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What is it?
COPD is a breathing disease and is short for Chronic (long term) obstructive (blocking) pulmonary (lung) disease.

What are the Causes?
COPD is an allergic reaction to inhaled particles (allergens), these allergens are found primarily in hay as this contains bacteria, fungi and other tiny particles that become aerosolised in hay dust. Pollen can also cause the problem in the summer but once the lungs have been sensitised many different factors can make COPD worse.  When a COPD afflicted horse inhales these particles it has an allergic reaction which results in the inflammation and constriction of the airways.

Horses do not get COPD overnight and it is usually the result of years or months of exposure to offending spores or sometimes after a viral infection.

What are the Symptons?
COPD can vary in its severity from showing virtually no signs at all to cases where the horse shows signs of distress as it fights for breath. More commonly it produces Asthma type symptoms which develop into a chronic cough, nasal discharge, wheezing during exercise and develop a shallow cough when feeding. There is also a reduction in performance and exercise intolerance. A horse may show signs as “heaving” towards the end of exhalation to push air out of the lungs through the constricted airways.

Is there any treatment for COPD?
If your horse shows signs of a respiratory problem call your vet first. Once a diagnosis is given the more likelihood there is of a successful treatment. The longer the problem is left untreated the more damage there is to the airways and lings.

Drugs from your vet will help to suppress the coughing and wheezing and your horse may be prescribed anti-inflammatory drugs such as corticosteroids which can be administered by mouth, injection or by inhalation with the use of a special mask. Bronchodilator drugs may be combine with anti-inflammatory drugs for more severely affected horses. These relax the smooth muscle surrounding the airways and relieve bronchoconstriction. These are also administered orally, injected or inhaled using a mask.

The most important way of managing COPD is to keep your horse away from things that cause the problem.

These can include:

Dusty bedding
Dusty hay
Chemicals given off by wood shavings in bedding
Chemicals given off by paper bedding
Ammonia from urine and faeces in bedding
Pollen in allergic horses especially rape seed pollen
Viruses affecting the breathing
Mineral imbalance
Pollutants e.g. fertilisers, pesticides, herbicides, car fumes.

Here are some good management techniques to help improve your horses environment and good preventative measures.

Minimise exposure to hay dusts by putting the horse out to pasture. COPD horses should receive as much fresh air as possible and ideally live out.

If the horse needs to be stabled then eliminating hay and straw dusts in the stable can be achieved by bedding the horse on dust extracted shavings or ideally rubber matting, try not to use straw bedding.

The best way to eliminate dust from hay is to totally submerge the hay in water for at least twenty minutes. Alternatively feed a forage such as haylage.
 
If your horse has a persistent cough it should not be doing any work at all as work will put the lungs under even more stress and could result in permanent damage.

Do not much out or brush up while your horse is in the stable.

Make sure the stable is well ventilated even in the winter months.


Useful Links

http://www.horse-country.com/vet/heaves.html
Horse Country Vet Rap Article: Heaves - equine COPD by Jean-Pierre Lavoie
http://www.cvm.msu.edu/RESEARCH/PULMON/COPD.htm
Article prepared by Rachele J. Baker under the direction of the faculty and staff of the Equine Pulmonary Laboratory.
http://www.aht.org.uk/fsheets/fsheets9b.html
Respiratory Disease and the Endurance Horse by Colin Roberts, Animal Health Trust,
Newmarket, Suffolk