How to Care for a Horse With Breathing Problems

Your beloved horse is a valued member of your family, and you want to make sure that he stays healthy. However, horses can suffer from breathing problems such as asthma, allergies, heaves and other respiratory disorders. Although veterinary intervention is required in some cases, here are some steps you can take to care for your horse should he show signs of breathing problems.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Challenging

Living Environment and Diet

1. Provide your horse with low-dust flooring, such as that made from rubber, and ensure that his indoor living quarters have good air ventilation.
2. Brush your horse outdoors.
3. Steer your horse away from muck piles--mountains of hay and dusty bedding materials. Wet his hay for 5 to 10 minutes at a time and make sure he has a continuous supply of fresh drinking water.
4. Let your horse out to get some fresh air while you shovel and sweep out his stall.
5. Feed your horse so that his head lowers to the ground. This feeding method will help keep his lungs clear. Also, remove hay from his diet and replace it with haylage to keep up his fiber intake. Bran mash and beet pulp can also help relieve his symptoms.
6. Allow your horse to live and graze out in the pasture 24 hours a day if weather permits.

Veterinary and Holistic Care

7. Seek advice from your vet about administering medicinal shots to help his breathing problems.
8. Look into providing your horse with acupuncture treatments from a holistic vet. Acupuncture may be beneficial in helping respiratory conditions such as heaves.
9. Ask your vet about Ventopulmin, a food supplement that can help to improve shortness of breath.
10. Add an antihistamine, such as TriHist, to your horse's food.
11. Provide minimal relief by using a bronchodilator or an inhaler.

Tips & Warnings

• Veterinarians indicate that there is no cure for breathing problems. Managing their care is the only effective treatment.
• Check to see if there is a vet school in your area. Many vet schools are very willing to offer advice and information about your horse's breathing problems.
• Call your veterinarian if your horse is wheezing, coughing, gasping for breath, heaving, appears to have shortness of breath, has had an injury to the chest, a fever, or shows signs of discharge from his nose.
• Ventopulmin can be very expensive.