Gasping for air

Breathing is the most automatic thing – until it isn’t. Eleanor Storey MRCVS explains how vets help a horse who is struggling to draw breath

- Eleanor Storey

A HORSE struggling to breathe is very alarming. The problem can seem to happen very suddenly and is often characterised by one or more of the following signs:

• Laboured or rapid breathing while at rest (usually anything over 20 breaths per minute would be considered elevated)
• Flared nostrils
• Persistent coughing
• Noise such as grunting associated with breathing
• Headshaking or abnormally low or extended head carriage

By the time a horse shows any of these signs it is likely to be distressed and may be in need of veterinary intervention to help it breathe more normally. A phone call to your vet will enable you to describe exactly what your horse is doing, and your vet can then advise you on whether they feel a visit may be necessary.

Often a prompt visit and some medication can prevent cases from deteriorating dramatically. The horse will respond to treatment more quickly than if treatment is delayed, and much distress for horse and owner is avoided.

HOW COMMON IS THE PROBLEM?

EQUICALL vets attend equine emergencies over much of the UK, and in recent years 4.2% of these have been due to breathing difficulties. Most of these will be acute episodes of equine asthma, a relatively new term encompassing inflammatory airway disease (IAD), respiratory airway obstruction (RAO) and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD, or “heaves”).

A study published in 2018 found an occurrence of mild to moderate asthma in 80% of racehorses so this disease process is likely to affect many more horses than we think.