I spoke with Lucky’s owners about getting him off Dex asap because of his skin. I suggested that they start some supplements but I’m not sure what to recommend specifically.
What I know of:
Lung EQ
MSM
SmartBreathe
Tri-Hist
Spirulina
Hilton Herbs Freeway
Cough Free
Heave Ho
What has worked best for you? Anything else that I should look into? They’re willing to pay about $3 a day total for the supplement(s).
Mine refuses to touch anything with Tri-Hist in it. I think it must taste horrible. I had a horse years ago that also refused it. Sucks, because when you do get them to take it, it seems to work pretty well.
They have all taken the Cough Free fine, but I didn’t really notice much of a difference with it.
I don’t have my current mare on anything right now, managing her environment has been infinitely more helpful than any of the supplements I have tried. We do still have some issues now and then, and so I have been looking again for something to use in the fall when she usually has issues. Her problems are seasonal.
A few friends recommended this: https://vetapprovedrx.pharmacy/wind-aid-equine-breathing-aid.html?gclid=EAIaIQobChMI95WXqqm03AIVBcJkCh3eLwZqEAQYDyABEgL-sPD_BwE
I just got it in the mail. It seems like its essential oils and you feed my mouth with a syringe. I’ll let you know if it helps. Just breathing it in for me feels nice. Opens me up. (I have asthma)
I’d be curious to hear what anyone says about the SmartBreathe,
How severe is the horse? What is the cause and actual diagnosis? What is his living situation?
I was able to remove Dex and Ventipulmin in favor of MSM and living out 24/7. That’s all I needed to do for my guy with IAD.
He was diagnosed with heaves and is probably more severe than most I’ve seen. He has an increased respiratory rate when he’s getting 10cc dex every other day. He lives our 24/7 on a nice pasture except for when he gets his grain.
I have used SmartBreathe for the last 5 years for my guy - he was diagnosed with Inflammatory Airway Disease. It is the only breathing supplement I use. I have tried just about everything that was on your list above plus a few others and the SmartBreathe really does help.
No round bales - ever. Spriulina, vitamin C, MSM. My vet recently told me that there was a study on omega 3 and it was shown to help. So I also give a cup of flax. Also, consider a nebulizer. Far better than systemic steroids. I bought one of those fancy (and expensive) ones when my horse had a very bad flare up a couple of months ago. He’s back in work now and I haven’t needed to use the nebulizer again (knocking wood).
I also recommend a nebulizer. Also, when Dex is administered via nebulizer, the risk of laminitis is far less. I have only have treated with Dex via inhalation. That is always what our respiratory specilist recommends.
You can also administer brochodilators through the nebulizer or just use a saline solution.
It’s good that he is out 24/7. I am not up to date on SmartPak (not available here), so I would also recommend the combo mentioned above.
@aristokat Can you use human nebulizers on horses? The horse ones I’ve seen are very expensive so I have been hesitant to suggest it to the owners.
Steaming hay and Respire from Horsetech.
Maybe you can Google/search homemade horse nebulizers. I have seen some interesting “hacks” on putting something together that functions well for the horse, without the price tag.
There are attachments you can buy for asthma “puffers” for people. I don’t know how well they work but someone sells them (I was looking when I bought a Flexineb). I’m not sure that human nebulizers are powerful enough or output enough or whatever to work on horses. Maybe check the technical info of a horse one beside a human one?
I have, and am also an ambassador for Pure Form Equine’s Choc Full A Chia. My mare was on dex last summer, and since putting my mare on their Sea Biscuit (which contains Spirulina) my mare who was on weekly/bi-weekly shots, has had one shot in 13 months now. I highly recommend looking into this, and I love the research I’ve found on feeding Spirulina. The spirulina infused biscuits have done wonders for my mare. Their site is pureformequine.com (And my own discount code is CCR4 for 20% off, I advise 3-biscuits/day.)
Of course I am biased as I represent this lovely company, but do your research and feel free to PM me any questions.
My horse was diagnosed with COPD/Heaves 3 years ago. He’s been nearly symptom-free for more than a year with no exercise restrictions since I put him on a Porta-Grazer for hay (head-down slow feeder that helps filter out dirt/dust in the hay) and Respire from Horsetech Inc. The Respire works better than any prescription or OTC I’ve tried - it has MSM, Vitamin C, Spirulina,Turmeric, flax, chia, and jiaogulan. I had been buying those ingredients (minus the jiaogulan) individually for awhile and mixing them myself, but I found it was cheaper to buy the mix from Horse Tech
I have my mare on the smartbreathe ultra and to be honest she has been having a bad year. I’m not sure exactly what is to blame but she has had two major flare up already and the year is only half over. I have been looking into the Respire as well. I love the customer service from Horsetech. They always send me samples when I ask and they are super helpful. I had asked about the Respire in a separate thread, and someone mentioned that some of the percentages of some of the ingredients where below what would be considered ideal. I’m not sure if that is accurate though. I have tried spirulina in the past, and it seemed to help…I used to buy from Springtime. I know my vet also suggested that some of her clients have seen results using Equine Omega Complete…but that it takes a few months for it to make a difference.
Also a fan of Respire here, but my mare has allergies (“hay fever”) rather than any airway issues, heaves, or COPD. If I run out (happens occasionally), I feed her 1/2 cup of flaxseed meal per day until I can get more Respire. She did not like spirulina on its own, and it stains everything.
Honestly, though, moving barns really helped the most. She has not needed allergy shots, and has needed Dex only once, since I moved her last year. She went from 18-24 hours/day outside to 7-8, which contradicts basic care for horses with breathing issues, but yes she is better. The barn is very open and clean, and she can stick her head out of the stall. It may be that there was some unknown thing at the last barn that she was really allergic to, and it’s not present at the current barn.
I have a horse with reactive airway disease. She rarely has problems now with these changes. Moved to as much turnout as possible and to an outdoor stall with attached paddock when in. Hay fed wet. When I see any nasal discharge she gets Sputolysin. I tried other popular herbal commercial preparations but I honestly don’t think they did much but this really helps thin and clear out mucous secretions. It is a drug (I forget active drug ingredient name at moment) but there have been studies showing both that it makes a positive difference and that there were no ill effects even over long term usage. Since she gets it proactively she just gets a half dose for a week. Of course, I must add anytime a horse coughs or has nasal discharge there is a chance it could be due to infection rather than airway disease and they should be checked for fever and possibly examined by vet to rule this out rather than treat something that isn’t the problem and not treat what is a problem. These are the main things I feel confident made a difference for our horse though. In addition, we purchased a nebulizer and if she has nasal discharge or god forbid coughs she also gets nebulized with 10-30 ml saline. I try to do so twice a day but often just once. She gets fed a mash with vitamin C and flaxseed oil and sometimes herbs for respiratory health in it as well. I am less confident the saline and supplements do much. She had full blown heaves twice when we first aquired her but with these changes she has never had another heaves episode and is in normal moderate work. My vet said even if the saline doesn’t really have much effect it is good to have the nebulizer in case she has a problem that would best be treated by nebulized medication. I am glad to have this option and would do so for a short term course of treatment but the long term nebulized maintainence med costs are a bit over the top. I hope we won’t come to that. She has developed cough just twice in last four years that remained more than a day and vet prescribed Ventiplus. Otherwise she is very well. But I know the severity and progression of respiratory ailments can differ widely from horse to horse. Sometimes you need to experiment with what combinations work best for your horse or situation. Best wishes and hope your horse remains well.
Homemade nebulizer:
Buy mask here: https://silverhorsecare.com/product/horse-mask-adult-size/ They are $45
Buy nebulizer machine from eBay. Mine cost me about $30.
I use albuterol and/or dex through the nebulizer.
I don’t use it very often but it’s very nice to have around for emergency situations.
I just found this thread via Google. I have been using Heave Ho, then AniHist H. Heave ho seems to be all natural — and it does a good job, especially for my 28 year old who cannot even trot to the feed bucket when not one it, but can canter up when on it.
AniHist H is also all natural, but does not list ingredients.
Smart Pak has a supplement that is full of high doses of ‘chemicals’ which is > 2x as much as the natural ingredient products.
My other horse is a roarer who has had 2 throat surgeries. Since he is in a different category than my old boy, does he need anything different?
Very confusing.
TIA
My horse would be bad from spring until first frost, nasty cough when ridden and would not clear up. we put her on Dex and Ventipulmin which did help but I did not like having her on it. So I started using AirPower by Finish Line the following spring and it completely worked for her absolutely no cough, I also wet her hay and give her access to come and go from her stall. I’m a huge fan of it.
Currently high dose of MSM and Cough Free is helping my pony stay off Dex. He gets soaked hay feed on ground in slow feeder. Outside as much as possible.
When I worked at a ASB barn we had a couple roarers that the vet had us keep on an extra high dose of MSM for any inflammation. It did seem to help as they didn’t get any worse.
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