My QH mare has a severe breathing problem...?

Question

Help! my six year old quarter horse mare has a very bad breathing problem. I think its "roaring" but i have not had the vet come out to look at her yet. She is not in the greatest condition, but even when she is the breathing issues never stop. I was wondering if there is any supplement or exercise that i can do to help her breath better. I would really appreciate some advice!
PS ( I do eventing with this mare, thats why its such a bid problem when she can't breath going around our cross-country course!)

Answer 1

If your really worried about this horse have a Vet out ASAP. Breathing problems can be many, many different problems. She is having breathing problems & your still running this mare..... Poor thing!!!

Answer 2

Go ahead with a vet visit and specifically request to have her scoped so you know exactly what you're dealing with. Based on the vet's diagnosis, you'll then be given a workable prognosis with (typically) several options for treatment, possibly even surgical intervention, depending on the nature of the problem. No supplement or exercise is going to help you if you attempt to treat this blindy.



I just realized you're still working a horse with an unidentified breathing problem. No more work until you have her scoped. She may very well drop dead underneath of you.



Casey23 ~ It'll save you money in the long run to mention when you call for the appointment that you think your horse may need to be scoped. That way the vet schedules it if it's needed and won't charge you another farm call for coming out to do a separate procedure. It also ensures the vet has all of the appropriate equipment so the same thing doesn't happen...second farm call. If the horse doesn't need it upon examination, the vet will also tell you that. My best friend went through something similar with her horse and wasn't proactive enough, so it was dragged out with a lot of diagnostics, physical examinations ($65 a pop) and farm calls ($38 a pop) and then in the end the horse was finally scoped ($160). Should have happened much earlier. She ended up paying $725 for the vet to try to figure out the problem and if she'd only strongly suggested scoping in the first place, would have paid less than $300. A lot of people like to be passengers or only know what they do from reading books. Get to the bottom of it and do it right, is my best advice. Don't put it off any longer. Good Luck.

Answer 3

It sounds like this has gone on for some time now. You say she is also not in the best condition, and yet you are doing eventing with her.

Why haven't you had a vet examine her? She can't breathe going around the cross country course, but you have her doing it anyway?

So now it appears you are willing to begin giving her supplements or performing exercises based on what someone on YA tells you, still without having her examined by a vet?



You don't need to tell the veterinarian how to practice medicine as some might be suggesting.......the vet will know what diagnostic tests are indicated based on the history and/or examination of your individual horse. All you need to know is what the symptoms are, how long the symptoms have been present, what brings them on, and be able to describe what you have observed.



In the meantime, your horse needs to be retired from eventing until a vet has pronounced it safe for her to participate.



ADD....the thing is, respiratory endoscopy performed on horses at rest, which is what having the vet perform it at your farm would require, has been shown to produce high rate of false negative results, making those results unreliable. If it is determined that scoping is indicated., it is usually best to have the test formed at a fully equipped clinic.

Based on the information you relate to your vet over the phone, it is sometimes determined that a farm call is not the best way to proceed, and that the horse should be brought to the clinic. It is not cost effective to perform diagnostics in the field when doing so may yield unreliable results.

Answer 4

What makes you assume it's roaring? Roaring is normally caused a lag or defect in the nerve which controls the flap in a horses throat (the one that keeps food out of it's trachea). If it is roaring, it can be fixed with a rather expensive surgery or you'll have to lessen the activity level for the horse (no more cross country, unfortunately).





My first thought was heaves. It normally happens when the horse is exposed to moldy, dusty hay or shavings for long periods of time. If she has heaves, she can be managed with the use of certain drugs and by removing the irritant from her pasture or stall.



It could be any of the host of respiratory problems horses face. Either way, the vet needs to see and evaluate the horse. They will be able to recommend the best course of action and treatment for your horse and it's lifestyle.

Answer 5

Would you take medication for anything that has not yet been diagnosed by a doctor, don't give your horse something it does not need until the vet examines her and you know what is wrong, she may have a flapper valve problem, or a lung problem, let the vet determine her problem not some 12 year old who once went on a trail ride. Stop eventing or working her until you know what is wrong or she may fall over and die with you riding her.Not having your horse seen by a vet is animal cruelty of the worst kind.

Answer 6

This could be so many different things that asking here isn't going to help. You need to get your vet out to take a look at your mare and possibly take a sample of the mucus in her lungs in case it might be heaves.



I would take the time out before you ride your mare if you think it's fair that you're making her do cross country and she may not be getting a significant lungful of oxygen. Are you still forcing her to do this? I would stop until you have a diagnosis as to what is going on. You are also putting yourself at great risk in case she ends up collapsing because of insufficient oxygen.

Answer 7

ok, well it could be a number of things.



heaves is sort of like asthma. her airway gets inflammed, and she would have a hard time breathing. its accompanied by "heaving" flanks and a cough. Heaves does not typically present in a horse that is only 6 years old. For the person that wants to refute: that means that you have to feed your horse moldy dusty hay about everyday of its life.



theres also something i call runner's cough, that is when unfit horses work hard, without warming up. its like running your mile in gym, but never preparing for it first. your lungs ache, and you cough.



also, there is stable cough, when things get trapped in the horses airway, like sawdust, or hay dust, and the horse coughs to clear his airway to breathe properly.



one more thing, and that is get his teeth checked. sometimes if they are packing their cheeks, those little food parcels can dislodge from his teeth, and fly into his airway, causeing his airway to inflame and him to cough. (just like if you swallow something the wrong way).



roaring is very commonly seen in TB's not QH's. (unless its an appendix).



CoughEx works really well for stable cough, and heaves management. ask your vet the best way to go about things.



if you could provide a more accurate description of when it happens, and what it sounds like, that will help i think to get better answers.



PS _ Ron's a little sour... but he's right!

and btw! im not 12, im 13 and a half!!!!!! =P (i wish i was 17 again honestly)

Answer 8

Breathing issues are not something to be taken lightly or self-diagnose.

A vet needs to see her ASAP. If this mare has issues breathing, I definitely wouldn't be doing eventing with her until she is treated and gets back in shape.

Answer 9

Get the vet to check her before trying anything. If it is roaring, there is probably nothing you could give her to really help, but the vet can do surgery which will ease the problem.

Answer 10

You don't need to ask us for advice about anything. The only appropriate thing you need to do is ask your vet -- and FAST! Your vet will give you all the advice you can possibly need, and it'll be advice that's actually good, not haphazard information from random people online, which may as well kill your mare as make her better.

That said, best of luck!

Answer 11

fitness is so important, when dealing with breathing problems. overweight is really bad for a horse like this. also, if u event, the kindest thing you can do is keep your horses weight under control. it blows my mind the number of people that show up[ at horse trials and events with their horses really fat and out of shape, and then they make them gallop and jump all day.

at the track, we use nebulizers, for breathing problems. you can check into farnam products. also, check into holistic breathing remidies.

my old jumper/dressage horse was a roarer too. the more aggitated he got the worse the breathing got. i had to focus on keeping his weight down and keeping him relaxed, and was able to ride and show him for close to 10 years. he was retired due to arthritis.

EDIT THAT I HOPE YOU SEE!!!

somewhere along the line i recall hearing this,

roaring is when the breathe OUT and Heaves is when they breathe IN. also, heaves will leave a tell tail heave line along the rib cage. google it and see if its there...

heaves can be causedby alergies, seasonal stuff, dust etc...

Answer 12

Did she break her wind or her diaphram? I would suggest you have the vet out for sure to diagnose the problem.



Jenny

Answer 13

I'd have her vet checked ASAP, better to be safe than sorry!!!