It’s easy to believe your horse never coughs just because you never hear it cough, but does that mean it never coughs? How much time do you really spend with your horse—an hour a day or more? Most riding horses see their owners just a few hours a week, certainly not 24 hours a day.
If you’re with your horse for only two hours a day, four days a week (a fairly typical amount for boarded riding horses these days), you have the chance to hear your horse cough during just 8 out of 168 hours in a week—or less than 5% of the time. During the other 95% of the time, you wouldn’t be there to hear it cough.
Why is this important?
Because during those 160 hours a week, your horse could cough—even if it’s only a few times—and you wouldn’t hear it, yet you’d assume it never coughs.
This doesn’t make you a bad horse owner. In fact, you’re in good company with the rest of the equestrian world. Ask almost any horse owner, and they’ll tell you their horse never coughs, for the same reason—they’re simply not around long enough to hear the occasional cough.
Studies show that horses might cough once, then six times three hours later, and twice more 12 hours after that. They don’t cough regularly like humans. Unless you install a video camera, place a microphone in the stable, or spend 24 hours a day with your horse, you won’t know how often it coughs.
As Dr. David Marlin, PhD, an equine physiologist, researcher, author, and professor of physiology at Oklahoma State University, explains:
"Horses don’t cough consistently like humans. Without constant monitoring, you simply can’t know how frequently it happens."
Is a small cough a big deal?
Misunderstandings about horse coughing are deeply ingrained in the equestrian world:
- "All horses cough a little during warm-up."
- "It’s just a bit of arena dust."
- "It’s only some shavings dust."
- "He’s just clearing his throat."
- "It’s been really dry this year."
Dr. Marlin’s perspective is clear: “It seems widely accepted that it’s fine for a horse to cough a few times during warm-up. But it’s not. It indicates a respiratory issue.”
What is a respiratory condition in horses?
Respiratory conditions in horses include both infectious and non-infectious diseases. Infectious respiratory conditions involve bacterial and viral infections, such as equine influenza. Non-infectious respiratory conditions are part of a spectrum known as equine asthma, which includes conditions like inflammatory airway disease (IAD), chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and recurrent airway obstruction (RAO).
These respiratory conditions are common and have diverse causes. Infectious conditions can spread rapidly in large barns or yards. Non-infectious conditions are often caused by equine allergies or hypersensitivity to allergens in the stable environment.
How can I tell if my horse has a respiratory condition?
Coughing is just one sign of a respiratory condition. Other signs range from obvious to subtle and may be hard for a horse owner to assess:
- Nasal discharge
- Increased respiratory rate
- Increased effort when breathing
- Flared nostrils
- Breathing noises, either at rest or during exercise
- Poor recovery
- Reduced performance
Keeping a riding journal to track these signs can help you note when symptoms occur. For subtler signs, performance records can assist your veterinarian in diagnosing the issue and providing treatment.
How common are respiratory conditions in horses?
More common than you might think, especially if you’ve never encountered one before. Even more notable is how many horses with respiratory conditions go unnoticed by their owners until they’re examined by a veterinarian.
A recent study found that 88% of examined horses suffered from inflammatory airway disease.
What can I do to prevent my horse from coughing?
First, observe your horse. Does it show any of the above signs? If so, consult your veterinarian. A veterinarian can diagnose respiratory conditions definitively, prescribe necessary treatments, and advise on environmental improvements to prevent and manage respiratory issues.
To avoid environmental respiratory conditions, reduce dust in your horse’s surroundings as much as possible. Stable bedding—whether straw or shavings—is a significant source of dust in the stable.
Even the best-quality hay is another major dust source, which can impact your horse’s respiratory health. Dust from baling, transporting, storing, and drying hay can affect the air your horse breathes with every meal.
How can hay steamers help?
The good news is that you can improve your horse’s air quality by using environmentally friendly stable products that significantly reduce airborne dust particles.
Hay steamers can eliminate up to 99% of molds, fungi, yeasts, and bacteria in hay and up to 98% of respirable dust particles. Steamed hay retains its nutritional value, improves palatability, and assists in addressing hoof health, water retention, colic recovery, and, of course, respiratory issues.
