dry cough when working

dancing lucy

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May 23, 2008
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stalybridge
just recently our 16.2 warmblood mare has started to cough when trotting or cantering of course we pull up immediately. She is fine walking but as soon as asked to do anymore she sets off but then throws her head down with a hard dry cough. With weather not been riding much but our fields are a mass of hills so she is not out of condition and also has not been coughing when stabled and nothing is coming out when she does cough. I suspect it could be hay which is quite dusty we normally mix hay and hayledge but am going to try her just on hayledge see if any difference next week. Its such a shame as she loves to have a little canter and leave me and my hairy cob trailing behind. Any suggestions would be welcome
 
my dumblood has a tendancy to do this when taken for a lesson in the school, but not when out on a hack, even when cantering on a hack. I thought it might be to do with being trailered, even though there is no haynet and plenty of ventilation, and its only 6 miles away. THe school itself is outdoors, and is most definitely NOT dusty.

She is fine walking, then after about 5 minutes of trotting, her head goes down and she coughs - no phlegm or mucous, just dry. We let her walk, then trot again with her head down, she coughs a bit more, then is fine for the rest of the lesson.

No idea why she does it!, nor does the instructor. Like I said, she happily does high speed hacks with no prior or subsequent coughing. Makes me wonder if it something to with working in a school - she does it way before any progress to working on the bit is made - we always start long and low, but maybe on a circle it uses more stomach muscles/affects her diaphragm? Thats my theory anyway:unsure:

I think with yours, it will be interesting to see if there is improvement once she has been off the dusty hay for a while - it seems the most likely culprit.
 
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I would immediately suspect the hay you are feeding if you are not soaking it first. One of my mares has a very slight dust allergy and will start with a dry cough when working if fed unsoaked hay, or if she is bedded on straw. Since realising this about 8 years ago we do neither and she is fine.
 
sounds just like Betty does we walked for miles and miles and she was fine just a small trot and she was off, so now going to try the hayledge idea for a week and see if any improvement then if none we will phone vet for advice and visit if necc. When we got back to yard she got rugged up and when we put her in the field she cantered up the hill with no sign of cough but she did stop at the top and wait so dont know if she did a bit then as my cob had gone flying up and straight back over the other side out of view
 
thanks for replies it does sound like dust allergy and our hay is dusty so im just trying to eliminate things at the minute my daughter likened it to how she feels when going for a run she is fine till she starts then starts to feel chesty and coughs when she slows down she is fine she takes a puff of her inhaler and is then okay to go again
 
Go to Boots tomorrow and buy some dry cough syrup (honey and lemon) they love it and it eases the cough.

my fella always gets a cough toward the end of the winter, he stabled at night between Dec and end of Feb and every year I have had him he gets a cough arounf now. This year I brought Lincoln cough herbal syrup for horses that costs around 6 quid ish. My friend brought boots cough syrup and the result was the same (I told her to by the boots stuff as it was cheaper?)

It is normally caused by dust hay and or bedding, either soak your hay or feed from the floor and make sure that you you out the bed down and up when the horse is in the field not stood outside the stable.

Like yours mine was only doing it in when schooled in trot, I let him have a good cough and then carry on.
 
Go to Boots tomorrow and buy some dry cough syrup (honey and lemon) they love it and it eases the cough.

my fella always gets a cough toward the end of the winter, he stabled at night between Dec and end of Feb and every year I have had him he gets a cough arounf now. This year I brought Lincoln cough herbal syrup for horses that costs around 6 quid ish. My friend brought boots cough syrup and the result was the same (I told her to by the boots stuff as it was cheaper?)

It is normally caused by dust hay and or bedding, either soak your hay or feed from the floor and make sure that you you out the bed down and up when the horse is in the field not stood outside the stable.

Like yours mine was only doing it in when schooled in trot, I let him have a good cough and then carry on.

Someone on the yard uses tescos own make has a cream label with a green pattern and writing. I think was 89p.

You could also try breath easy for a few days to see if that makes a difference.
 
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