My cob has seasonal COPD brought on by high pollen counts in hot dry weather. So that’s us only able to ride at 5 am in the summer 
Just wondered how you guys cope with COPD and if you had any management tips to share with me and others 
EDIT- O..k…last I checked my horse had given up smoking ….you also didn;t answer the question..but you show a good grasp of how to work Wiki…enjoy your points.
Mike_T says:
I know exactly how you feel, I was in a very similar situation. I remember that I was so nervous at that time and I took it out on everyone around me. I didnt know what could I do until, thanks god, I found Smoke Deter. Now I can look back and laugh on myself and in the same time I remember how helpless I was. I hope that I'll never be in the same situation again
my horse has COPD (RAO) and is mostly affected during the summer! as he is competed regualrly during the summer his performance is greatly affected… although he hunts throughout the winter!
I have found that keeping him on paper bedding works a treat! he also has rubber matting and so everyday i was out his stable (chuck all the clean bedding up along the walls to make a big bank) and rinse the stable out to get rid of any traces of dust. He is fed on haylage which is in a haynet in the mornings and placed on the floor after work (it is thought that whilst exercising all the muck in the lungs shift and is more likely to come out if he’s eating off the floor). if you cant use haylage then soak hay. you need as much ventilation in your stable as possible, so open windows if possible and never shut the top stable door if the horse is stabled. get rid of all cobwebs etc in the stable on a daily basis if possible. My horse is triggered by tree pollen which isnt too good as we live next to a wood! Some people say your better off leaving the horse in… others say there better off out in the fresh air….. so i turn mine out in the night and keep him in during the day if its really hot (he goes out if its a low pollen count or raining…)
As for exercising him you will find that the fitter he is during the winter, then the better his lung capacity and overall performance/fitness will be during the summer. A thin horse with COPD often copes better than a fat horse with COPD. I think of it as a person with asthma….. if you can feel the horse finding the work too hard then cool him off, let him catch his breath back and finish for the day. you will find some days go better than others.
As for medication you can use Ventipulmin (which you can get from the vets)… its expensive but its really works to open the airways. You can also get feed supplements such as breath easy or breath free (its a big tub of herbs that you mix in2 the feed) which i rely on year in, year out as i think it does make a difference. There are many supplements out there… just shop around for 1 that you think would work (there is a very good 1 called ‘Ventilate’ which has been scientificaly proven to work).
Another little trick that i have picked up is to put vapour rub (human chest rub) up the horses nose/around the nostril as this opens the airways, as it would to someone that had a cold. You can also get equine inhalers if you have the time and patience to use them! Another thing i do is put vaseline around the nostril to trap and catch dirt/pollen before it enters the airways. Apply the vapour rub everytime you ride…….
If you need anymore info please email me. good luck.
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) refers to chronic bronchitis and emphysema, a pair of two commonly co-existing diseases of the lungs in which the airways become narrowed.[1] This leads to a limitation of the flow of air to and from the lungs causing shortness of breath. In contrast to asthma, the limitation of airflow is poorly reversible and usually gets progressively worse over time.
COPD is caused by noxious particles or gases, most commonly from smoking, which trigger an abnormal inflammatory response in the lung.[2][3] The inflammatory response in the larger airways is known as chronic bronchitis, which is diagnosed clinically when people regularly cough up sputum. In the alveoli, the inflammatory response causes destruction of the tissues of the lung, a process known as emphysema. The natural course of COPD is characterized by occasional sudden worsenings of symptoms called acute exacerbations, most of which are caused by infections or air pollution.
The diagnosis of COPD requires lung function tests. Important management strategies are smoking cessation, vaccinations, rehabilitation, and drug therapy (often using inhalers). Some patients go on to requiring long-term oxygen therapy or lung transplantation
Dealing with COPD (in horses) is very much a matter of making whatever changes in the environment that you can to limit the amount of airborn irritants that your horse is exposed to. For "summer pasture associated COPD", limiting turnout in pastures is recommended. Otherwise your horse is sticking it’s nose in a source of irritants continually throughout the day. Dry-lotting and feeding hay cubes or soaking hay will help limit exposure. You should also be sure to dampen the ground in arena’s or dry lots to help keep dust down.
There may be some value to dosing your horse with antihistamines daily to help prevent an attack. Owners report improvement if they do this, but there aren’t studies to prove that it’s effective. However, this should not be confused with using antihistamines to treat an attack. Antihistamines are NOT appropriate to treat an attack–steroids and bronchodilators shoudl be used when your horse is having trouble breathing and the sooner the better.
For more information, check out http://www.thehorse.com and do a search for "heaves & COPD". There are lots and lots of good articles.
Get a vet out, they will give your horse a steriod injection, which will work for a limited period, then put your horse on ventapullmin, vet will advise dosage it opens up the air sacs in the lungs, vet price will be approx £80 and online approx £40, only buy from sites that require a vet perscription, soaking hay, leaving horse out as much as poss will all help, but this is a long term progressive illness. On the plus side 5am morning ride in the summer sounds a great way to start the day.
I am sorry you have such trouble.
As you realise it is best to ride early in the morning, on dampened ground if possible. Soak all your hay and dry food.
You might be given, by the vet, inhaled steroids which are dampened with steam. It is about 25 years since I last did that so I cannot remember the procedure. Your vet will tell you. Also, as it is seasonal, he might be given antihistamines as powders.
Keep him indoors on dust free bedding and only turn out on a dampened school for exercise. In my day there was little of the allergies we see today. Interesting. For example I saw recently an article about a horse allergic to grass and has to go out in a space suit for exercise!
I hope I have helped.