dunbnwild
Yearling
Wild horses can drag me away :-)
Posts: 403
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Post by dunbnwild on Jan 20, 2009 10:02:13 GMT -5
My 12 yo mare has been showing signs of "heave"-like behavior the past couple of winters. I live in Oklahoma and her symptoms (dry cough, visible breathing during rest or very light stress, flared nostrils) seem to worsen when warm southern winds start up.
I'll be having a vet do a full check on her now that she's gentled, but was wondering if anyone else had similar issues and if so what they've been doing to keep their horses happy and healthy?
Thanks! Cindy
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Post by Michelle Clarke on Jan 20, 2009 13:32:48 GMT -5
Cindy, we had two Kigers (the mare interestingly came from Arizona), that showed heaves. The mares lungs were very rattley and would get short breathed and the heave line on the stomach. The gelding, her son, would have very short breath, big heave line and dry cough when it was really really dry.
When they were moved from the boarding place not to far from here, we turned the mare out on 60 acres of primitave pasture and has not shown any signs since (she has been boarded here a couple years now). The gelding, who was worse, had to be stalled/penned for unrelated reasons, and he showed signs mostly only in late summer/early fall.
My vet happened to know the area that they came from and said that she had come across alot of horses within a few miles of the same place with heaves and once they left the area, they were fine. We figured it must have been some kind of allergy, for the mare at least.
Since the gelding seemed to be worse when it was dry, we kept his pen and sand stall damp when we could (no shavings). I also put him on an herbal mix, first to cleanse the lungs/airways - then to help alliviate symptoms and that seemed to help quite a bit. He has since moved to another location, and I will be interested to hear if he shows signs at that place, being as it is further north of here.
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dunbnwild
Yearling
Wild horses can drag me away :-)
Posts: 403
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Post by dunbnwild on Jan 20, 2009 15:21:11 GMT -5
Mari is off the Kiger Range, so she's never been to Arizona, but our southern winds do come up from Texas. And late fall/early winter I always get congestion and headaches myself, so it could be allergy.
I've given her a Menthal lick--kind of like a giant cough drop for horses and that helps, but the other horses try to eat it, so I can't leave it out. I've also heard MSM is good because it helps with inflammation and there is a Kiger in Kansas who actually uses an inhaler.
I'm eager to hear what the vet suggests. I don't think Mari is too far along with the symptoms. But this year seems worse than last. Of course this year we've also had zero rain.
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Post by stlkigers on Jan 20, 2009 20:22:22 GMT -5
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Post by Michelle Clarke on Jan 20, 2009 20:53:25 GMT -5
Yes, MSM is very good for allergies. It is also water soluable, so whatever they don't use is flushed out. Keep us posted on what the vet suggests.
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Post by kimk on Jan 25, 2009 16:38:16 GMT -5
I'd like to point out that prolonged use of MSM will deplete selenium, so you should also supplement with selenium if using it long term.
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Post by kristi on Aug 17, 2009 12:58:50 GMT -5
I'm a bit slow on the trigger here but I want to reply. Our stallion has had heaves for years but we manage it very well with environment (no stalling) and inhalers. We also have a 13 year old Kiger mare who has heaves very badly. And, most recently to my dismay the mare I ride the most (Segura) who is now 10 years old is showing signs. I've very distressed about having 3 heaves horses because they are expensive to maintain and it's just a pain in the rump. I only know 1 other person who has had a heaves horse yet I know several Kigers. I am just wondering if they were ever meant to be taken off the high desert....
Kristi
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dunbnwild
Yearling
Wild horses can drag me away :-)
Posts: 403
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Post by dunbnwild on Aug 17, 2009 14:31:43 GMT -5
Hi Kristi-- Sadly, this was the mare that passed away a couple months agao--Mari. It is possible that what she had was more serious than heaves. But all the symptoms pointed toward and were consistent with allergies. I have no idea what was ultimately responsible for her death--I would guess a heart attack, and I would guess her labored breathing played a large roll in stressing her heart. To the best of my knowledge, she had no other issues. Oddly, I'd found a supplement that seemed to really help--it was from SmartPack, Breath Smart I think--and I thought we were doing better. I only had her on it 1 month though and then she died. So I'm hesitant in fully recommending it--it did seem to work, but  |
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Post by kristi on Aug 17, 2009 15:11:31 GMT -5
Cindy, I know Mari is the mare you lost and I looked at the photos you have on the Yahoo website and she was just beautiful!!! I do think you were onto something with the heaves idea though. And, I still wonder if this problem is just more prevalent in Kigers for some reason. ? Kristi |
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Post by DianneC on Aug 19, 2009 22:08:17 GMT -5
Tia, the 27 year old mare here, got heaves last winter. The vet said it was due to the local hay being dusty. He suggested that we soak it or at least wet it down. She improved after the antibiotics he gave her, so not sure if it was really heaves. The hay was dusty though.
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Post by stormyranch on Mar 27, 2012 10:21:38 GMT -5
I know this discussion was old,, but my sister's mustang has Heaves and she is not a Kiger. I was wondering if anyone has had any new ideas in this area? I know Amanda is dealing with this also with Tsereo.
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Post by horses4ever on Mar 27, 2012 13:57:51 GMT -5
I had a quarter horse mare that got hives. As it turned out she was allergic to bug bites. But it sounds like maybe in this case, it could possibly be just dust... Since it's dry where you are it could be, because a similar thing happens to me personally around the summer and early fall...
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Post by MustangsInNC on Mar 27, 2012 22:46:54 GMT -5
Tesoro has not been officially diagnosed with heaves... but he sure shows all the signs. He started last summer when he was 5 years old. Everyone tells me he's too young to have it. But that sure doesn't seem to stop the coughing and wheezing. I have him on MSM, and it seems to help TONS. Yesterday was his first bad episode, and the only difference was that I gave him some alfalfa hay. Today I switched hay, and he seems better. My next course is to have him allergy tested now....
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Post by DianneC on Mar 28, 2012 8:15:50 GMT -5
Make sure they teat for alfalfa too. Mine did not.
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Post by stacy on Mar 28, 2012 10:38:00 GMT -5
Any idea if COPD/heaves could be genetic?
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