Cough and snotty nose

[4horses]

My friend’s horse, Aci is at my house. My 2 yr old desperately wanted a buddy horse to play with and this was his weaning buddy, so I borrowed Aci back about 3 weeks ago. The last 2 days Aci has caught a cold- no fever, but coughing and having a runny nose and looking a bit lethargic . My 2 yr old is fine so far. I have thought about separating them, but they have been in the same paddock for 3 weeks and have been playing bitey face and sharing a grain bucket, etc. They are best buddies and Aci will probably fret if seperated.

Should I be more concerned about this cold? I did take my mare to the vet so she could have brought something home, but she seems fine so far. She is separated but likely already exposed if it’s contagious.

3 weeks sounds a bit long for an incubation period if he had something before I brought him here. I have not yet contacted the vet, as I’m not sure there’s much to be done for a virus, assuming that is what it is.

[luvmyhackney]

Temp? Vitals? Clear snot, white snot or greenish?

Not enough info.

[trubandloki]

I will second the questions that @luvmyhackney has asked.
Is the runny nose the same on both sides?

Any chance of Choke?

[candyappy]

@4horses

no fever but coughing and having a runny nose and looking a bit lethargic .

He obviously doesn’t feel good. I am not antibiotic happy but I think a call to your vet for advice if he needs something would be a good idea ( if not done already).

Where he got it is anyones guess. My daughters horse was new to us 2-3 weeks before both my horses came down with strangles. Sometimes It can take a bit of time for the carriers to do their job

[4horses]

Temp is normal. Snot is whitish clear. The first day it was thicker, as he had dirt/hay all stuck on his nose. Same on both sides. If he looks worse I’ll definitely notify the vet. No one else has symptoms. I am wondering if it’s allergy related rather than infectious? Usually I just see a cough with allergy issues, not the nasal discharge.

Definitely not choke. He is eating normally.

[jvanrens]

Sounds like allergies to me, other than the lethargy, but let your friend know what is going on if you haven’t already.