Michico, the coughing horse...

[hast]

He's been coughing the last couple of weeks. Nothing really bad, it started with an occasional cough, but got to be more and more. The last few days he coughed several times every time I rode... and enough to be really noticeble in the stall or pasture too. I was pretty sure it was an allergy since his coughs often correlated with my sneeze attacks.
I was in the feed store on Friday and happened to see a jar with Hist-all antihistamine for horses... I of course bought it. I didn't believe it would work for a second, but started the twice a day treatment Friday night... On Saturday, after the second dose, we rode to a lunch meeting, it was almost 2 hrs (pretty fast gaiting) there, than the lunch in a pretty meadow, before we turned back home again. He didn't cough once on the way there... but quite a bit in the meadow with all the pretty flowers and not once on the way back home again.
Today the BO and I worked all day around the barn and pastures... he didn't cough once! That stuff works :D

[Pasogirlz]

I'm glad you got Michico all fixed up. 8-) I'm sure he feels much better now.

[Heidi]

I think I'll be getting some of that (Anti-Hist) for Q this summer. She has a terrible allergic reaction to the culicoides (small biting gnat or bug?). She got so itchy late last summer, she rubbed hair off her face, neck, chest and belly. Her belly was RAW. She turned two small pecan trees into belly-high stubs.
:( She also, from rubbing her face, rubbed her forelock to a length just above her eyes. :(
Heidi

[GeorgeGuns]

Be careful with the cough medecines, they should only be used for about 4-7 days max, then stopped as they can actually cause more irritation after awhile. Switch to MSM! That stuff is great for coughy horses, and won't hurt them. If I hear a cough around here, I double dose for a day or two and then just go to a scoop a day and keep them there for a while - its usually seasonal allergy stuff here, so after a few weeks I'll trial them off of it for a few days and see how they do.

[Carol Nelson]

Hmmmm....the vet keeps our QH on an antihistamine all summer long which here usually amounts to six months or more for what she called fly-bite dermatitis. He never has any adverse reactions to it, and it keeps his dermatitis under control. Take him off of it, and he soon starts to itch again. It's called Spec-Tuss and its in powder form, you add it to his grain. It is prescription.

[hast]

This is a powder you add to feed too, but it's over the counter. Did you mean adverse effects from antihistamine Coreen, we haven't tried any cough medicine?

Michico had such a bad case of sweet itch summer before last that I had him on dex for months. Not only did he rub his mane off and rub himself raw, but he was so uncomfortable he couldn't even eat. I moved barns, and last summer he had no problems at all, then I've moved again and now he's starting with his insistent cough. (He's always coughed once in a while, but not like this) Hopefully it doesnt' mean that he'll get a bad case of sweet itch again, and if so I hope the antihistamine will take care of that too. The vet is scheduled later this week to pull coggins and "stuff." I'll be sure to ask about adverse effects of the antihistamine.

[hast]

This is what the HC vet said.

Well, I'd certainly rather see a horse on an antihistamine for long periods of time than on Dex for long periods of time. Try adding Omega Fatty Acids to the diet (flax is a good source), as its been shown to help with the absorption of antihistamines and may help you minimize the amount of the drug you need to give. In some horses, the Omega fatty acids are even enough to help manage the sweet itch.

One other potential would be to have allergy serum produced for him against Cullicoides, the usual suspect for sweet itch.

[Heidi]

I've started Q on the FlaxSeed and I'll have to get some AntiHist. Sounds like she is going to have a MUCH better summer this year. :)
Heidi

[hast]

Yup, I'm getting Flaxseed tomorrow too ;-)

[hast]

My vet (who prescribed Dex, year before last, for Michico) was out for vaccinations and coggins today. I told her about AniHist and the Flax, she was really happy he responded so well to it and told me "It is very, very safe even if he has to take it for a long period of time."

I'm soon traveling again so I'm moving my horses to a friend in Ocala (they're always there when I travel) It's not nearly as wet there, and last spring when Michico was there he didn't have any sweetitch so I'll take him off the AniHist when he gets there. If he start his coughing or itching again my friend can just put him back on it.

[Pasogirlz]

hast- So is Draftie finally gonna get a test ride on ol' Michico or what? :confused

[hast]

LOL, she had a short test ride on him, but he wasn't very accommodating. It was a day when he needed to be "held together" not to string out and "run out from under you." You know, one of those days when his breathing sounds like he's running a race while walking? :roll: So next time maybe we should change horse, she rides Michico and I ride her draft mare Bonnie. ;-) That's bumpy though, so I think I stick to my boy and let her have a test ride in the pasture again if she wants to. :lol:

[GeorgeGuns]

Oops, my bad. I was thinking the "tussin" kinds of products.