Of the over 80 percent of active sport horses estimated to have some degree of respiratory problem, many show no obvious symptoms. That was not the case with Dr. Robin Reid-Burke s homebred 4-year-old, Louis. He had a really, really terrible cough and nasal discharge, explains the veterinarian, owner of Millcreek Equine Veterinary Services and an Ontario hunter/jumper competitor.
Respiratory issues are often triggered by environmental irritants, but Dr. Reid-Burke was confident that wasn t the case with Louis. He never had any history of respiratory problems. We foaled him at our home farm and he lived out all day. At night, he lived in the barn, which is wide open in the summer months and always well ventilated. We didn t think there was any relationship between the coughing and the stall or stable environment.