It depends on causes and how much scar tissue the lungs develop before you get it figured out. Once the lung tissue is scarred, they never get that lung capacity back.
I have relied on exercise as a major part of his management to keep my horse breathing during his seasonal allergy induced heaves season. In my experience exercise opens up the airways and they stay open for a long time afterwards. In my experience it is incredibly difficult to take my wheezing horse out for a ride (even knowing how much it will help).
Vets will advise keeping the horse as fit as possible. This to reduce the effort required to do anything when their breathing is bad. I accidentally discovered the immediate benefit of exercise, and then later accidentally discovered how effective it can be.
My horse is on Prednisolone and Hydroxyzine daily, and I keep Ventipulmin on hand for emergency support. I’ve also found Omega Alpha’s RespiFree helpful.
I have a stethoscope and stopwatch (cellphone countdown timer works great) to listen to my horse’s lungs and determine his breath count daily. Often several times daily.
I have to start his medication earlier and stop later each year. Each year he had required more medication and had a higher resting breath rate. He does have some small amount of scar tissue in each lung - I can hear it with the stethoscope.
Diagnosis was in 2014. At the end of 2021 I thought that I might have to make the euthanasia call in the spring of 2024 (because I’m not going to wait until he can’t breathe and has to have an emergency call to the vet to euthanize). I adore this horse, and so I took a chance and bought a Bemer horse set. Bemer does nothing in the moment to help, but over the long term it helps the body function as it should, and improves recovery from stress and injury.
I started using the Bemer in March of 2022 (before his season started). Two years of regular, consistent Bemer use later I am shocked (in a most wonderfully delightful way) at how well he’s doing this year. And I have non-judgemental numbers to prove the difference.
My advice is this - do what your vet advises. If your horse is not showing significant improvement within a few days, call the vet and ask for something else. Don’t wait and see, as long term inflammation scars lung tissue permanently. Learn what the various drugs do for your horse, and when you can increase or add another dose as needed. Experiment with management if this is going to be a long term issue going forward and not just some unusual infection or event. Get a stethoscope and monitor your horse’s lung sounds. Learn how your horse responds to management and medication so you can call the vet ASAP when things aren’t normal.
Don’t panic. Heaves is manageable much of the time. Continuing to ride is often beneficial!
