Equine Asthma, also known as recurrent airway obstruction (RAO), Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) or heaves, causes respiratory conditions, including airway inflammation. It is often triggered by environmental factors such as bedding or forage, and therefore common during winter months when horses tend to be stabled for longer periods, and grazing is reduced.
Clinical symptoms can vary in severity; coughing and laboured breathing are often observed. “Severe” clinical symptoms include laboured breathing observed at rest (Dunkel, B. 2024).
Management and treatment should be focused on optimising the environment, such as increased turnout, turning out to grass rather than stable kept options (if possible), altering forage sources, and considering alternative bedding sources. In most cases, these changes can help to reduce clinical symptoms. However, pharmacological treatment may be required in the form of bronchodilators and anti-inflammatories.
Management Practices:
- Consider changing to dust-free bedding such as pellets.
- Forage sources - avoid dusty forage, for example, swapping from hay to haylage.
- Soaking hay for 10-30 mins has been shown to reduce respirable dust by 60%.
- Steaming for 80 mins has shown reductions of 93%, 96% and 95% (Dunkel, B. 2024).
- Increase turnout time or turnout to full-time pasture if possible.
- Consider all possible irritants, including dusty and dry arena or paddock surfaces, cobwebs/ dusty stables, the location of forage in relation to the horse and removing the horse from the stable during mucking out.
- Ensure good ventilation is provided in your stables and barns, and optimum stable hygiene to avoid the buildup of ammonia.
Equine asthma requires ongoing management, along with working closely with your veterinarian. Small changes to your management practices can make a big difference to respiratory exposure and help reduce clinical symptoms occurring.