Heaves management and when you have to STALL?

[beau159]

What has worked for your horses with heaves when you have to stall at an event? I know every horse will be different but I am curious what has worked for others.

Some of you may remember my past threads but I felt a new thread was appropriate since I have a more specific question, and I have learned some things about what seems to be working for my horse, over the course of the year.

Mare is 8 years old this year. We primarily barrel race. Last year is when we started having trouble. I feel that I have kept her REALLY well managed this year. I am lucky that I have a lot of acerage so she is outside 24/7 on pasture grass. (not in a dusty stall and not in a dusty dry lot) We had lots of rain this year which I believe was also helpful that it wasn’t dry and dusty. We are still dealing with wildfire smoke from time to time but not as bad as last year. We typically don’t have a lot of humidity; if we do, it doesn’t usually last too long.

Last weekend was the first time in a long time I have done a weekend event where I stalled her. They were outdoor stalls. The first day she was fine. About halfway through the second day I noticed her breathing was elevated and she seemed to be having a mild heaves attack (I say mild b/c she was still eating and drinking but she certainly was not right). I always travel with my meds so per my vet, I gave her 10 mL of IM dexamethasone as well as nebulized dex/albuterol in her Flexineb. I also took her out of her stall and tied her to my trailer in the campsite, in the shade, and cold hosed her off. I’ve learned over the summer that those things seem to help if she seems to have elevated breaths per minute (cold hosing and getting her some shade). Within a few hours, she seemed much better. I did end up scratching my barrel racing run that evening, which really sucked, but it’s not worth my horse’s long term health.

The next morning, I got up real early and got her out of her stall again, and gave her 5 mL of IM dex and nebulized dex/albuterol/ipratropium. We didn’t have a run until much later in the day and she seemed fine so I did choose to run her that day. She did fine, and she’s been fine all week since we have been home.

But we have a few more weekends coming up for 3-day events where she’s going to be stalled again and I want to prevent a potential heaves attack. I have the approval of my vet to give her IM dex “preventatively” when I have to stall her, and we also switched up her nebulizing medication this week to RRVP (budesonide, etc). I have been doing either albuterol or ipratroprium during the week, but not on the weekends and/or before barrel runs. I have been avoiding nebulizing dex unless I absolutely have to.

-Tried the Aservo inhaler for her earlier in the year but did not seem to work for her. She coughed more after her 10-day treatment than she had before it.
-She is nebulized Alpha2EQ about every 3-4 weeks. I do feel like that makes a difference.
-She is also given kenalog injections, and we currently do every 6 weeks.
-She has been on allergy shots for about 8 months now.
-She is fed a very clean diet for any supplements/feed as she is allergic to quite a few ingredients (including soy and flax). She gets Purina Outlast, Hygain Zero, and Standlee alfalfa pellets, long with 24/7 grazing in the pasture. She is a picky eater but she does like Race Today which I give her.
-She makes her barrel runs on LASIX because she is a bleeder. We just recently had a clean BAL at the vet to confirm that my dosage and timing is appropriate for her.
-During the warm months, she only gets hay when we travel and it’s good square bales.
-I have rarely needed to give her IM dex this year and I only give it to her when I absolutely have to, in order to avoid steroids as much as possible. Thankfully she is not the body type to founder, but the risk is still there.

It seems to me for her that a major trigger is the mold under the grass in the spring when it starts to warm up the first time. She had a heaves episode in April 2024 as well as April 2023 (which was her first episode that started this whole thing) and both times was when it got warm for the first time after winter. She is on a round bale with a hay net during the winter but she actually did well this winter and didn’t have any trouble when it started to warm up. I’m not opposed to figuring out how I can switch only her to square bales this winter (and leaving everyone else on the round bale) but I’m also not convinced that the round has anything to do with it. Seems to me I should have had more trouble with her this winter if that was the case but that’s one of the things I’ll still have to figure out for her if that’s a true trigger or not.

And obviously I have learned that a new trigger is DUST from being stalled at multi-day events, with the dust from the stall and the dust from everything else (alleys, warm up pen, outdoor arena, etc).

Some places allow me to set up my own pen at my trailer and I can obviously park as far away from the dust as possible. Other places do NOT allow you to set up your own pen and some don’t let you tie to your trailer in some areas. So some events I will be limited on what special modifications I can try to make for her.

Anyway, so as stated in the beginning, my question is what has worked for others to try to prevent a heaves episode when you have to stall at an event? I normally make it a point to just haul for the day but you just can’t do that when you are driving 4+ hours to a 2 or 3 day event.

[RedHorses]

My HJ coach had a horse that was heavey if bedded on shavings, so they brought chopped straw with them for the one horse.

How do you feed hay at the events? Small hole nets can help.

I’ve found Omega Alpha’s RespiFree very helpful in thinning mucus and helping it drain.

Do you use an antihistamine?

Can you ask for a corner stall away from the arena and roads when sending entries? Or find a local to the show bed and bale and ship. inn daily?

[clanter]

we used shredded straw (also sold as chopped straw) for the bedding of the horse who was allergic to pine dust (and allergic to about thirty other common things)

at most competitions we did have to pay a premium for using this bedding as the managements were not accustom to it being used in place of shavings

[Foxglove]

When my horse had heaves, since resolved, no idea why he had --2 vets called it “idiopathic” it or why it resolved the SECOND I bought a new horse, I gave him (I recall) 30 cc of Ventipulmin before each fox hunt and carried a second dose with me incase he had an attack on the field. He never did. I bought the second horse because the Ventipulmin was so expensive --and then heavy horse was fine . . .he was also on the same amount of dex your horse is.

Ten years later, heavy horse is still here and ridden often --great horse and headed to his last season on the fox hunt (we are stopping after 57 seasons). Second horse is also still here but sadly developed arthritis in the knee and cannot be ridden.

[beau159]

@RedHorses

My HJ coach had a horse that was heavey if bedded on shavings, so they brought chopped straw with them for the one horse.

How do you feed hay at the events? Small hole nets can help.

I’ve found Omega Alpha’s RespiFree very helpful in thinning mucus and helping it drain.

Do you use an antihistamine?

Can you ask for a corner stall away from the arena and roads when sending entries? Or find a local to the show bed and bale and ship. inn daily?

My horse isn’t necessarily a hard keeper, but she’s also not an easy keeper. While I do put her hay in bags at events to have it off the ground, I leave them open so she can eat freely and eat as much as she wants. She is the type of horse that if she isn’t hungry, she won’t eat, so it works best for her to have the hay readily available so she doesn’t lose weight while we are somewhere for 3 days.

I have not tried the RespiFree but I highly doubt she would eat it (she is so picky). I also would not be willing to syringe it to her. She has some jaw issues and it takes her a couple minutes to “unlock” her jaw after I have to give her something by syringe. And I do already have to give her electrolytes by syringe (because she gets LASIX before her barrel runs) so I don’t want to irritate her jaw more than I absolutely have to.

I do not give an antihistamine. Based on lab results that we have done, my vet hasn’t recommended it for her. We instead chose to do the allergy shot program. I have asked my vet about an antihistamine but she didn’t feel we needed it right now.

For the majority of places where I go that have stalls, you get whatever you can reserve online, so you actually can’t request specific ones. The event we are going to next weekend SOLD OUT about 300 stalls in 2 hours and I wasn’t quick enough to even get one. So we’ll be cramming wherever we can with our own pens and I just pray it isn’t right next to the dusty warm up arena.

Last weekend when she had her issues, I don’t think it would have mattered which stall we had. The dust still travels in the wind and the air.

@clanter

we used shredded straw (also sold as chopped straw) for the bedding of the horse who was allergic to pine dust (and allergic to about thirty other common things)

at most competitions we did have to pay a premium for using this bedding as the managements were not accustom to it being used in place of shavings

While my horse does have allergies, she thankfully isn’t allergic to pine.

Most places that I go, you bring your own shavings with you.

@Foxglove

When my horse had heaves, since resolved, no idea why he had --2 vets called it “idiopathic” it or why it resolved the SECOND I bought a new horse, I gave him (I recall) 30 cc of Ventipulmin before each fox hunt and carried a second dose with me incase he had an attack on the field. He never did. I bought the second horse because the Ventipulmin was so expensive --and then heavy horse was fine . . .he was also on the same amount of dex your horse is.

Ten years later, heavy horse is still here and ridden often --great horse and headed to his last season on the fox hunt (we are stopping after 57 seasons). Second horse is also still here but sadly developed arthritis in the knee and cannot be ridden.

I have not yet given her Ventipulmin. I will likely put her on that over the winter, when it gets too cold for me to nebulize her on a regular basis (can’t nebulize when it is below freezing) as my vet and I have already discussed what we are going to do for her over the winter.

However, that might be something I should NOT be doing for her while we are actively at a race. With that being a bronchodilator, it is thought that you do NOT want to give your horse a bronchodiltor if your horse is a bleeder. If they do happen to bleed during your barrel run, they are going to bleed deeper into the capillaries and potentially do more damage and have more scar tissue.

That is why I do not normally nebulize her on race days, to avoid the albuterol too close to a race day, and instead do the nebulizing during the week. While we don’t think she has bled since her last BAL was clean, you just never know.

[RedHorses]

@beau159

I do not give an antihistamine. Based on lab results that we have done, my vet hasn’t recommended it for her. We instead chose to do the allergy shot program. I have asked my vet about an antihistamine but she didn’t feel we needed it right now.

Then it might be something that is enough to keep her comfortable at an event for a few days. It’s worth asking.

[GraceLikeRain]

I don’t know if I have anything substantive to add but more than anything I wanted to say how much I admire the degree of consideration that has gone into her maintenance plan. It sounds like you are really her advocate and trying to create the most comfortable environment possible.

I imagine that the dust from the shavings from surrounding stalls is nearly as challenging as her stall but I wonder if you could try lightly watering the top layer with a watering can a few times a day to keep things settled. If the stalls on either side are friends, I’d imagine they would be open to the same. I’ve done this in a trailer with good success so it seems like the idea should hold for a stall.

Would she eat soaked hay when stalled? It sounds like you are feeding nice hay but all hay has some dust so that could be a small way to reduce a little of the dust within your control.

[cayuse]

Like RedHorses said, ask about an antihistamine. My allergy pony gets Zyrtec when I know he may be triggered and it helps.

[beau159]

@RedHorses

Then it might be something that is enough to keep her comfortable at an event for a few days. It’s worth asking.

Yes, worth asking!

@GraceLikeRain

I don’t know if I have anything substantive to add but more than anything I wanted to say how much I admire the degree of consideration that has gone into her maintenance plan. It sounds like you are really her advocate and trying to create the most comfortable environment possible.

I imagine that the dust from the shavings from surrounding stalls is nearly as challenging as her stall but I wonder if you could try lightly watering the top layer with a watering can a few times a day to keep things settled. If the stalls on either side are friends, I’d imagine they would be open to the same. I’ve done this in a trailer with good success so it seems like the idea should hold for a stall.

I actually did that after she started having trouble. We had an end stall right next to the hose and I watered down her stall as well as the dirt in the alleys around her. Of course, I doesn’t last forever because I don’t want to create mud for those walking around. And that wasn’t stopped the dust that was wafting in the air in the wind from the outdoor arena 100 feet away - that’s the part I can’t control.

@GraceLikeRain

Would she eat soaked hay when stalled? It sounds like you are feeding nice hay but all hay has some dust so that could be a small way to reduce a little of the dust within your control.

Nope. I have tried dunking/wetting her hay before with traveling like this and she won’t eat it.

[IPEsq]

What are you using for bedding in the stalls? Do you have the ability to steam hay? I’d probably try to source a bedding material that works for her from a dust and allergy perspective. Paper and hemp are some options (though more expensive). You may also want to do some regular nebulizing with saline during a hand walk to see if that can reduce the need for meds. Depending on what she is allergic to and your medications rules, adding Zyrtec or something might help if there is something she is allergic to in the dust and not just the fact that she is breathing more particulates than ideal.

[beau159]

@IPEsq

What are you using for bedding in the stalls?

Where I go, stalls are usually outdoors and they are dirt. I have a travel stall mat that I use for her, along with putting Swan brand shavings (which is Spuce-Pine) over the top to absorb urine. She pees a lot after her LASIX is given, which is the purpose.

In my opinion, I don’t think it is the shavings that bother her because I also use the Swan shavings in my trailer when we travel. We do travel a fair amount (although usually day trips and not overnight) and therefore I would think that I should be having more trouble with her if the shavings were irritating her. But who knows. I unfortunately think it is more the dust in the air from the facilities that created the issue, and the fact that we were there for 3 full days.

@IPEsq

You may also want to do some regular nebulizing with saline during a hand walk to see if that can reduce the need for meds.

??? I already do regular nebulizing; always at a hand walk.
And plain saline isn’t enough for her; it is mixed with her nebulizing meds.
And as mentioned, vet doesn’t want me nebulizing her on race days … if we can avoid it, and stick to only doing the nebulizing during the week while at home. Because she is a bleeder, if you “knock mucus loose” during nebulizing, that will make it harder for them to breathe when making a barrel run because the mucus is in the way.

[IPEsq]

In my experience with my horse wi the asthma, nebulizing with saline helps him deal with dusty conditions because it helps him clear out his lungs. I was suggesting trying that before your horse has a flare in symptoms requiring the meds. If the airway is irritated by a trigger, there is going to be mucous. If you don’t help the horse clear the mucous, then that will lead to the rest of the symptoms. Or, you can try to proactively give dex to keep the inflammation down and try to stop the mucous production before it starts.

None of the medications are an option for me at shows, so I have to use saline, and it does help my horse, but his asthma is not severe.

[colorfan]

How quickly did the Omega Alpha Respifree work? My mare is on a medication for her allergies but I am wondering about a little something extra for the days we ride.

[RedHorses]

I found that giving my horse 45cc RespiFree before I rode, usually before grooming and tacking up, meant more and thinner mucus draining after the ride. He tended to have some mucus draining out of at least one nostril after I rode for years before I started RespiFree. I found the best process was RespiFree before riding, and feeding something in a feed dish on the floor asap afterwards really got the mucus flowing.