[Marty]

She might be a "roarer"

I had a TB that roared. Check it out

http://www.netpets.o...thspa/roar.html

This post has been edited by Marty: 01 August 2006 - 10:25 AM

[Little Bit]

I was SO tickled to see this thread, as I have a miniature gelding that's about 15 years old now, I've had him since he was 9 months old. About 8 years ago he started having breathing problems in the fall, and I thought it was an allery to the rag weed that we have so much of here. I also get sick with allergies that time of year here, in SW Texas.
It would only last a couple months until the weather started cooling off, and then he was fine until the next fall, but every year he starts getting sick a month earlier than the year before....This year he started having problems breathing in MAY!

The vets say that it has developed into COPD, and we have gone the usual route of the Clenbuterol(Ventipulmin syrup), Albuterol tabs, Prednasone tabs, etc. I have even brought him into the house and used Little Bit's nebulizer with the liquid Albuterol before.

Nipper seems to get worse each year as well. He is pastured 24/7 unless for storm reasons, he's never had a piece of moldy hay in his life, so he's really not your typical COPD or Heaves horse, IMO. I do believe that it all started with allergies to the rag weed and pollen and dust we have here in Texas, and developed into the COPD.

Nipper doesn't cough unless he gets very sick with his COPD. When he does my vet has told me I can give him the Tussin DM, which really helps him. This year when he started getting sick I started him on his 1/4 tab of Albuterol. Then when his breathing got a little worse, I started him on a large dose of the Pred. tablets and started decreasing the dosage, as it is not good to have a horse on it long term. I was down to 1 tab of the Pred. with his Albuterol a day, and he seemed to be doing pretty good, but he had a bad flare up the other day. He was coughing just a little, but he sounded REALLy rattley/gurgley, and was having a very hard time breathing. So I loaded him up and took him to the vet to be checked out. He wasn't running a fever, but the vet thought that he may have had something brewing, he said he didn't think the noise was coming from his lungs, but that it was an upper respirtory thing, which is good! He gave him interveniously, a dose of Banamine, Dexamethasone, and Bayatril, which helped him right away., thank goodness! I could hardly hear him breathing with my ear up to his nose! Doc sent me home with a couple tubes of Tribrissen paste, and he's back on the large dose of Prednisone tabs of 7 1/2 tabs for about 3 days, then I cut the dosage in half for a few days....trying to keep him comfortable with the least amount of Pred.
I told my vet that I had started Nipper on an herbal product called Breather Powder for about a week, and I wondered if he was allergic to it, as he got SO much worse. He said he didn't know about the herbal stuff and didn't know if that could have made him worse or not, but needless to say, I am no longer giving it to him!

I will most definitely join the COPD Yahoo group Robin, and I would be VERY much interested in this shot that is supposed to work for 4 months!!!! Gosh! that would be wonderful! Does anyone know what it is called????

I have all my dwarf minis on MSM daily, so I will also start Nip on it... seems like it is good for just about everything, but I didn't think about it helping with the COPD. I have used the Tri-Hist before, and will ask my vet about using it with Nipper, as well.

I used to have to saok Little Bit's hay, as he was allergic to it and his nose would get all stuffy, if I didn't and still would even soaked if he ate very much of it. I was told to only soak it for about 5 minutes though, as if you soak it much longer, all the nutrients are washed away, don't know if that is true or not, but found that 5 minutes or so was plenty for Little Bit.

One thing that REALLY helps Nipper breath easier is the Port-A-Cool that Poppa bought for the Biscuits and I this summer. I bring Nip into the barn when it starts getting hot in the morning and turn the coolie on him. The Biscuits (my dwarf minis) will stand in front of it and nibble on their hay, don't know how we lived here in TX for 15 years without it!

[Dent Kickapoo Kitty]

Sorry for changing it up a bit. I am dealing with the same problem so I don't have much to say.
We bought a mini mare with heaves back in 06. She is only 7 years old and is in the field 24/7 with a run in stall. At the moment she is on FinishLine for her heaves and eats Weight Control. It would be a shame to not drive her anymore.
Any ideas on what to do?