Random dry cough...advice?

[CrescentMinis]

Has anyone had a horse do this, and what did you do to treat/did it just resolve on its own?

Sofie started this sporadic dry cough a couple of weeks ago, after having an alfalfa treat. She only coughs several times a day and no rhyme or reason to it, has no other symptoms of being off, good energy and still the boss as usual. Do I need to have her scoped, or just continue to watch and let the vet know if anything changes?

 

[Crabby-Chicken]

Did she cough a lot when she first ate the treat? Like mild choke? She may have scratched her throat a little.

I would wait unless it gets worse. I have a couple that are doing that once in a while here. The dry lot is so dusty they seem to do it every fall. Another thing to consider is if she needs to be wormed. There are some worms that make their way to the lungs to be coughed out to start a new cycle. Just a couple ideas. Hope it clears up soon.

 

[CrescentMinis]

Thanks Kim, Sofie was over at MaryAnn's being bred back to Cowboy, and when I picked her up, MA told me that she had heard her start this coughing the day before, right after having a treat. No one else had been sick at her place or mine, so not worried really about anything contagious being picked up. I wondered about a piece of it being stuck, or a scratch in there, but shouldn't that be better by now?

It is dusty in the barn and I do hear that cough most in the morning when I turn them out, so maybe that's it. Think we'll just observe and see if it goes away.

 

[Crabby-Chicken]

Dust can do it... If it becomes more frequent I would call the vet... Try wetting her hay when you give it to her for any dust. Horses sometimes have allergies like anything else can. Good luck! It will be rain season soon and then she should be fine.