ADVICEFROMTHE VET
concurrently,and if yoususpecteither of these problems, or have acase of laminitis, it is alwaysbesttohavea chat to your vettodiscussthe best wayforward.
EQUINE ASTHMA:
Equine asthma, or COPD (Chronic ObstructivePulmonary Disease) or RAO (Recurrent Airway Disease) refers to a reaction ahorse canhavetoa respiratory allergen, such as dustorpollen. Signs, such as coughing and heavybreathing at work or at rest,but usually when the horse is mostexposed to the allergen, at this time of year usually dustinhay or bedding. The mainstay of treatment of equine
asthma is in the management of these horses. Exposuretodustmustbekept at aminimum, and so maximising turnout is ideal. If your horse spends anytime stabled, theyshould be on alow-dust bedding, such as low-dustshavings or soakable pelletsrather than straw. Hay should be soaked foratleast twenty minutes.Ifyour horse is still struggling despitethis, we cangiveproducts such as Ventipulmin to help them breathe
moreeasily.Ventipulmin is generally administeredasa10-daycourse,asafter this time the receptorsinthe airways that the drug acts on downregulate, and
it losesits effect. Manycasesofequine asthma aresporadic, i.e. theyoccur after aparticularly dusty bale of hayor straw, and resolveonceexposuretothe allergen is stopped. Some casesbecome morelong-term and mayrequirefurther mediation to reduceinflammation in the airways. These cannow often be delivered via the use of inhalers, which reduces the effectonthe rest of the body and targetsthe lungs specifically.
MUD FEVER:
Recent research intomud feverhas highlighted that lowertemperatures within thelegs reducethe bloodcirculation to the skin and hencemakes developing mud fevermorelikely,thereforeitismore advantageous to allowmud to dry on the legs, as opposed to washing it off. Sometimesapplying bootsorbandages on topofmud and allowing it to dry before brushing it off helps to keep thelegs warm. Horsesthathaveopen sores need to be kept in and treatedwith topical and oral preparations containing antibiotics and anti-inflammatories. Thereare a wide varietyofproducts on the market forthe prevention of mud fever, such as “MudStop” which prevent mud from sticking to the legs and irritating the skin.
Avonvale’s dentistry expert Lauraattending to one of her patients.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Emily graduated UniversityofBristol in 2015, and undertook an internship with Avonvale Equine Practice, and then worked as an ambulatory and stud vetbeforerejoining the practice in 2017asanassistant. Emily has ahuge interest in dressage,having competed in BD and BYRDs and written forjudgesofall levels. She helps look after atwo year-old WBx, aptly named Mayhem.
PleasementionCentralHorseNewswhenrespondingtoAdvertisementsJANUARY/FEBRUARY2018 21
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