I know of a high-level trainer, at the time based in DFW, who moved / sold one of her best prospects, a national-championship prospect, to CA because the poor mare just couldn’t make peace with the breathing and skin issues with the climate in DFW. It’s hot & humid there, but not as much as south of there.
It was a sacrifice for the trainer, but she just couldn’t see making the horse stay miserable where she was.
Interesting update re Nosey’s coughing issues. To recap, she’s never had a fever, but has been coughing and wheezing since about a week after arriving at my farm. She’s had two vet visits, antibiotics, an ultrasound of her lungs, a round of dex, and Zyrtec daily, but I’ve been frustrated with my inability to solve it. I’ve wet hay and bedding and moved her to the stall with the best ventilation, but that cough has lingered, sometimes better and sometimes worse, with me worrying daily. I’ve been googling madly for solutions.
I have another vet visit scheduled for Tuesday. I decided I’d take her off the meds in advance of the vet visit, and simplify as much as possible. So I stopped the Zyrtec and took her off the Triple Crown senior feed she was eating. For the last two days, she’s been getting soaked beet pulp pellets, orchard grass hay, buckeye grow-n-win for extra calories, and Uckele Lung EQ (spirulina, MSM, Jiaogulan) and mullein powder for breathing (the mullein is a new addition). Despite the fact that Virginia is in a heat wave with high 90s and killer humidity and low air quality, Nosey’s coughing is significantly reduced. When I turned her out this evening and she did her typical gallop-buck-fart routine, I didn’t hear a single cough at all.
So I’m thinking the commercial feed is the problem? Soy, wheat middlings, something something? Now to figure out what I can feed her to add calories and nutrition without triggering an allergic response. To be continued…
That’s my gal!!
Do you think it’s that or the new added mullein?
Hopefully you can figure out a good feed combination if it’s that. Lots of oil options out there, rice bran, flax, alfalfa, etc.
I was wondering the same thing, is it the addition of mullein or the subtraction of the feed? We’ll see if the vet recommends an allergy panel.
Maybe take her down to just the beet pulp and grain, minus the mullein and supplements and see what happens? Kind of like an elimination diet for human allergies? I’m so glad she’s better though. I’ve lurked along here and gosh darn it-- I’m invested in this gal!
I have had issues with my own coughs being worsened by antihistamines that can dry the tissues causing further irritation. Thanks to the NP who suggested that might be why my cough was lingering so long. Wish one of the many MDs I saw over many years for persistent annual allergy related cough going into bronchitis had considered that.
Maybe dropping the Zyrtec after initial symptoms lessened a bit helped here?
Just wondering if you’ve gotten the DNA test back yet? How is her cough or allergy? Banjo wants to know! He’s proud that fly spray is almost a non-issue for him now. Clippers are getting closer but not there yet. He enjoys his baths now—it’s so hot and humid that I wash both horses off most late afternoons before dinner and he sweats a lot just standing outside. He’s not afraid of the sound of the hose spray and I can even spray gently a little part of his cheeks.
He is playing with Bounce. They have bitey face tournaments that have gotten increasingly more engaged where Banjo now has confidence and doesn’t just leave. He usually loses his fly mask, but I noticed this morning he has adopted a psych-out strategy. They’ll go back and forth and when Banjo evades a lunge from Bounce, he trots in a little circle around Bounce and goes after him afresh. It’s hilarious. I watched him do it 3 times this morning and he got a good jab in once. Now before I start mowing I need to get his mask and put it back on. I also need to rig Bounce’s mask so Banjo has a fair chance. Bounce ripped (twice) the plastic/nylon velcro strip cover off, so just the velcro strip underneath is exposed. I might cut the cover off of Bounce’s mask—or just switch masks—and see if Banjo can score. I kind of want to see him do a victory dance 
.
He’s such a good boy. I’m so glad he’s here. Is starting to recover from the fire ant carpet bombing and bug bites he’s gotten. He’s much better from a sore RF that had a raised, little swollen area right down the front of the cannon bone below the knee (I think he got kicked). He does have fresh bite marks but hopefully those will stop at some point. Bounce has a few too, so I’m proud Banjo is fighting back. And he’s gaining weight. We’ve done minimal ground work but he knows to stop next to me now and that he can’t move his butt toward his stall door after I dump his feed until I"m out and say OK. He’s really smart.
Nosey update.
Had another vet visit on Tuesday. Still wheezing in the lungs and random coughing, some days better than others. In addition to discussing the assumed allergy issues and another CBC and SAA panel (normal), vet wanted me to do a panacur powerpack, noting that she looks healthy and her coat is shiny, but with the amount of calories she is consuming she is still lean with a BC of 4.
After day 3 of the panacur, on Friday morning she was coughing so badly I was truly alarmed. Literally non-stop coughing. Sent a video of the situation to the vet, who prescribed a more aggressive course of dex along with ventipulmin, but she also did not want me to stop the panacur. This morning after 24 hours on dex and ventipulmin there’s virtually no coughing at all. Today will be the last panacur dose.
Current theory is that the panacur caused a die-off of parasites that triggered either a) an allergic reaction to the antigens produced or b) increased irritation in the lungs if the die-off was from ascarid larvae there.
Still eating well and sassy, but I’ll be happy to get to the bottom of these issues. I’ll also be perfectly happy if all of these “allergy symptoms” are actually parasites.
IMG_2967
Many, many, many years ago by now, I had a thoroughbred off the track who was definitely on the thin side. As they often are.
And it was when some new wormer came out. I forget now exactly which one it was. Maybe Strongid?
But I wormed her with the new stuff, and she dropped such a load of parasites that she developed scabs all over her belly and chest. And when the hair grew back in, it came in white, and it stayed that way for the rest of her life, as I recall.
So you never know. 
Poor thing. Hopefully this has her all fixed up when she gets over the kill off of all those nasty things.
I never thought in a million years I would be saying this but I hope it turns out to be a bad case of parasites and that the treatment works.
She sounds like a textbook lungworm case.
I’ve suggested lungworm to two different vets, both of whom said “highly unlikely”. I’ve had a case of lungworm in a dog and the cough sounded exactly like hers. And a week of panacur was the cure. (The vet for my dog also said she didn’t see it very often, and it was her last pick after ruling out everything else, but we live on a farm and the dog eats dead things sometimes 
)
Since we have no idea what Nosey was exposed to prior to coming to VA, I think it’s just as likely as anything else. Once she’s weaned off all the meds making her feel better, I guess we’ll know more.
So interesting. I’ve been doing this a long time and I still learn such a lot from this board!
Same!!
Bless Nosey’s heart (and lungs). Sending you and her good vibes that you’ve got this figured out and she’ll be breathing easy from here on out! She already looks SO much better/different, I can only imagine how she’ll blossom if this is parasites and they’re taken care of. Go Nosey! Live your best life, girl!
Hmmm
What does the cough sound like?
The neighbors cat who lives with us is an in/out cat (how she arrived at my house) and eats dead things, usually leaving me a portion of a body behind the truck tire to make her a panini.
Anyway, she has this weird random cough.
It’s not very regular, kinda sounds like a wheeze, she’ll do it four or five times, neck outstretched like she’s going to puke but doesn’t. And then won’t do it again for months. Only when she’s sleeping, never when she’s racing around. It’s never been troubling enough to do much about since she does it so infrequently.
Video on post 650 has her coughing.
Thanks!
Very interesting.
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