Redmond has a cough

[huskiesnhorses]

This started last summer - and is really no worse than when it started but if I can't stop it completely - I certainly don't want it to get any worse.

This is the kind of cough they do basically once a day when they get moving - in this case it's when I turn him out and he rolls or immediately trots off - he coughs about 5 times and that's it for the day.

Now mind you - when he first developed this cough, he was on pasture 24/7 with access to the barn when he wanted it. Was fed his hay outside (but not watered).

Things I am doing now or planning to do:

I have been wetting his hay down but only by spray - now I am going to start soaking the whole thing for 5 - 10 minutes before feeding.

I have been putting vegetable oil in his "grain" which are really pellets (LMF Prime time) to keep any dust down from the powdered supplements that are in there.

What I plan to do is power wash the inside of my barn. Pull up the stall mats and clean God knows what is under there.

I am afraid he maybe has a grass allergy? I don't know but my worry meter is rising. I am of course going to consult with Hannah.

But I am looking to the board for anyone else who may have had or has a horse that started this way and exactly what they did to alleviate it - if they even could.

Thank you for any suggestions!!

[monicabee]

He could be coughing for reasons other than allergies - the consistency with which he does it made me think it could be a loose palate that was interfering with his breathing until he coughs a few times and it goes back into place.

The other possibility is a paralysis of the flap that covers the epiglotis, but that usually shows up during exercise, as roaring.

My knowledge of these things is from racehorses, where unobstructed breathing is a big deal. The paralysis can suddenly appear, I know.

In either case it wouldn't warrant surgery unless he was doing extreme exercise.

Just another direction to consider. Of course, power washing your barn to get rid of dust is never a bad thing! Ammonia from urine can irritate the lungs too - the stall treatments like stall sweet help neutralize it.

[schwung]

My mare Tara has coughed a couple of times at the beginning of a workout ever since she was young. I wouldn't worry about it.

[Gingersmom-Tate]

Ginger would get a slight cough each spring also, the first year I had the vet out right away, fearing the worst. My vet said it was the dryer climate change, he recommended to put her hay on the grass and take it out of the feeding tubs. It did stop within a few weeks, then the next spring same thing. I've noticed Sione coughed a few times last week. Heck, all the allergy sufferers are coughing this time of year.

[winterlakesfarm]

There are lots of herbal remedies out there for "stable cough"

Toad has heaves which is way more advanced than a once a day cough and they really help him. Pretty much any feed store carries one or two of them. They are very benign and might help him.

[huskiesnhorses]

I did try cough free....didn't work. (ironic that it's dusty)

[winterlakesfarm]

LOL yes cough free is not my fave......but wind aid or airpower work well.....both soothing and have eucalyptus in them and best of all CHEAP......Toady eats it in his grain but if one had a horse that was more discerning than my lovable air fern you might have to give it in a dose syringe........