what would you do re. his cough?

[GreyEventer]

Barney still has a bit of a cough, he has finished 2 pots of ventipulmin now but it hasn't actually got rid of the cough, i think it just stopped him from coughing.
It is nowhere near as bad as it was previous, like twice on a ride and only one cough and a lot drier. Would you call the vet and get more treatment? or do you think it will clear up the last bit by itself?
Its really annoying as i don't think ventipulmin is something that actually get rids of a cough, am i right? so we have paid £100 + on something that hasn't actually cured him if im right in thinking it jsut opens the airways.
They knew he had bacteria/bugs in his lungs that aren't meant to be there as they had a mucus sample.. hmm...

[fairyfeet]

Get yourself some Naf Easybreathing or Equine America Airways x-strength. Garlic in feeds and aloe vera gel (from health food shops) all help. All these build up his immune system so he can fight it himself!

[Tiaki]

What's the quality of your hay like? Might be worth soaking it to remove dust? Also your boy spends a lot of time in doesn't he?? If so what bedding is he on? Maybe change to something dust free, could be a dust allergy and if your horse is in a lot which I think I remember you saying he was, then he is living in a dusty environment. Turn him out for longer periods and let him get his head down grazing to help clear any crap from his lungs.

xxx

[GreyEventer]

hay is soaked, although wasn't over frosty period as no hose, but have started doing so again.
He lives in an open barn, so pretty dust free and when i muck out i don't flick the straw up any more i just make holes where the pees are and muck that out to avoid making it more dusty.
He goes out as much as he can, but with all the ice it has been tricky to get them across the yards to the fields, although goes out most mornings- 9-12 now.
Fairyfeet, will look into getting some of those. thanks :)

[Tiaki]

Put his soaked hay on the floor as opposed to nets or mangers. Again so he can get his head down and encourage any crap up from his lungs.

Has he got runny eyes at all with the cough??

xxx

[GreyEventer]

hay on ground.
no runny eyes, runny nose, but he always has that after exercise, and is clear.

[Houndsfield]

What about giving him some Lemon & Honey cough syrup..... I've done that with the kids ponies to help sooth their throats!!! Might help......

[CityLights]

Ive used NAF Coff ezze in the past, Dennis had a bad chest and inside he could get quite coughy but it seemed to help i gave him a little before everytime i rode

Try keep him as dust free as possible and outside as much as he can if you think it is dust aggrevated you could always try totally cutting out hay and moving onto a hay substitue such as HiFi my first pony had COPD and we kept her on just HiFi she looked really well and coughed much less,

a friends horse i used to ride had COPD and she swaered by Aloe Vera but some homeopathy books dont recommend feeding it as it can give them digestive upsets and diorrhea