I think my mini might have heaves, should I take her to the vet?

[ButtonHerder]

I think my mini mare, Star, might have heaves. Should I take her to the vet? I am doing research on how to care for a horse with heaves, but do I need a vet to tell me if it is heaves or something else?
Thank you.

 

[Mini Horses]

If heaves, he'll probably give an RX for Albuterol. A lot of relief. Not real costly...except for vet .

 

[ButtonHerder]

Is there anything else it could be? And is there any supplements you’d recommend for horses with heaves?

 

[Baymule]

I had a 36 year old Tennessee Walker mare with heaves. I rode her until she was 28, light riding. She is now 37, still hanging out in the pasture with her best friend. Heaves is not the end of the world.

 

[Mini Horses]

Not even sure why you think it is heaves. How long have you had her? When did any symptoms begin? When do they manifest, what triggers? Have you checked her temp? Have you changed hay/feed recently? Her pasture? Her bedding? Is she eating & drinking normally? What do you normally do with her?

Is anything else it could be?

YES. An infection. A growth. An allergy. That's why you should go to a vet, to find out. But vet will need info as above. Some things can be determined by blood testing.

Let us know how she's doing.

 

[ButtonHerder]

Not even sure why you think it is heaves. How long have you had her? When did any symptoms begin? When do they manifest, what triggers? Have you checked her temp? Have you changed hay/feed recently? Her pasture? Her bedding? Is she eating & drinking normally? What do you normally do with her?

I think I’ve had her 3 years. I started noticing symptoms at the beginning of this year. Normally she starts coughing when she eats something a little dusty. About a week ago she got a tiny bit of old hay that she wasn’t supposed to have, and then she started having little coughing spells, and after she would just walk around a bit she would be breathing really bad. She lives outside all the time (with shelter) and she’s been in the same pasture for a few months. Yes, eating and drinking normally. When you ask what I normally do with her, I assume you mean how she gets her exercise? I do some liberty, trick training, I take her for walks, and ground drive her. I haven’t been giving her much exercise since she ate that bad hay a week ago, since it makes her breathing difficult.

 

[ButtonHerder]

YES. An infection. A growth. An allergy. That's why you should go to a vet, to find out. But vet will need info as above. Some things can be determined by blood testing.

Ok, thank you. Apparently all the vets where we normally take the horses are on holiday, so today I’m calling a mobile vet that can hopefully come look at her this week.

Let us know how she's doing

I will

 

[Mini Horses]

I'm truly thinking allergy issues...especially with hay reactions. You might want to try rinsing her hay just before feeding. Certain pollens from plants and trees can trigger them, just like for people.

 

[ButtonHerder]

If the vet says it is heaves, would you use any of these supplements to help?
This one doesn’t say it’s good for breathing, but I read that omega 3 can be helpful
https://greenhawk.com/en/weight-mus...-5l.html#/48-colour-no_colour/59-size-no_size

McIntosh Pro Line Airways 101 4 lb

greenhawk.com

Mad Barn Jiaogulan 1 Kg

greenhawk.com

Mad Barn Spirulina 1 Kg

Can be used to support healthy skin, metabolic health, lung function and the immune system

greenhawk.com

 

[Ebonythehorse]

Hello, how is your mare? I unfortunately have two mares with heaves, but actually we have it managed quite well, even to the point where I still barrel race them. For a while we steamed our hay in a homemade steamer built by a husky tool box with a hose attaching a wallpaper steamer. We could steam quite a bit of hay, but now they do just fine on non steamed hay. Personally, I found that just wetting the hay usually didnt really help anything for my girls if they ever struggled with the hay. I also have them on several different supplements including antihistamine from the farm store, and I believe mullein leaf powder, and red leaf clover extract. Ive found that the red leaf clover helps best. We give two dropperfuls to a thousand pound horse, so I'm unsure how much you would give a mini but I assume a dropper but dont quote me on that. Hope this helps.