Why is My Horse Coughing?

Just like humans, your horse can have breathing problems too, such as equine asthma, allergic bronchitis, inflammatory airway disease, recurrent airway obstruction (heaves) and more, which impact their lives and their ability to perform. And like humans, the correct medication and treatment plan can help them make the most of their lives and maintain peak performance. The first step in this journey is to properly identify your horse's symptoms and investigate what may be triggering your horse's cough.

Side effects of chronic oral steroid use may include:

  • Increased thirst and loss of bladder control
  • Lethargy and no energy to play
  • Immune suppression and increased risk of urinary tract infections (UTIs) and bacterial and fungal infections
  • Behavioural changes, including aggression
  • Diabetes
  • Weight gain
  • Vomiting and diarrhea
  • Ulceration of the digestive tract
  • Cushing's disease

What Makes a Horse Cough

When irritants, dust, mucus, or other particles enter the airways, a protective reflex is triggered to try to get rid of them. This reflex is a cough: an attempt to keep the airways clear. Coughing in horses can occur for a number of reasons. While a cough isn't a condition or disease itself, it can be a sign of an underlying problem.

Some of the causes of coughing in horses include:

  • Equine asthma
  • Respiratory infections
  • Inflammatory airway disease
  • Allergies
  • Exercise-induced pulmonary hemorrhage
  • Bacterial or viral infections
  • Disease of the respiratory tract