Collapsed trachea

[Eagle]

A friend of mine here in Italy just called me very upset as the vet has told him that is stallion has a collapsed trachea and that there is nothing to do.

Can anyone give me any info? Has this happened to anyone here?

Thanks renee

 

[Reble]

A friend of mine here in Italy just called me very upset as the vet has told him that is stallion has a collapsed trachea and that there is nothing to do.

Can anyone give me any info? Has this happened to anyone here?

Thanks renee

Sorry to hear this found this information for you and your friend.

http://www.thehorse.com/ViewArticle.aspx?ID=6642

 

[Eagle]

Thank you reble

 

[HGFarm]

Yes and no.... it cannot be 'cured' but depending on where the collapse is, it could possibly be a candidate for surgery to HELP some. My friends had a stallion that had this condition, and by the way, over the years, many of his foals have developed the same condition, so it is a hereditary problem. They had no idea, and of course the offspring didnt show any signs for many years so there were many foals on the ground, but one daughter had to put down at 9 years old, hers was already so bad.

Anyhow, the stallion had the surgery, and it did help him some, but over the years it just kept getting worse again- the surgery really is a temporary relief for SOME of it... The old guy lived into his mid 20's but his breathing was very loud and he had difficulties with any kind of excercise or excitement.

 

[markadoodle]

I'm sorry to hear this Renee...

I did find an old topic that may be worth being read;;

http://www.miniaturehorsetalk.com/index.php?showtopic=85846

 

[Marty]

Yes, CMHR took in a horse that we were told had asthma. When we had her examined, we found out she had been mis-dignosed and on all the wrong meds. She does have a collapsed trachea. As far as her capibilites, no breeding of course and no kind of working job. She is doing wonderful as a pasture pet. I'm not sure if she gets any meds but you could email connie/ cmhr pres and ask her. I forgot.

 

[Eagle]

Thanks Marty,

So if he decides not to operate (due to the cost) can this stallion survive a good life on medication? Would he be better of gelded? (He won't be used to reproduce) could he undergo the operation safely?

Thanks and sorry for all the questions

 

[Barbie]

I'm sorry to hear this Renee...

I did find an old topic that may be worth being read;;

http://www.miniaturehorsetalk.com/index.php?showtopic=85846

This article is about my stallion. He is still doing really well in his forever home.

I was advised by the surgeons not to do surgery as it causes a lot of scar tissue which has to be continuously removed by laser.

You might want to contact Janna Nichols as years back she had a colt that went through surgery.

Good luck!!!

Barbie

 

[Eagle]

Thanks Barbie, can i ask what he is doing now? Is he kept alone to avoid excitement?

My friend is just trying to understand what he can do in the future, and what his options are to give this stallion a happy life. Did you castrate your stallion?

Thanks again

Renee

 

[Charlotte]

Unfortunately, this problem can also be injury related rather than hereditary. Stallions seem to be most at risk. They will rear up over a barrier of some type and come down on their neck causing damage to the trachea.

Sadly I have seen a promising driving career ended with this injury.

 

[HGFarm]

My friends thought their stallion was injured in something similar to that manner, but he was not. They continued breeding with him, thinking it was an injury and were horrified to find that it was not, much later.

Their horse was not on any medication before or after the surgery, so dont know what meds would keep a trachea from continuing to collapse. It is a physical thing that no pill is going to help as far as I know. This stallion lived to his mid twenties,and never had to have another surgery- but again, one daughter had to be put down at 9, and three other offspring have it as well. One is almost 20, but her daughter inherited it too and was showing reasonably severe symptoms at 4. The breeder kept these horses as pets so they would not be someone else's responsibility and they are not being bred, now that they know what is going on. They had all their horses of that line scoped to see who does and doesnt have the problem.

They just keep the horses as quiet as they can- no driving or working any kind of job. They are just living their lives out as pets and when the problem gets worse, they will have the horse humanely put down.

It's a sad condition, and I understand is not THAT uncommon in Minis and also in some small dog breeds.

 

[Barbie]

The medication is something to help the breathing if there is a particularly bad time - nothing will cure it.

The stallion I had with it has only had one spell as far as I know. He will live out his life in the panhandle of FL and if he starts to go down hill, he will be put down. He is 14-15 right now and as far as I know only wheezes if he runs.

Barbie

 

[amyjo]

Thanks Barbie, can i ask what he is doing now? Is he kept alone to avoid excitement?

My friend is just trying to understand what he can do in the future, and what his options are to give this stallion a happy life. Did you castrate your stallion?

Thanks again

Renee

 

[amyjo]

Hi, Renee.
My mini gelding has collapsed trachea and there are some things one can do.

Clenbuteral liquid by mouth 1 cc twice a day

Steam hay. I have wallpaper steamer and I connect to a plastic tote and cut a snug hole in the side. rinse hay first ten mins, drain for five, plug in steamer and let steam 20-30 mins according to amount of hay. try to use soft hay such as orchard to reduce clog in esopheagus. stemmy hay like timothy, alfalfa are not preferable.

Steaming hay verses wetting hay makes a big difference.

vacuum barn as best you can everywhere -- walls, ceiling, etc. or water down walls occasionally or steam clean. many horse supply stores sell products to kill fungii and bacteria you spray on walls especially if you are traveling

if the mini gets overweight or laminic problems, get a grazing muzzle so mini can eat like half compared to when not wearing it. i got the soft muzzle and even though the mini size is too big, i had the saddle shop take it in two inches and i installed a breakaway feature as muzzles can be dangerous unsupervised. first couple times he used it he rubbed on fence and got stuck.

if it is very hot out, i bring mine in the heat of the day and have a heavy duty fan mounted. mine is black and i live in florida. he loves that fan. last year i attached a mister and even though it's a little bit of a mess, he loves that too.

my mini was diagnosed three years ago and was stable with following precautions but with no rx but got worse last year. after i saw clenbuterol oral was not really cutting it, i am in the process of rigging up a nebulizer.
top of the line is 1400, a contour mask alone is 400. i got a 1.9amp nebulizer with high flow medicine cup and use a human hard plastic apnea mask and put over one nostril and kinda rig it up to the halter or you can hold it. human mask must be hard plastic, as human soft nebulizer mask collapses around edges. some people use the milk jug retrofitted.

i start out with equisilver per vet's recommendation to see if that helps. equisilver is a natural product that sort of attaches to bacteria and irritants in the lungs and trachea tube. at some point i will switch to clenbuteral in the medicine cup.

NEVER USE AN INHALER OR RESPIRATORY RX WITH STEROIDS. causes laminitis. something to do with the way minis metabolize steroids. same with bute can be dangerous. i always use bantamine for any need that comes in paste.

sorry this is long but I want to share this knowledge which i have learned myself as it is a process of trying different things to see what works for you.

barbie, a frequent poster here had the father of my boy and I am certain this is genetic although vets are not certain.

some of you may have seen articles online about 'magnificent the mini' but there are no updates. i contacted the vet directly who performed the procedure on him and after two years the owners put him down due to the continuing issue of scar tissue procedures. once i spoke with him, i nixed any idea of surgery. i realize my pony will not live to his normal life expectancy but i will do anything i can on my end to delay that.

amy

 

[Marsha Cassada]

My sister's stallion had a collapsed esophagus. 80%. He would have needed stall rest and special diet and the vet told her she could go out at any time and find him dead in the stall. She put him down. The thought of going out to find him like that in the stall was more than she could face. Do not know if this is the same as collapsed trachea. He was 19 years old.

 

[amyjo]

My sister's stallion had a collapsed esophagus. 80%. He would have needed stall rest and special diet and the vet told her she could go out at any time and find him dead in the stall. She put him down. The thought of going out to find him like that in the stall was more than she could face. Do not know if this is the same as collapsed trachea. He was 19 years old.

Hi, Marsha,
Inevitably the question becomes quality of life verses quantity with this condition. My mini, Tiny, is ten years old and I've had him since he was like six months old. I9 years is a good life.

here is a picture of him

 

[amyjo]

First picture is unit which is 1.6 amp, second is hard shell apnea mask with one hole of T attachment covered so medicine does not escape and high flow medicine cup.

the piece that comes directly out of mask swivels to keep medicine cup vertical which is necessary.

This info is for others who are looking for some guidance.

Picture with two minis is the tote I steam the hay in.
The little mini is three and her big girl molars are erupting and not eating all her hay. when I steamed the hay, she ate it all up.

 

[amyjo]

This article is about my stallion. He is still doing really well in his forever home.

I was advised by the surgeons not to do surgery as it causes a lot of scar tissue which has to be continuously removed by laser.

You might want to contact Janna Nichols as years back she had a colt that went through surgery.

Good luck!!!

Barbie

Hi, Barbie.
It's Amy, the one who bought your black mini from you. Tiny is almost ten years old and I have posted some pictures in this thread if you would like to see him today.
Amy