exercise | Horse Racing Free Tips

Saddle Time After Shots: What Workload Is Acceptable?

Though horses tend to receive many more vaccinations than an average, healthy human, that doesn't mean their bodies are more adapted to dealing with them. Equus magazine recently took a look at the best recommendations for keeping horse comfortable after receiving a round of vaccinations.

Like human vaccines, many equine vaccinations are delivered intramuscularly. Though most horses will have a minimal reaction other than localized inflammation and soreness at the injection site, some horses may be stiff and unwilling to bend their neck.

While it's not recommended that the horse be worked intensely the day after he receives his shots, he can be ridden lightly the day of the vaccinations or the next day. This should make the sore muscles feel less stiff. After the first 48 hours, the horse can be returned to his normal exercise routine and intensity.

A horse should not be worked at all if he has significant swelling or stiffness, or if he has a fever. When in doubt, talk with the horse's treating veterinarian about what work, if any, they prefer the horse do.

When Is A Cough Just A Cough?

Almost everyone knows that one horse who coughs when his rider first gets on. His cough may sound like he's clearing his lungs or the horse may stop moving, throw his head down and cough from deep in his lungs. Most of these horses then go right back to work, happy to do their job, with no more coughing episodes.

A horse who coughs a few times at the beginning of a ride may be clearing mucus from behind his larynx. Some horses create more mucus than others, so a cough for them is normal. If the horse has no other trouble breathing and isn't ill, his coughing may be a natural reaction to beginning work, when he breathes deeper.

A horse coughs when his esophagus is irritated by something, whether that's dust, pollen or cold air. The horse rapidly expels air in an effort to remove irritants from the respiratory tract; this is the cough that is heard.

Prolonged coughing or coughs that become more frequent, a call to the veterinarian is warranted.

Does Asthma Play A Role in DDSP?

Dorsal displacement of the soft palate (DDSP) is a relatively common, performance-limiting condition in horses where the soft palate shifts to obstruct the horse's airway, usually while the horse is working. Once the soft palate has moved, the horse generally must swallow and slow down to move it back.

Much research has been done on upper respiratory tract conditions that may cause DDSP, but little attention has been paid to the possible role lower-airway conditions like asthma might play.

Drs. Kinga Joó, ÁgnesPovázsai, Zsófia Nyerges-Bohák, Ottó Szenci and Orsolya Kutasi completed endoscopic examinations of 53 pleasure and sport horses at rest and while exercising. Twenty-two of the horses had mild or moderate asthma while 31 horses were severely asthmatic. They also collected mucus from the trachea and lower airways using a tracheal wash and bronchoalveolar lavage.

The scientists used a nasal occlusion test on resting horses. This test mimics pressure changes that might occur while the horse is working. This test caused the soft palate to displace in many of the horses.

The team found that 65 percent of the horses with mild asthma had soft palates that displaced during the nasal occlusion test; 79 percent of horses with severe asthma displaced their palate during the nasal occlusion test. All of the horses with severe asthma had DDSP while exercising.

Horses that had DDSP coughed, but didn't make the typical gurgling sound heard in racehorses when their soft palate slips. The research team suggests that this may be because the horses have a lower rate of airflow than racehorses.

The team recommends that veterinarians treat the upper and lower respiratory tracts as one unit since lower respiratory tract disease, including asthma, can cause upper-respiratory dysfunction and upper-respiratory obstructions can be a factor in lower-respiratory issues.

Horses May Need Up To Three Weeks Of Recovery After A Virus

It's not just humans that should take it easy if they're ill: experts say horses that have had the flu or other respiratory issues should rest for at least three weeks to allow their bodies to heal. Though lower-level exercise isn't necessarily harmful, high-intensity exercise can suppress immune system response and increase the horse's susceptibility to disease.

Intensely exercising a recovering horse can also cause him to lose weight and tire more quickly, as well as have a harder time recovering. Exercising does not affect virus duration or the duration of virus shedding.

It takes a minimum of three weeks for the respiratory epithelium and the mucociliary apparatus to heal, so allowing horses to rest or complete only low-level exercise is imperative. If exercise is begun and the horse seems distressed, it should be stopped immediately. Open communication with the treating veterinarian is key to creating a return-to-work plan tailored to the horse and his specific health issue.