Equine Asthma Syndrome: Manage the Environment to Help Manage the Disease

Equine respiratory issues can lead to decreased performance and difficulty breathing, even when at rest. That’s why horse owners need to take a three-pronged approach to managing the disease: environmental control, use of glucocor�coids to reduce inflamma�on and if needed, administra�on of bronchodilators.

Equine asthma ranges from mild-moderate to severe. A horse suffering from severe equine asthma experiences a narrowing or obstruction in the airway passages. Most often, this narrowing manifests itself in coughing, wheezing or labored breathing even at rest. Identifying and managing equine asthma early is important because without diagnosis and treatment, the condition can have a long-term impact on the lungs.

Most equine respiratory diseases are caused or exacerbated by the inhalation of airborne dust. A horse can inhale 4.6 million dust particles in a single breath. The dust particles contain allergens and when exposed to those allergens, the airways can become inflamed.

Managing the environment is an imperative practice whether the horses living in the barn have respiratory disease or not, but it’s especially important when trying to manage severe equine asthma.

Steve Grubbs, DVM, PhD, DACVIM, Technical Services Veterinarian, Boehringer Ingelheim, provided some tips to help keep the barn environment as healthy as possible.

“Diet and bedding are the primary source of dust in the barn,” says Dr. Grubbs. “For the horse with severe equine asthma, managing those should be addressed first.

“The best solution, if the asthma is barn-induced, is to provide pasture turn-out full-time, eliminate round bales and decrease dust associated with hay,” he adds.

Where 24-hour turn-out is not available, Dr. Grubbs suggests the following:

•Keep horses in a clean, well-ventilated, low-dust environment

•Feed a cubed or pelleted diet

•Soak hay

•Avoid storing hay above stalls

•Minimize sweeping or blowing of floors while horses are in stalls

•Allow time for airborne dust to settle before returning horses to stalls

•Use low-dust bedding

IMPORTANT SAFETY INFORMATION: ASERVO EQUIHALER has not been evaluated in pregnant or lactating mares. In a large clinical field study, the most common adverse reactions reported were coughing, nasal discharge, sneezing and nasal irritation/bleeding. Not for use in humans. Keep this and all medications out of the reach of children.

“While these environmental management efforts won’t always eliminate respiratory issues, they can help minimize the impact,” says Dr. Grubbs. For more information about severe equine asthma syndrome, visit bi-animalhealth.com.

“I feel like the ASERVO EQUIHALER gave him his life back. Truly, he was probably a few hours away from being euthanized when I saw this product, so I feel like the ASERVO EQUIHALER definitely caused him to feel much be�er and has given him some quality of life.”

What were Memphis Slim’s symptoms?

His main symptom was severe dyspnea, and he did have some bilateral frothy nasal discharge when his symptoms were at their worst.

How has the Equihaler helped him long-term?

The EquiHaler has definitely helped him long term. His respiratory effort is minimal on most days, and he no longer has any nasal discharge. I have been able to reduce his dose to alternate days for the most part, especially in dry weather.

Learn more about Boehringer Ingelheim Animal Health USA at bi-animalhealth.com.

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