Experimenting with Bemer for heaves management

[RedHorses]

I have recently arranged to rent a horse Bemer set to see if it will help my horse with his summer allergy induced heaves. He is currently in the off season and unmedicated, but 2021’s season started extremely early (first week of April - previous years were May) and was a bad year for breathing issues (per the vet).

My horse has been on Prednisolone for five years and while we’re not at the maximum dosage yet, each year he has needed more medication. I discussed drugs with the vet at the end of last year and she recommended a larger dose starting earlier this spring.

I was introduced to Bemer last year and over the winter have talked to people who have used it regularly and after some time were able to reduce or eliminate their use of drugs to manage heaves (especially seasonally induced heaves). The price tag on a Bemer Horse Set is steep, but I can swing it and would gladly pay that for a couple more years with this horse. The skeptic in me demanded a trial period first…

I thought that other owners of horse affected by heaves might be interested in the effects of the Bemer on my horse. I am going to track his heaves stats (breath rate, lung sounds, exercise & limitations, drugs/breathing aids) and environmental stats (weather, temperature, humidity, etc) hopefully on a daily basis through this year’s season (last year it went into October). Weight on a weekly basis could be worth tracking as he did lose a lot in the later part of his heaves season. Of course details of the Bemer sessions would be tracked.

If you’re interested in following the progress of this experiment is there any other information you would track? What kind of updates would you be interested in seeing? Frequency, data, summary/assessment, etc.

[NaturallyHappy]

I use the Bemer on my horse; he doesn’t have heaves but I do feel it helps him and I’ve never regretted the investment.

[Syrynx]

Me! I’m interested. My draftx gets 40 generic Zyrtec a day which we just started as his breathing was labored during a clinic this weekend. I’ve had him about a year and a half and we discovered his allergies last spring due to a snotty nose and difficulty breathing.

I don’t have any other suggestions for data but would be interested in your observations as often as you’d like to give them. Oh, maybe pollen count if you have it along with the other weather measures? I saw yesterday the Tree pollen was high and need to start up the alerts on the counter on my phone again.

Also, and feel free to pm this info or not give it if you don’t like…what breed horse, what type of work and where are you located?

We’re in the northeast, he’s a Clyde cross but favors his Clyde side and we do low level dressage and would like to start low level eventing.

I’m at an eventing barn so expect a Bemer would be a welcome investment. lol. But I would really like to see if it could help with my horses breathing issues.

Thanks!

[blob99]

I would be interested to hear the progress as I’m dealing with a new heaves diagnosis with my horse and a pretty severe one.

In terms of what you share, would be interested in what other medications/supplements/etc he’s getting and at what rate.

I must admit that I’m having a hard time processing how the bemer would help, esp if the heaves is allergy trigged. But I’m also very ok with something that works even if I can’t explain how/why.

[ThatBayHorse]

I post the same thing to everyone. Have you had your horse allergy tested? If you don’t know what they are allergic to, you can’t make environmental or diet management decisions to improve their symptoms.

My horse was retired/unrideable last spring because I was feeding her hay with grasses she was allergic to and she was having symptoms even with steroids and antihistamines etc. flexineb made everything 10x worse. I switched her to timothy hay (one of the 2 grasses she was not allergic to) and her symptoms improved 99%. She stopped coughing and got off steroids completely. She is now rideable and mostly symptom free.

I will note that the allergy shots did not work for my horse, but using the results to make feed decisions did majorly. If you are feeding your horse something they are allergic to (even if you are steaming the hay etc) they will still have symptoms unless it is specifically the mold/dust they are allergic and not the grass species itself. Good luck!

[luvmyhackney]

I had my pony tested and removed the items I am able to remove. He’s also allergic to dust mites, certain mold spores, and pine. I can’t remove those 100% from his environment.

Following to see if helpful.

[Syrynx]

I’ve not. Vet did not suggest it but she’s coming this week for some right hind wonkiness so will discuss with her. Thanks for that idea.

[stb]

I would be very interested to follow your experience. My horse was diagnosed with summer heaves last fall and he is already symptomatic again. I am currently using an Aservo inhaler and he is on hydroxyzine as well. I have a hay steamer on order but it is taking an agonizingly long time to get it. It is supposed to get here within the month.

[RedHorses]

@Syrynx

maybe pollen count if you have it along with the other weather measures?

We’re still getting wind chill temperature adjustments here in Eastern Ontario! But that is a very good idea and I will try to include that data once it appears.

I was advised to begin a couple of weeks before the season begins. That’s obviously going to be a best guess as the weather doesn’t follow a schedule. I’m starting now because I started giving him Prednisolone April 9th last year after about a week of iffy breathing.

The almanac and weather predictions for 2022 are for early warm and wet spring weeks, followed by cooler, drier weeks so his season onset could be delayed. This bodes well for a period of cardio fitness building between mucky footing and hot and humid. The humidity really makes things worse for him and I’m focused on maintaining what fitness he has through the worst part of his season.

He is going to be 24 on Earth Day. He’s a TBxQH and does mostly trail riding and dressage. I did promise him a jump session after his bruised leg heals. We no longer compete due to his medication and the fact that almost all shows are during the hot, humid summer. Trails mean 6-8km per day at home, with an outing every week or two to ride an average of 10-15km. If we don’t go anywhere I’ll do a longer ride at home one day. I did move to a barn closer to one of my favourite networks and I’m hoping to go out more often this year. I did a 15 mile training Endurance ride with him last June and he wasn’t even tired at the end.

I do expect to have to give him Prednisolone and hydroxyzine this year. I am hoping I won’t have to increase the dosage, and have very tiny, super quiet hopes that I will be able to go lower than last year. If he can maintain on last year’s dosage and not require the emergency Ventipulmin I will be very pleased. I will be watching the longer term weather forecast and trying to start the Prednisolone before he starts having trouble, but as late as I dare. I’ll start the hydroxyzine as soon as he starts showing allergy signs.

He gets 45cc of RespiFree daily year round.

[Syrynx]

Your boy sounds like a wonderful partner! It absolutely stinks when they’re limited because of some stupid condition like this.

I can’t give my big fella ongoing steroids and the cetirizine seems to help some while he’s relatively idle. We did have to use an inhaler with abuterol and prednisone for a bit when it was particularly bad but luckily didn’t have to continue that more than a couple of weeks.

I didn’t do much with him last year but flat lessons and the occasional meandering trail ride. He’s got a stop and spin that has taken me a few months to get over so I limited myself in our adventures.

The plan this year, I think I mentioned, is low level dressage and maybe an intro event or two. He does love to jump but I don’t plan anything too crazy because neither of us are built for that.

So we’ll have to see what happens when I increase his work, whether his generic Zyrtec still helps or if we have to start the inhaler again or if we just have a ‘career’ of meandering around, which would be perfectly fine by me if that is where we land.

[RedHorses]

I have posted before about my specific use of exercise to keep my horse breathing on his worst days. The exercise is meandering trail rides with a purpose. I posted recently on another thread. Have you tried using exercise to help your horse?

[RedHorses]

Here’s one about my exercise use:

Exercise is by far the best tool I have. I found RespiFree helps loosen/thin the mucus in his sinuses but add exercise and then get his nose to the ground and it’s draining like crazy. Antihistamines help limit the mucus build up in the summer allergy season.

Exercise naturally triggers the dialation of the airways, as well as getting mucus moving and the effects last. I discovered this entirely by accident (because PSSM requires regular exercise) and rely on exercise to keep my horse’s breathing in reasonable territory. It is hard to ride when he’s wheezing, but I have seen the positive results so many times now I can make myself do it - even if I’m apologizing to him constantly.

Exercise is not a “regular schooling” but is as much physical effort as he is capable of doing. The limit increases during the ride and I let him tell me how he’s doing, and sometimes have to slow him down when he’s thinking he can go faster than he can breathe. I stay out of dusty rings and do most of the breathing rides on the trails.

While many vets recommend exercise as part of heaves management it is with the idea of getting/keeping the horse as fit as possible so that everyday activity requires less effort. I have discussed my experience with exercise as heaves management with quite a few vets (between scribing duties at endurance rides) and all were surprised at how effective it’s been as a direct “bad breathing day” treatment. I’m not just imagining things - I have been tracking my horse’s breaths per minute before exercise, immediately following, post recovery, and 8-12 hours later. Most of the time the breath rate 8-12 hours later is still lower than the pre ride rate.

It should be obvious that just as heaves has many causes and many treatment options the sort of exercise I use may not be effective for every horse with heaves. But it is an option so often overlooked because we see our horse struggling to breathe and we don’t want to add to their strain.

[RedHorses]

Here’s my response to someone asking if I thought exercise would help their horse:

You can try it. Each year I figure out what my horse’s base respiration rate is during his heaves season. Normal rate for horses is 8-10/minute. My horse in season is usually around 18. If his rate goes higher then I know he needs the exercise. If his body has a jerk at the end of the in or out breath then he needs the exercise. If I hear a wheeze at his nostrils, or from any distance, he needs the exercise. If his breathing is shallow he needs the exercise. I use my stethoscope to monitor lung sounds - groans, wheezes, squeaks and crackles mean exercise.

This degree of breathing impairment does affect how much work he can do. We start with walk. At my last barn we had several short trail sections with decent slopes and I used them to increase demand without going to trot. When we do trot it’s very short distances determined by how he feels. Little trots interspersed with walking until he gets his breath back.

Those little trots get longer and we may try a short canter if he’s willing. I ask him “Would you like to canter?” and he will say “Yes! Faster!” or “Yes!” or “Okay” or “Not really” - you need to be paying careful attention to your horse to pick up on their capabilities in that moment. I want to slow down before he gets into anaerobic exercise, before the lack of oxygen makes his muscles weaken, before he has a coughing fit (one or two coughs are acceptable and often necessary to help shift mucus).

I don’t ask him to come up into a dressage outline because closing the angle at his throatlatch triggers coughing. I encourage a longer, show hunter type of outline. I also use a hackamore because I read that horses are meant to have sealed mouths for optimum breathing during exertion - this is a case of giving him every possible advantage I can.

Some examples for you:

One day my horse had a breath rate of 32. I took him out for 30-40 min and when we got back his breath rate was 43. I cold hosed, let him have a drink, and some hay cubes. Twenty minutes later his breath rate was 26. Half an hour after that it was 18, and I suddenly realized I had forgotten to give him his medication! THAT is what exercise can do for my horse. And yes, I gave him his meds right away.

Last year was a harder year for allergy induced heaves and there were days I could hear my horse wheezing from several metres away. The walk initially made the wheeze louder, but after a bit it was gone. Trot made the wheeze return - that made it easy to monitor his breathing. I felt like a huge meanie making him go for a ride. Even knowing that it would really help I found it difficult to do.

If you’re going to try exercise, give yourself some hard evidence to monitor its effect. Count your horse’s breaths per minute (count 15 seconds and multiply by 4) before riding, immediately after you get back, and 30-40 minutes later. You can do a count at 15-20 minutes post ride as well if you want. I put the back of my hand on my horse’s flank in front of his stifle find the extreme ends of in and out breaths, then count “one in, one out, two in, two out…” and use a 15s timer on my phone.

I suggest you start by walking for 15-20 minutes (in hand or under saddle). Keep a steady, forward march at the pace your horse can do on that day, in that moment. If you have short slopes/hills available increase the effort required by walking up the slope. Stop and let your horse catch their breath if necessary at any point. Even this short bit of exercise should give you an idea of whether exercise will be helpful. In the first few minutes it might appear to be making things worse, but the stress is needed to trigger the airway dialation. Don’t give up too quickly.

[Syrynx]

Thank you RedHorses!

Yep I did know that exercise helps. To be honest, I had some confidence issues last year that I’d referenced in my previous reply that kept me from really keeping up on that exercise (shame on me). And I’m right there with you thinking it’s hard to make him do anything when I can hear and feel him breathing harder than he should.

This year I am going to be much more proactive with a plan and like the idea of tracking his breaths per minute along with the other factors (weather conditions, where we ride and for how long, pollen count). I do love me a good spreadsheet, although I wish I didn’t need one in this case!

[RedHorses]

If you’re not feeling confident to ride out can you hand walk?

My younger horse is very athletic and was very reactive about worrisome things and situations and I didn’t trust him enough to trail ride alone most days. I did a lot of work to get him to learn to pause, think, and let go of his rabbits. Part of that work was hand walking trails without micro managing him. He couldn’t get ahead, or push into me, and had to walk on when I reached the end of the rope. Otherwise it was like walking an oversized dog. He could stop, sniff, stare.

I did this for an entire winter and he’s much better on the trails. Partly because he’s had the learning time and partly because I have been out with him enough to see how he handled it.

[Syrynx]

I am confident and actually hand walking benefits me as well in terms of fitness. And we have some nice hills at my barn which make it all even better.

[RedHorses]

I tried to post this on another thread, and the board will not permit it. So I’m trying here because it is also an update of sorts.

The Bemer has no immediate effect on any given day. Long term, regular use allows the body to do what it’s supposed to do - heal, recover from stress, function normally.

I started at the end of March 2022 and (subjective assessment) found he was recovering faster from big days in August (3-4 trailering hours plus 2-3 hours on trail). His best breath rate was less consistent, and no higher than 2021’s 20 breaths per minute. His medication dosage was the same as in 2021. At the end of September he injured his stifle, which meant I no longer had exercise as a management option (it had been a major part. of keeping him breathing for several years).

[RedHorses]

In 2023 his best breath rate varied wildly, from 20bpm down to 10 on one day in August. We had some smokey days when forest fire smoke blew into our area, and he recovered faster than I expected (subjective assessment). I did increase his medication to handle smoke days, and high allergy days, but the base dose stayed the same as 2021-22. His stifle had healed well, but in April he reinjured it, again removing exercise as a management option. I was tracking pollen sources this year, and his breathing was good enough that I was able to identify one of his allergies as his breath rate. spiked the same day ragweed reached Very High. Clearing his paddock of ragweed produced a significant drop in base breath rate within 24 hours.

This year, 2024, his base breath rate has again been quite variable, with 12-14 being most common. On. the fourth day of the first major humid heat wave with temperatures in the mid 30s Celsius, I got his breath rate down to 9bpm. Single digit breath rates in the summer were something I hadn’t seen in years, and those hadn’t been during humid heat waves (nonsubjective assessment). If that wasn’t enough of a shock, he was still on his season starter dose of medication (60% and 50% of the previous year’s summer dose - another nonsubjective assessment). In addition, I still didn’t have exercise beyond hand walking as a management option. I didn’t use any emergency medication (Ventipulmin) this year.

[RedHorses]

I didn’t mention it in each year’s summary, but I also saw a reduction in his starting breath rate. Which is the breath rate when I arrived at the barn, before any meds or other assistance. In 2021 I recorded starting rates of 32 breaths per minute, with his body jerking as he breathed. In 2024 I found myself getting anxious when his starting rate was 18, two breaths lower than 2021’s best rate! I stopped feeling anxious after I realized that.

I have also been listening to his lungs with a stethoscope and developed my own rating scale to help me track how he was doing. It is a subjective assessment, but numbers aside, it’s pretty obvious that barely audible breath sounds most days this year is an improvement over crackles, groans and wheezes that were common in 2022.

[RedHorses]

Given the stifle injury in 2022, reinjury in April 2023, and forest fire smoke in 2023, I doubt that I could have gotten him through 2023 if I hadn’t started the Bemer in 2022. He certainly would have had a lot more trouble breathing.

I am riding him again, and slowly increasing his trot work. He’s feeling good, often pushing to go faster and longer. At 26 with a fragile stifle, it’s just hacking and gentle stretching and suppling exercises, but we’re both enjoying it. We’re going out to the local forestry centre trails once a week, and I think we’re going to go a little further for next week’s outing.

This is what the Bemer has done for us, and to me it’s been worth every cent of the $6K the Horse Set cost me.