Chronic Lower Airway Disease in Horses
  by Robert N. Oglesby DVM

Chronic lower respiratory disease has been increasingly recognized as a cause of decreased performance in horses. This problem may not present with any other clinical signs other than poor performance or cough when first exercised. In one report of clinically normal horses which compared those with normal tracheobroncial secretions to those indicative of chronic lower airway disease it found that the post exercise respiratory recovery rate was twice as long as those with normal secretions. The exercise respiratory recovery rate is the length of time following exercise it takes for the respiratory rate to return to normal. This report contains an overview of the evaluation of a horse with a history of decreasing performance with possible lower respiratory disease. There are links to other related articles on the problem of lower respiratory disease or poor performance.