Hi all! I’m new to the forum world but thought this would be a great place to come for advice.
I have a 14 yo QH mare that has heaves. She first developed them about 3 years ago. Her mother also had heaves. We live in Florida and it’s VERY tough for her from around mid June through Oct/Nov due to the humidity.
She’s pasture-kept 24/7 so no dust from being stalled. Anytime she gets hay it is soaked. I’m managing her breathing with Dexamethasone, as I’ve tried several different herbal remedies and none worked for her. She currently gets 2cc/day, which is low but of course I’d rather not have her on it at all.
So that’s the background info, here’s the crazy idea I had…
I’d love to see about sending her out west somewhere, Colorado, Wyoming, somewhere with lower humidity than here from June through October and see if she’s able to manage without being on the steroids. However, I know NO ONE out there, I’ve never been out there myself. I live on a farm here and she’s a cow horse, so it’d be ideal to find a ranch or someplace for her where she could just be turned out in a pasture. I’ve no idea the cost, but I probably can’t afford to board her somewhere so I was wondering if anyone on here knew of any scenarios like the one I’m thinking of or any advice to offer.
Thanks in advance.
I don’t think it’s realistic to expect some stranger to take in your horse who is not totally physically healthy and feed them
and care for them without pay.
I’ve had an older heaves horse that I maintained fine here in Florida heat and humidity. You have to stay on their health and
needs but if carefully managed, it wasn’t a problem. Other than gentle walks they usually aren’t rideable without a lot of
coughing.
I’m just not understanding who you think would take your horse.
How bad are the heaves? Some horses with heaves can manage trail rides/walking quite fine. Are you thinking of a back and forth idea, summer out west then back to you for the winter? If you are willing to pay the shipping and she is fine with light riding you might find someone.
Is she broodmare worthy?
What about surgery? Either a tieback or a laser. My guy is totally fine for regular work,(if you can stand the noise
Broodmare worthy?? Why breed this horse?? 
Marla 100
I wouldn’t expect anyone to care for her and feed her for no pay. I’d take care of her needs of course, as she is my responsibility. I was really just wondering if anyone had ever heard of doing this sort of thing and hoping to possibly make some contacts.
Colorfan
Yes, I was thinking of back and forth, summer there/winter here. Frankly, it’s downright rough when she’s not on the steroids and I hate having her on them for 4-5 months straight. She puffs and wheezes if she misses doses.
If anything panned out, I’d probably take her out myself to meet the person/people and see where she’d stay.
I would not want to breed her. I love her to death, she’s my favorite of the 3 I have. However, considering that her mom had heaves also… some say it’s genetic, some say not, I’d rather err on the side of caution.
Lord Helpus
I’m not familiar with surgery for this condition… I’ll do some research, but can you shed some light on this?
May I asked what sort of things you did to manage your horse and what part of Florida?
Central AL, soaked hay, never any dry hay, Bu Fei San herbs.
Why not? If she is registered stock, with good conformation, a nice mind, took to training, why not breed her? Heaves is a result of eating dusty, or moldy hay, not inheritable. So, why not if the op is so inclined?
Ryansgirl, what would your objection be? What am I missing? Um, perhaps less tolerance is inherited making certain lines more susceptible to getting heaves, I did notice the op said the dam of the horse in question had heaves? But other factors could be at play.
Central Florida- Going from memory- it’s been many years. Never, ever feed from roundbales, no cheap crappy hay,
no dry dusty paddocks or pasture areas. fresh grass and green pastures are best- no stall keeping- light, gentle exercise.
Always have medications on hand to give at first symptom of distress. Pneumonia is always a risk.
If I recall, we eventually got her well enough to not be on any medications and only needed prednisone IV if she relapsed.
I eventually gave her to a family with young children who wanted a safe walk around horse and they had over 300 acres
of year round grass.
Are you confusing this with “Roaring” ? To my knowledge there is no surgery for heaves. You just learn to ‘manage it’.
And once the damage is done to the breathing apparatus, regular work or riding is severely diminished.
Because there are too many horses including plenty of QHs sent to slaughter every year. You don’t just breed a horse because you can. I will not turn this into a debate over it so I’m done here.
I hope the OP is able to find something that helps her mare with her heaves. Lots of good suggestions by others here.
The horse has heaves/COPD. Tieback is for a horse that roars. This horse does not roar. There is no surgical procedure that can be done here.
OP, maybe you can find a retirement or pasture board set up where she lives outside in the fresh air on grass. Exercise can help, but that may not be possible if she’s away from you.
There is a heaves horse where I board and she’s 28 years old. Cannot be exercised due to another issue, and is an easy keeper so grass is not appropriate. She does well in a dry lot during the day and small paddock at night with soaked hay only and some beet pulp. She does get worse when it is hot and humid, but makes it ok with no medication. She was far worse when kept in a stable. So it sounds like you’re doing it right by keeping her out and only feeding soaked if you have to.
The only problem with some ranches is that if she lives out, especially in a herd on a lot of land, she may not get checked on so much, which can be important given her condition. Hopefully some other COTH members in those areas can help you. Or see if there are any Facebook groups as those seem to be the thing nowadays.
I don’t know any that go back and forth, but I do know two people who retired horses from Florida up north - Pennsylvania and Vermont due to breathing issues (and relatively low cost of pasture board in those areas).
No arguing here, I happen to agree there are too many horses bred just because…I was genuinely wondering about your reasoning.
Thanks everyone for your suggestions! We shall keep plugging along. Unfortunately during the humid weather she must have Dex every.single.day. Maybe that’s just her lot in life and we have to live with it. The good news is that after fall gets here, she’s right as rain and can be ridden as a normal horse.
