Wednesday again

[altivo]

I had to be at work when the vet came, but her diagnosis matched mine. "Heaves" is the colloquial name for the condition, but it's analogous to asthma in humans. Asher has an allergic reaction to something, which usually surfaces at this time of year, and this is a particularly bad year. His histamine reactions make it difficult for him to breathe, which makes him anxious (I can understand that) which in turn aggravates the situation just like the way asthma works in kids.

He got an injection of an anti-inflammatory of some kind, probably steroidal, and refilled prescription for the daily pills, and some other things to be kept on hand in case of emergency but probably only used if the vet instructs us to do so by telephone. He's also supposed to get something in a paste (I haven't seen the containers yet, and Gary can't remember drug names) morning and evening, and a small amount of a steroid just once a week only until the symptoms fade. He is breathing more easily now, probably as a result of the injection.

We also have to wash his hay to make sure there's the least possible amount of dust in it. I thought that sounded difficult, but then I realized that putting the hay into a haynet and swishing it in water two or three times before giving it to him is adequate. Fortunately, he doesn't seem to mind wet hay. She didn't say his bedding had to be changed, but did say he needed open doors and windows for fresh air and should be outdoors as much as possible. That's easy enough. We also need to dust out the barn and knock down a lot of cobwebs and stuff, which she didn't mention but I've thought that for a while.

If the weather would just dry out, he'd probably get much better in a hurry.

Comments

[tango.livejournal.com]

You can send the rain this way, we'd love some. I'd never heard the word drought associated with the DC Metro region before this year.

[altivo.livejournal.com]

If I could, I would. This is naturally a damp, swampy area, but we don't usually get persistent rain the way we've had it the last two summers. The one before that was a severe drought, though. Long-established weather patterns are definitely being disrupted.

[chibiabos.livejournal.com]

Everything's wet anyway, pressure wash-clean the barn like I did to my boss. :P

[calydor.livejournal.com]

You pressure washed your boss?!

[altivo.livejournal.com]

That might be too much for the barn structure (all wood, not the metal shell on a wood frame type) and I'm afraid it would grow mildew. I think I'll settle for brooms and a shop vac.

[chibiabos.livejournal.com]

My boss' barn is all wood too. No problems with mildew, and you can definitely see the difference.

[cabcat.livejournal.com]

You need some rain to clear it out of the air too.
Glad to hear he's breathing a bit better.

[altivo.livejournal.com]

We've had too much rain. Instead of clearing the air it's promoting mold growth and adding mold spores to the problem.

[cabcat.livejournal.com]

Could we have some of that rain? *holds out his paws* Please?

[altivo.livejournal.com]

If I know how to send it to you, I'd give you a month's worth. August here is supposed to be dry and sunny. Instead we have squashy mud and mold growing on everything. Just listened to a long term weather forecast. Every day is the same: "Showers and thunderstorms likely."

[cabcat.livejournal.com]

Just point the clouds in the directon of Australia :) Queensland to be more precise :)

[avon-deer.livejournal.com]

Something has gone a bit nuts with the weather this year. We're just recovering from the worst floods in living memory, and it's still not quite finished raining yet.

[altivo.livejournal.com]

This is the third year of major disruption for us. First we had a really serious drought, then the last two years have been excessively wet.

[felder.livejournal.com]

'Tivo?

most of the horses at the stables where the Hippo is based have soaked hay for this reason. all they do is fill a very large water bucket/butt? and then haynets go in and they leave em till they are soaked through. no dust/pollen or ickys then. I've seen it done with entire bales of hay too!

thought that might help. Hope he gets over this too hon

*snuggles*

[altivo.livejournal.com]

Thanks. *hugs back*

He's holding up well so far. I was afraid at first that it was his heart, so this is sort of a relief. The whole regime is going to be a bit of an ordeal until some of the drugs can be dropped, but we expect to be able to do that once the weather changes. I'm most worried about soaking hay in the winter here, when we get to well below freezing for weeks at a time.

Hay is an issue anyway. It's been so wet that there's a shortage, and I need to find another 300 bales or so to get through the winter.

[kildoo-lonewolf.livejournal.com]

Glad to hear to good news.

At school, we had a lot of very old horses (between 27 and 32 YO) that had breathing problems. Since there was two vets working there with us everyday, we were able to give them very good care. One thing I remember is that to be very efficient to take the dust out of the hay, you have to put it in water for an hour. Less than that and most of the dust is still present and more than that, you start loosing the nutriments.

It does take a bit of time but it is really easy to do. You put your hay in a small bucket (http://www.hyperdrug.com/images/E25762-1.jpg) (they are selling cheap ones at Walmart) and cover them in water for an hour. You just have top empty the water before serving it to your horse. If you take out the rope handles and if your horse doesn't tend to destroy all that is in his box, you should serve him the hay in the bucket so he won't breath the dust in his litter.

Has for his litter, I would suggest that you take out his pee as often as possible since it contains a lot of ammonia and that is highly irritable to the breathing system.

I wish you best of luck and with good care (as I know you'll give him), he'll live many, many happy years.

[altivo.livejournal.com]

An hour? Ack. Our vet suggested 15 minutes.

I have already thought about keeping him from eating off the floor because of dust from the bedding. We'll either hang the hay in the net for him or put a manger into his box. I have one that isn't in use at the moment. Until now we've either tossed the hay onto the bare floor (he has rubber floor mats) or put it into a plastic bin, but he drags it out of the bin and tosses it all over the floor before eating it anyway.

I do have some plastic buckets like that, what we call "muck buckets", but they are old and starting to crack. Fortunately they don't cost much, so I'll get a couple of new ones. At least while the temperature is above freezing, your suggestion is a good one. We can drain the water out and just give him the hay in the bucket. But I'll have to watch and see if he throws it all out on the floor before eating.

He's only in the box at night, and it's cleaned every day, so ammonia is not a problem for us, thank goodness. In the winter, we have usually closed most of the windows and doors, though, and we may have to start leaving more of them open.

[kaysho.livejournal.com]

Erf, best wishes for his restored health. *hugs*

[altivo.livejournal.com]

Aww, thanks. Especially for the hugs. I could use those today. ;D