hello Barbara,
Assuming you have an allergic cough, this and many other questions are answered in the article, Equine Diseases: Respiratory System: COPD.
DrO
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