Posting this because I think it might help someone, someday.
My mare was diagnosed with EIPH in the summer of 2021 after two bleeds, an endoscopy and a BAL. She is/was a hot horse, a very forward jumper. But she was super reactive and could have an energy that I struggle to describe accurately, but that feels sometimes frantic or manic. We had started Regumate a few weeks before the bleeds, and so we never quite knew if the energy was related to lady hormones or if it was related to the asthma.
Since treating both, she has been a different horse. So happy, so calm, and so quiet that the BO (who runs a separate operation from us and doesn’t know all the particulars) commented on it. Hell, I comment on it!
Well…: She had another bleed last week, and in the minutes leading up to it, she was the same hot horse she used to be before treating for the asthma and lady issues. She was jigging at the walk, wild on course and impossible to package in front of the fence. She hadn’t coughed or snorted before the energy changed or before she started bleeding. The only thing amiss was that she was breathing a little heavily.
It’s now pretty clear to me that the “spiciness” is related to the heaves. It’s VERY different from her normal “excited to do my job” hot jumper temperament.
My IM vet says that the symptoms with asthma/heaves/EIPH are so varied that you really have to “learn” your horse. Some cough. Some snort. Some just take longer to recover after exertion. And I totally agree. But, I have noticed other asthmatic horses and ponies who also tend to be “hot”. I wonder if this is something similar to “spooky” or “reactive” horses with ulcers that we’ll understand better in a decade.
Anyways, food for thought!
We are taking 7-10 days off, starting the Aservo, and considering the Flexineb so that we can be more proactive when “little things” arise. In retrospect, there were “little things” that came up, but resolved, in the lead-up to this bleed that if we had treated might have circumvented the drama. Oh! And our hay steamer from England has arrived! Perfect timing!!
Anyone else see this connection between “temperament” and asthma/heaves/EIPH?
