Lung health is a common health topic as wildfires, smoke and dry, dusty drought conditions blanket parts of the country. Heaves is an allergic-based disease that compromises a horse’s ability to breathe, similar to the way asthma affects humans writes, Barb Crabbe, DVM.
Horse heaves is chronic and can threaten a horse’s long-term health and performance.” – Barb Crabbe, DVM.
Source: Horse and Rider, April 16, 2021. Link. Classic heaves, once referred to as COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease), is now more accurately being called RAO, or recurrent airway obstruction. This distinction has been made because of the underlying disease process reactions of the tissues within the small airways in the lungs result in breathing difficulties. A less-severe respiratory problem, IAD, or inflammatory airway disease, was once thought to be an early form of heaves but has now been identified as a separate entity.
INSIGHTS: Crabbe provides a checklist of horse heaves symptoms to help horse caregivers know when to alert a veterinarian. This allows treatment to begin as early as possible. She also shares how to assess the disease’s severity, explains the different stages of treatment and lists tips on how to prevent heaves in the first place.
This is a good resource for the current period as fires, smoke and drought conditions continue. Consider it for social media, newsletters and email campaigns targeting horse caregivers.