Hoping to get some insight into what
might be going on w/ my 8 yr old gelding. Went to an endurance ride over
Memorial Day weekend and w/in a week of returning he had a mild intermittent
cough. My original thought was it was allergies/dust irritation. Over the
next two weeks it progressed into a deep deep cough. The day the
vet came he had a fever and mucous discharge from nostrils. Started on 2
grams of bute/daily for 3 days (and then 1gram/daily 3 days) and
antibiotics 2x/daily 5 days. Bute made him immediately better and after
one dose of antibiotics the mucuous discharge was clear/gone and hardly a
cough. When he went to 1 gram bute/daily his cough started to come back
intermittently. His last dose of antibiotic was Tuesday (today's Friday)
and his last bute Wed. and his cough is back! The vet had mentioned doing
a trachea wash, but I have never heard of this and it seems very invasive.
They took blood to test for rhino. (My horse has been fully
vaccinated). Any ideas of what this could be, any experience in treating a
respiratory ailment like this, and has anyone heard of or done a trachea
wash? Our other two horses have not come down w/ any symptoms and it has
been over 3 weeks since the first cough. We are soaking the hay and surrounding
area to keep the dust down. My email is ponyxprss @centurytel.net for those on
archives. Thanks so much for your help.
