Horse Health: Horse Respiratory Diseases

Causes of Diseases of the Respiratory Organs

• Allowing a horse to stand in a draft when he is hot
• Allowing an overheated or wet horse to dry by evaporation
• Badly ventilated stables
• Not caring for a cold in the early stages
• Stables not kept clean or well-drained
• Working a horse beyond his conditioning
• Working a horse in extreme temperatures.

Some Common Horse Respiratory Diseases

• Nasal Catarrh (Head Cold): Catarrh is an inflammation of a mucous membrane. It is especially common in young horses and in horses not acclimated. The membrane at the onset of the respiratory disorder is dry, congested and irritable; it is of a deeper hue than natural, pinkish red or red. Soon a watery discharge from the nostrils makes its appearance; the eyes may also be more or less affected and tears flow over the cheeks.
  
  
• Laryngitis (Sore Throat): Inflammation of the larynx is a serious and sometimes fatal horse disease and is usually complicated with inflammation of the pharynx, constituting what is popularly known as "sore throat." The chief causes are chilling and exposure. About the first symptom noticed is cough, followed by difficulty in swallowing. A discharge from the nostrils soon appears.
  
  
• Chronic Bronchitis: This chronic affection in most instances is associated with thickening of the walls of the bronchial tubes. If the animal is exerted, the breathing becomes quickened and the horse soon shows signs of exhaustion. In many instances the animal keeps up strength and appearances moderately well, but in other cases the appetite is lost, flesh gradually disappears and the horse becomes emaciated and debilitated. It is accompanied with a persistent cough.
  
  
• Pneumonia: Pneumonia is inflammation of the lungs. The diseased portions of the lungs become as firm as the liver. The inflammation usually begins in the lower part of the lung and extends upward. The first stage of the disease consists of congestion, or engorgement, of the blood vessels, followed by leakage of serum containing fibrin from the blood vessels into the air passages.
  
  Pneumonia, when a primary horse disease, is ushered in by a chill, more or less prolonged, which in many cases is seen neither by the owner nor the attendant but is overlooked. The breathing becomes accelerated, and the animal hangs its head and has a very dull appearance. The mouth is hot and has a sticky feeling to the touch; the heat conveyed to the finger in the mouth demonstrates a fever; there is usually a dry cough from the beginning, which, however, changes in character as the respiratory disease advances; for instance, it may become moist.
  
  
• Pleurisy: Inflammation of the pleura membrane is called pleurisy. Pleurisy may be due to exposure to sudden changes of temperature, confinement in damp stables, etc. It may be caused also by wounds that penetrate the chest. The most frequent cause of pleurisy is an extension of inflammation from adjacent diseased lung. It is a common complication of pneumonia.
  
  When the respiratory disease exists as an independent affliction it is ushered in by a chill, but this is usually overlooked. About the first thing noticed is the disinclination of the animal to move or turn around. When made to do so he grunts or groans with pain. He stands stiff; the ribs move very little in the act of breathing—but the abdomen works more than natural.
  
  
• Tuberculosis of the Lungs: Pulmonary consumption or tuberculosis has been recognized in the horse in a number of instances. The symptoms are as of chronic pneumonia or pleurisy. There is no treatment for the disease.

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