How to Manage Heaves in Horses

Horses diagnosed with "heaves" have a condition called recurrent airway obstruction. Horses with recurrent airway obstruction have difficulty breathing made worse by exposure to dust and mold spores, characterized by a recurring harsh, dry cough. The incurable condition varies in severity from horse to horse, and in some cases veterinarians may prescribe medications such as corticosteroids or a face mask to lessen the symptoms. Whether or not medication is used, careful management of the stable and the horse's diet is necessary to manage the horse's condition.

Things You'll Need

  • Veterinarian
  • Pelleted or cubed complete feed
  • High-quality hay
  • Hose
  • Bucket
  • Pasture
  • Feed storage area
  • Wood chips or shredded paper bedding
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Instructions

  1. Change the Feed

    • 1

      Transfer your horse to a pelleted or cubed complete feed, which includes roughage. Ideally this should eliminate the need to feed hay entirely, or at least cut down on the amount of hay which must be fed, since hay contains large amounts of dust.

    • 2

      Purchase only high-quality hay, if you must feed hay. Higher quality hay is less likely to contain mold spores.

    • 3

      Soak hay before feeding it by breaking apart each flake and thoroughly wetting it with a hose. Alternatively, hay can be soaked in a bucket as long as you are careful to break apart the bale to ensure that the water thoroughly soaks all parts of the hay.

    • 4

      Feed hay from the floor, encouraging the horse to stretch his neck down in a natural grazing position. This decreases the amount of dust and allergens he will inhale.

    Change the Stable Setup

    • 5

      Allow your horse to live outside in a pasture with a three-sided run in for shelter, if at all possible. Stables have high levels of dust and can aggravate heaves.

    • 6

      Increase ventilation by opening stable windows and doors, even in the winter. Increased ventilation can make stable living possible for some horses with heaves.

    • 7

      Relocate the hay from the hay loft to a storage area where it does not have to be thrown down from above to decrease the amount of dust spread into the air.

    • 8

      Bed the horse in wood shavings or shredded paper, which hold less dust and mold than straw.

    • 9

      Transfer the horse outside when performing chores that raise dust, such as cleaning the stall or sweeping.