[home made]

My horse has picked up a slight cough. I think it was some dusty hay so i removed the hay and put out a fresh role. But it is pretty cold and i was wondering what you might give her to help her from getting worst. If anything this is my first horse. Can u give penicillin ?? Thanks

 

[SmoothTrails]

A few questions before any advice.

Is she snotty?
If so what color?
If you listen to her lungs does it just sound like normal breathing or gurgly when she breathes?
Is it a deep hacking cough or just a regular cough?

Hopefully these questions help get you some good advice.

 

[home made]

A few questions before any advice.

Is she snotty?
If so what color?
If you listen to her lungs does it just sound like normal breathing or gurgly when she breathes?
Is it a deep hacking cough or just a regular cough?

Hopefully these questions help get you some good advice.

NOT SNOTTY BUT A SLIGHT WHEEZE AND SOUNDS LIKE A regular cough

 

[nirvana]

This happened to Trooper a while ago. I asked my vet about it and she said to just watch him. She said the only thing they could do for him is give him steroids wich they prefer not to do. I blanketed Trooper and increased his feed (I feed purinamills equilizer) and he was fine within a few days. My vet said as long as they arent having trouble breathing they prefer not to give them any thing.

And ya basically check the hay and all the other obvious stuff before trying medication.

 

[Maverick101]

Giving some zev in their grain may help to alleviate some of the cough....that is along as the horse doesn't have a snotty nose, or a temp 9(this could indicate another issue)
But zev is the humane equivalent of cough medicine, will give some relief from the irritant

 

[Horselover7327]

There is also a product called HAYGAIN. It is only for sq. bales so if you are feeding round bales it may be a problem. HAYGAIN steams the hay to such high temperatures it kills all the dust and mold spores that are in the hay. I had to the same problem as you did and I was told about HAYGAIN. It is amazing on how well it works. My horse quit coughing and even if we get bad hay all I have to do is steam the hay and it kills all the bad so I can still feed it. Take a look at the website www.haygain.us

 

[White Foot]

It could be that start of heaves, next time the vet comes tell him to test.

 

[welshies rule]

I have met horses in the past who have a problem with hay and dust, not that I am commenting on the quality of your hay, but my advice would be to start soaking your hay or at least dampen it before feeding, another idea would be to try your horse on haylege instead of hay. If in serious doubt Phone the vet.

we had a horse who suffered from COPD not sure if that name has changed but he was fit as a fiddle if kept turned out or had an open stable with rubbermatting and shavings and hay soaked or fed haylege. good luck

 

[Horselover7327]

Soaking the hay works as well but it also leaks the nutrients out of the hay. After doing our research on the haygain we discovered that it does not leak out any of the nutrients from the hay. When steaming it you do not break the hay down at all.