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Why cant my horse breathe2007-11-24 21:23:17

Best of Luck!

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He should be lunged in front of a vet so that they can evaluate him and endoscope him if needed. Could be several things such as COPD, allergies etc, needs a hobday or tie back. We had a stallion that had an episode like that and we had to rush him to Cornell University with a vet driving behind the truck in case he needed an emergency tracheotomy. The prior owners obviously knew about his problems and I would question to what extent. Sounds like COPD. That can be managed with bronchodilators such as ventopulmin and minimizing dust in this environment such as peat or paper bedding, feeding treated hay with the dust removed. Allergies can be made worse if the horse feeds with his head elevated because spores and dust get into his eyes and nostrils. Lowering the height of hay etc can also assist. Me, I''d have him scoped so you know what you are dealing with.

Amanda - nobody suggested that a hobday is for a horse suffering from COPD, should learn to read SLOWLY. We have broodmares with chronic COPD that suffer breathing problems just from being stalled and obviously as broodmares they are not being ridden so your point is what??

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maybe he is sick or has breathing condition

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Sounds to me like he is a "roarer". you need to have a vet do an upper airway endoscopy - it doesn't cost much and sedation is not used... this will confirm it, but it sounds like very much that this is what it is. "Roaring" is caused by having a paralyzed "flap" that goes into the horse's trachea ("windpipe"). As the horse breathes, one side of the flap remains locked in place, and doesn't open and close like it should to allow normal airflow, so the air whizzes by and creates a roaring sound. This is a common condition, and can be serious enough to warrant surgery, and will certainly keep you from showing your horse -- it can cause the trachea to collapse sometimes.