Also thought I should add... no discharge comes out when he coughs and no runny nose at all. He's perfectly normall other than the cough....

 

Here's some stuff I've learned recently.

Round bales can be dusty. It's complicated by how horses eat a round bale, which is often to make a tunnel into the middle of the bale. Then once their heads are down in there, they are breathing in lots of hay dust.

Also, you can't wet the whole round bale. Because, you're right, that would eventually make it get moldy.

With a round bale, you might want to keep the whole bale outside of where they can get to it, then peel off parts and feed it to them bits at a time. That way you could wet it if you needed it.

Also FWIW my Pony with similar symptoms just got diagnosed with asthma. So you might look into that.

 

Thank you! He does make a tunnel to the middle, even when I have a hay net on the bale. The vet had mentioned asma before but never anything to serious about it. What do you do for your ponys asthma?

 

Pony just got diagnosed last week, so I am only at the point of starting to change my management practices, e.g. trying to feed hay in a way that he's not breathing so much dust. In his case, I'm also pulling him off the pasture where he was, which was full of mature tall grass, as that can apparently trigger it in some horses.

I also ordered a supplement called Aleira that is supposed to help.

My understanding is that the go to treatment for asthma in horses is oral steroids, however my Pony isn't a candidate for oral steroids due to being fat (oral steroids can increase laminitis risk).

Yes there's nebulizers and also inhalers, and they are both quite expensive, but they are more for serious cases and in theory they wouldn't have to be used forever.

Definitely have the vet out and see what they think. It could also be something totally different.

 

Pony just got diagnosed last week, so I am only at the point of starting to change my management practices, e.g. trying to feed hay in a way that he's not breathing so much dust. In his case, I'm also pulling him off the pasture where he was, which was full of mature tall grass, as that can apparently trigger it in some horses.

I also ordered a supplement called Aleira that is supposed to help.

My understanding is that the go to treatment for asthma in horses is oral steroids, however my Pony isn't a candidate for oral steroids due to being fat (oral steroids can increase laminitis risk).

Yes there's nebulizers and also inhalers, and they are both quite expensive, but they are more for serious cases and in theory they wouldn't have to be used forever.

Definitely have the vet out and see what they think. It could also be something totally different.

Thank you!

 

The best thing you can do for your horse is stop with the round bale and feed the square bales so he wont be sticking his head into a round bale and see if that helps.

 

Thank you!

 

I feed round rolls...
Instead of laying it flat, we keep ours on end...
We do not remove the baler netting either but use the net to hold the shape of the roll and restrict the horses from diving in deep.

We do not net our roll either but it is covered by a tarp to keep it out of the weather.
We direct where the horse is going to eat from with how we release the tarp and pull it back exposing the hay.
We have the horses eating from the edge in and only when about 3/4 of the roll is gone is their head "inside"...
We cut and remove netting as is needed...it is never a danger of being ingested.

For us, once we are at the point of the horses putting their face in, well, they are still withdrawing their head as they eat yet...
The pile of dropped proves just how much they grab a mouthful and leave the "inside" of the roll...
At this consumed point though honestly the roll is now headed inside the barn storage area and we feed it out by pitchfork amounts and the animals are off the ground on mats eating...that reduces the inhalation issue of head buried inside. We are able to "peel" off the roll remains and carry it out to the horses placing sheets of hay for them to eat.

We are also fussy that our hay is "HORSE" hay meaning it is cut a bit higher in the field, not at the dirt line like is done on cow rolls. That cuts down on amount of dirt that is picked up in the grasses cut.
Our haymen also double fluffs his horse hay at a minimum. If you've ever seen them fluffing and putting into rows the hay you know how much dust and dirt is in the air....it does make a difference.
Horse hay is baled lower moisture levels than cow hay, so less mold is inside or chance of it developing in dry hay versus a slightly damper baled roll for cows. Our horse hay is also barn kept, never gets wet from cutting, to dry to fluffed and baled/rolled.
My hay at center of the roll is not musty smelling, nor puff white dust nor does the bottom of the bale have these tendencies...if you are seeing any white dust, musty odor or blatant mold you need to get off of rounds as they are not being rolled for a horses consumption. It also is diligence on you to watch for, sniff carefully and be very vigilant that the hay is ground elevated and covered from moisture from the heavens or absorbed out of the ground.

Some coughing or blowing the nose is normal done to clear the dust from the sinuses. Whether square baled or round roll fed noses are blown, throats can be cleared....
Our fly masks with nose cover is proof of how often noses are blown and how much ick comes out.
My horses are currently on pasture....they blow their noses frequently as hot & dusty...they blow the nose clear of irritants.
I clear my nose & throat when dusty environments are occurring does not mean I have asthma...and I don't!
It is frequency and when that cough is done, how often, how many and does it stop or continue.
It also makes a difference in when riding does the animal continue to cough, have a discharge and difficulty resuming a "rest period" respiration rate and how quickly is the return to normal....
The horse clearing their airway of irritants..to me is a..✔
Some "asthma" can be a precursor to other larger issues.
Some is just normal horse exhalation and environmental stress influenced.
Some needs far more intervention and different feeding protocols followed.

Asthma is diagnosed by:
Diagnosis of equine asthma is achieved via respiratory tract endoscopy. An endoscope is inserted up your horses nose and into your horse's windpipe. With this, the vet can see from the nostril down to where the trachea splits to go into each of the two lungs and up into the guttural pouches.
If you are dealing with a firm diagnosis of asthma from the vet, have been given instructions on how to administer medications then a different method to feeding your horse should of been discussed so you understand the risks of roll versus baled hay and if wetting baled is also suggested or needed.

You need more information from your vet with clear understanding of what's happening.
🐎... jmo.

 

I feed round rolls...
Instead of laying it flat, we keep ours on end...
We do not remove the baler netting either but use the net to hold the shape of the roll and restrict the horses from diving in deep.
View attachment 1196490
We do not net our roll either but it is covered by a tarp to keep it out of the weather.
We direct where the horse is going to eat from with how we release the tarp and pull it back exposing the hay.
We have the horses eating from the edge in and only when about 3/4 of the roll is gone is their head "inside"...
We cut and remove netting as is needed...it is never a danger of being ingested.

For us, once we are at the point of the horses putting their face in, well, they are still withdrawing their head as they eat yet...
The pile of dropped proves just how much they grab a mouthful and leave the "inside" of the roll...
At this consumed point though honestly the roll is now headed inside the barn storage area and we feed it out by pitchfork amounts and the animals are off the ground on mats eating...that reduces the inhalation issue of head buried inside. We are able to "peel" off the roll remains and carry it out to the horses placing sheets of hay for them to eat.

We are also fussy that our hay is "HORSE" hay meaning it is cut a bit higher in the field, not at the dirt line like is done on cow rolls. That cuts down on amount of dirt that is picked up in the grasses cut.
Our haymen also double fluffs his horse hay at a minimum. If you've ever seen them fluffing and putting into rows the hay you know how much dust and dirt is in the air....it does make a difference.
Horse hay is baled lower moisture levels than cow hay, so less mold is inside or chance of it developing in dry hay versus a slightly damper baled roll for cows. Our horse hay is also barn kept, never gets wet from cutting, to dry to fluffed and baled/rolled.
My hay at center of the roll is not musty smelling, nor puff white dust nor does the bottom of the bale have these tendencies...if you are seeing any white dust, musty odor or blatant mold you need to get off of rounds as they are not being rolled for a horses consumption. It also is diligence on you to watch for, sniff carefully and be very vigilant that the hay is ground elevated and covered from moisture from the heavens or absorbed out of the ground.

Some coughing or blowing the nose is normal done to clear the dust from the sinuses. Whether square baled or round roll fed noses are blown, throats can be cleared....
Our fly masks with nose cover is proof of how often noses are blown and how much ick comes out.
My horses are currently on pasture....they blow their noses frequently as hot & dusty...they blow the nose clear of irritants.
I clear my nose & throat when dusty environments are occurring does not mean I have asthma...and I don't!
It is frequency and when that cough is done, how often, how many and does it stop or continue.
It also makes a difference in when riding does the animal continue to cough, have a discharge and difficulty resuming a "rest period" respiration rate and how quickly is the return to normal....
The horse clearing their airway of irritants..to me is a..✔
Some "asthma" can be a precursor to other larger issues.
Some is just normal horse exhalation and environmental stress influenced.
Some needs far more intervention and different feeding protocols followed.

Asthma is diagnosed by:
Diagnosis of equine asthma is achieved via respiratory tract endoscopy. An endoscope is inserted up your horses nose and into your horse's windpipe. With this, the vet can see from the nostril down to where the trachea splits to go into each of the two lungs and up into the guttural pouches.
If you are dealing with a firm diagnosis of asthma from the vet, have been given instructions on how to administer medications then a different method to feeding your horse should of been discussed so you understand the risks of roll versus baled hay and if wetting baled is also suggested or needed.

You need more information from your vet with clear understanding of what's happening.
🐎... jmo.

Thank you!

 

I got round bales this year after only using square bales… is it possible to pitch fork out portions for them ? Or is it too tight

 

We have our bales tight, after he wallers it around you can but it's harder when he dosent lol

 

Hay net would help. Goodwins netting and supplies has some nets made from hockey material. Ours is ten years old and no rips.

 

We actually have one, but my dad took it off this time to let it dry but it is almost always on other than that

 

Could he have heave ?

 

I have a question for you guys! My horse always has a cough from dust in the summer time or whenever it's dry normally he's fine except when we're riding, and I bring him up to a lope, he might cough 1-3 times and then he's good and won't cough any more. Keep in mind I live in SW MO so temps are in the 90s right now and very hot and dry. I got my horse out of the field after having a week off while I was at camp and he coughed around 5 times while tacking him up, then when I get on he went back to his normal, coughed a couple times when he loped and then was fine. So today I went to the field with him and he coughed x2 while he was eating his hay. Is there anything I can do to help this?
For background he got deformed on Saturday of last week if that does any thing
And got a new round bale on prablly Tuesday of last week. Is it from the dust of the bale? Should I wet it down? Would that make mold grow?
Thank you in advance!!!

Hi honey we actually wet our hay all the time now during the summer. Due to we live on a very dusty road. With all the traffic out here and the young man who likes to drive fast up and down the road and other people who insist on driving extremely fast up and down the road the dust flies! The speed limit is only 25 miles an hour here. But the dust flies because of the flat land here. It may look like we have mountains in a lot of trees or hills I should say. But if you look at my front yard it is full of dust. I have a now 30-year-old quarter horse who coughs consistently. It's due to all the dust on the road coming into my fields. I hope this helps please wet your hay water your lawns water your Fields during the summer months you're helping your horses. A friend from Florida. Keep them away from your dirt roads if you can you don't realize how far the dust can fly. This is a picture from my back riding paddock you can see the road in the front of my front yard from this picture. My front yard is over an acre away from the road.

 

I use 20ml of Colloidal Silver per day for a week for anything like this and Harlem Oil also is amazing for anything respiratory

 

I have fed round bales for many years to my horses even when I had a horse with heaves. Never have had issues with rounds causing coughing.

No one around here does square bales anymore all the farmers have gone to bailing round bales. Easier to put up a hay barn full of round bales then square bales. Can put 35 rounds in hay barn in a hours time. Only work I have to do is put the pallets down.

Square bales can be just as dusty junk hay as rounds and a lot more work to put up.

Pic of round bale hay that I feed no dust in it.

 

I use 20ml of Colloidal Silver per day for a week for anything like this and Harlem Oil also is amazing for anything respiratory

I have fed round bales for many years to my horses even when I had a horse with heaves. Never have had issues with rounds causing coughing.

No one around here does square bales anymore all the farmers have gone to bailing round bales. Easier to put up a hay barn full of round bales then square bales. Can put 35 rounds in hay barn in a hours time. Only work I have to do is put the pallets down.

Square bales can be just as dusty junk hay as rounds and a lot more work to put up.

Pic of round bale hay that I feed no dust in it.

View attachment 1196602

If it's good quality hay and fed in a net where they can't get their faces into the bale, then it may be ok, but you have no control of the hay should the inside be musty or dusty. With the square bales it's easy to shake it out and wet in down I need be.

 

Here are the square bales we use. 110 lbs average. we do nothing. comes on in a truck and trailer and they move them off the truck onto the pallets. stack of 64 , and its easy to pull a few bales down as needed. I dont have dusty hay.