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  Discussion on Chronic dry cough..no other symptom
Author Message
Member:
leslie1

Posted on Sunday, May 2, 2010 - 8:09 pm:

Hey Ya'll
My friends 7 year old gelding has had a dry cough for 3 months now. Absolutely no other symptoms. Vitals all normal, weight normal. Her vet has checked him and is stumped. Lungs are clear..He auscultated (sp?) fine. No snotty nose, nothing.
He coughs at rest and at exerscie. No shortness of breath. gums fine. He is on pasture and hay. Does this point toward allergy?

The vet took a blood sample.

Anyone ever had this happen to them? Shes worried sick and doesnt have much access to veterianiy care...as she is Russian and there is only one vet. I told her I would ask the sisters and DrO.:-)

Thanks all
leslie
Moderator:
DrO

Posted on Tuesday, May 4, 2010 - 8:34 am:

Hello leslie,
I would say that hay mold allergies would be a common cause of unexplained coughs.
DrO
Member:
leslie1

Posted on Tuesday, May 4, 2010 - 11:48 am:

Thank you:-)
Member:
freshman

Posted on Wednesday, May 5, 2010 - 1:53 am:

You don't mention any details of how the horse is housed and fed, but if the vet doesn't come up with any other probable cause for the cough, I think it would be worthwhile to consider some management changes to see if the horse's cough improves.

It's ideal to keep these horse outside on grass 24/7 if at all possible. Stop feeding hay entirely, or if that is not practical, then soak all the hay in water before it is fed. Avoid having the horse in the barn all or, if it has to be stalled, then it is best to remove all bedding or wet it down with water to keep down the dust.

If the horse does have any allergy to dust or hay molds, these changes can keep the horse comfortable and prevent the cough from getting worse, to the point where it has real respiratory difficulty. There are drugs that your vet can give to help if its breathing if it gets very bad, but it is best prevent the symptoms rather than treat them.
Moderator:
DrO

Posted on Wednesday, May 5, 2010 - 7:46 am:

Hello Freshman,
you will find more on this in the article associated with this discussion and in their is a link to the article on COPD (RAO) which discusses this in detail.
DrO
Member:
leslie1

Posted on Wednesday, May 5, 2010 - 1:02 pm:

I read the article, can you clear this for me?

Even with a clear auscultation(sp?), no crackle or wheeze , just cough, you can have allergy?

Thank you again...:-)
leslie
Member:
theresab

Posted on Wednesday, May 5, 2010 - 11:06 pm:

My old gelding had a dry cough that I checked with my Vet about. All his vitals were normal, but occasionally he would cough at the start of a ride or just walking around in the pasture. My vet thought it was due to the dust in the hay. Wetting the hay in my case seemed to help. Not sure if it was removing mold spores or the dust but it seemed to remedy the problem. When the weather would be humid I wouldn't need to wet his hay. When his cough would come back, I would wet his hay again.

T
Moderator:
DrO

Posted on Thursday, May 6, 2010 - 7:21 am:

Yes, when the problem is early or mild enough you might have normal auscultation results with an allergic pneumanitis.
DrO
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