COPD stands for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. It is much like asthma, and is a serious health condition in horses. It begins with the lungs reacting to an allergen – something the animal is allergic to. If the disease stays in the early mild stages, you might only observe a soft cough. Unfortunately, many horses progress into a severe form of the disease like the horse in the attached video. These animals breathe rapidly, almost panting, with wide open nostrils. This occurs in an effort to force air to move from the lungs. The severe allergic reaction has caused the small airway walls to become thickened and filled with thick sticky mucus. It is typical for a horse to show mild signs one year and moderate or severe signs the following year.
The main treatment options are bronchodilators and corticosteroids. Systemic steroids which are injected or given orally have negative side effects on other body systems if used too long. If we can not have the horse much improved in a reasonable time frame, we will go to the inhaled steroids. With this system the medication is placed directly in the airway where it is needed and little ends up in the general circulation. Most horses readily accept the use of the inhalers, especially if treatment is followed by a cookie!
Another component of treating an allergy-based disease is removing the horse from the offending allergen. Sometimes moving the animal to a pasture with different plant material makes all the difference. This should always be tried. I have seen it work on severely affected horses. Even a few miles down the road may be enough. Another option is serum allergy testing and subsequent “allergy shots”, which seems to have a benefit in approximately 60% of the cases.
Sadly, a small percentage of horses do not respond to any treatment, and will succumb to the disease process. COPD is a disease where early diagnosis and aggressive treatment is most important.
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