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Discussion on Dust not Hay/Mold?
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Posted on Tuesday, Jul 24, 2001 - 3:08 pm:
I have a 10 year old welsh pony that came to me from Oregon where it's wet most of the year to California where it's much dryer and dusty. His previous owner and breeder never heard him cough. He currently is out in pasture, but it's very dusty. A month ago he started coughing and had a runny nose. I pulled him from pasture and put him into a paddock and he went through 15 days of medications to clear up what the vet thought was an infection. I did not wet down or soak his hay. The coughing stopped. I put him back into pasture and 5 days later the cough is back.
His pervious owner had him on MsM and VitaFlex but I haven't given that to him since January. Could this be suppressing the cough?
He's going in tomorrow for a Trachea Wash to see just what the problem is. My concern however is that the dust is what's causing the problem. I would like him to be out in pasture because mentally he's much happier with the herd. If he does have COPD, will I have to remove him from the dust? I’ll have a mentally unhappy but well breathing horse. I don’t know that I like either of my options right now.
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Posted on Wednesday, Jul 25, 2001 - 7:36 am:
Hello Diana,
Taking your questions one at a time:
1)His pervious owner had him on MsM and VitaFlex but I haven't given that to him since January. Could this be suppressing the cough?
No
2)If he does have COPD, will I have to remove him from the dust?
It depends on the cause of the allergy, if everytime you expose him to the dust he coughs yes you need to move him somewhere else. For a more complete discussion on the diagnosis and treatment of COPD see the article associated with this page.
DrO
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Posted on Friday, Jul 27, 2001 - 2:05 pm:
Thank you so much for the reply. Of course now I have a couple additional questions.
1) I need to move my pony to a paddock because where I board it's too dusty in pasture as I mentioned--he grubs around in the dust and dirt to get every last bit of hay. (Typical Pony behavior I hear...) Also if I need to move him to a peleted diet and there's no pasture for a single horse.(He would just eat what the other horses are eatting where he is now.) The article you created notes not to keep them in a barn situation (a single stall?) so I'm hoping the paddock will be a good solution and not make things worse. The important factor is air flow correct?
2) Since I'm planning on changing to a peleted food, what is good/recomended for horses with COPD? (Overweight COPD horses....) I should ask my vet but I wouldn't mind some additional imput from people on the list who are dealing with this problem. I don't want to get something that's too dusty.
3) I red the article about keeping a horse in a stall and it mentioned leaving something that the horse could eat throughout the day. If I cannot give him hay, what is he to chew on throughout the day (aside from his stall) to distract him? He has a lot of extra energy when not in pasture and although the paddock is larger than a stall it's fairly small. I'm at a loss for how to assure I'm caring for him as well mentally as well as physically.
I didn't know if I should post the questions under different areas when it all sort of revolves around COPD. I hope you might have some suggestions. Anyone out there with this situration who might offer some advice? Should I just move to Oregon?
Thanks so much--
-D-
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Posted on Saturday, Jul 28, 2001 - 1:35 pm:
1) (Is) the important factor is air flow correct?
No, the important factor is mold/dust particulate matter concentration in the air.
2) Pelleted feed brand?
Any of the pelleted feeds will be fine.
3) Paddock Rest?
The article on Heaves & Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease: has specific recommendations for hay sustitutes. We also have an article on confining horses see: Training Horses: Behavioral Problems: Stall Resting Horses for some other ideas on how to prevent your horse from going paddock crazy.
DrO
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Posted on Thursday, Aug 30, 2001 - 1:41 pm:
Well, a few weeks later and I wanted to post about Eric's condition. The vet has him on steroids and I have him on hay cubes now.
Currently he's on 5 pills every other day, down from 20 pills every day, and I've only had him cough once per workout. (It was none per workout before we went to every other day.)
I'm wondering, if I have to keep him on steroids his whole life, will there be any side effects?
Oh, and he's also lost a bit of weight and looks much better! He's not too happy though, even with all the toys I got him. Oh well!
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Posted on Thursday, Aug 30, 2001 - 2:43 pm:
On a side note:
Over the past two weeks Eric has been extremely thirsty (drinking most of his water tub during the day) and increased urination. I didn't think much about it until this afternoon I was browsing around and looking at more information and discovered that those symptoms could be a sign of Cushinoid Disease. 
I have a call into my vet but...geeeez.... What am I going to do if he has COPD AND CUSHINGS? This can't be happening to me.
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Posted on Thursday, Aug 30, 2001 - 7:08 pm:
As long as you quit exposing to the allergins he will get over the need for steroids. The excessive drinking is probably a side effect of the steroids. Take it one problem at a time, allergic cough due to exposure to mold spores is one of the most common problems in horses and you will get through this IF you don't ignore the cause: exposure to mold spores from barns and hay.
DrO
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