What is equine asthma

What is Equine Asthma?

Find out more about your horse’s condition

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What’s in a name?

What’s in a name?

Equine asthma is a new term that replaces: Heaves; dust allergy; RAO; COPD or broken wind.1 Using the term ‘asthma’ can make communication about the disease easier for everyone to understand.

What causes asthma in horses?

What causes asthma in horses?

Feeding, bedding, stabling, cleaning, sweeping...the very care that we provide to horses is a source of dust particles, fungal spores and endotoxins so small that we cannot see them. When inhaled, these microscopic particles can become a primary cause of inflammation deep in the lungs of susceptible horses.1

treatment inflammation in the airways

Inflammation

This diagram shows a cross-section of a horse’s airway. On the left, a normal airway is wide open and allows the air to flow freely. A horse with airway inflammation, as shown on the right of the image, has a thickened and constricted airway, restricting the flow of air and causing coughing, wheezing and breathing difficulties.

How do we treat Equine Asthma?

How do we treat Equine Asthma?

Like human asthma patients, a horse or pony with severe equine asthma will have this condition for life and will always show symptoms if they are exposed to certain allergens. Your vet has prescribed Aservo® EquiHaler® to treat the inflammation in your horse’s airways caused by allergen exposure and this will relieve the symptoms they are experiencing. To reduce the need for long-term treatment however you will need to make changes to your horse’s environment to reduce the allergen exposure. 

HOW TO MANAGE YOUR HORSE'S ENVIRONMENT

References

  1. Couetil, L.L. et al. (2016) ‘Inflammatory airway disease in horses – revised consensus statement’, Journal of Veterinary Internal Medicine, 30, pp.503-515.
  2. Lavoie, J. P. et al. (2019) 'Effect of different doses of inhaled ciclesonide on lung function, clinical signs related to airflow limitation and serum cortisol levels in horses with experimentally induced mild to severe airway obstruction,' Equine Veterinary Journal, 51(6), pp. 779–786.
  3. Pirie, R.S. and McGorum, B.C. (2017) ‘Inhalation therapy for equine lower respiratory tract disease’, In Practice, 39, pp. 317-327.
  4. CVMP assessment report for Aservo® EquiHaler®.

 

Aservo® EquiHaler® 343 micrograms/actuation inhalation solution for horses contains ciclesonide. For the alleviation of clinical signs of severe equine asthma (formerly known as Recurrent Airway Obstruction – (RAO), Summer Pasture Associated Recurrent Airway Obstruction – (SPA-RAO)). UK: POM-V IE: POM. Further information available in the SPC or from Boehringer Ingelheim Animal Health UK Ltd., RG12 8YS, UK. UK Tel: 01344 746960 (sales) or 01344 746957 (technical), IE Tel: 01 291 3985 (all queries). Email: vetenquiries@boehringer-ingelheim.com. Aservo®EquiHaler® is a registered trademark of Boehringer Ingelheim Vetmedica GmbH, used under licence. ©2023 Boehringer Ingelheim Animal Health UK Ltd. All rights reserved. Date of preparation: October 2023. UI-EQU-0124-2020. Use Medicines Responsibly.

Breathe Easy

There is a new way to treat severe equine asthma.

Aservo® EquiHaler® is a prescription only medicine. This site is provided as an information service for veterinary professionals and owners of horses prescribed Aservo® EquiHaler® by a Veterinary Surgeon. Please tick ‘I’m a veterinary professional’ to confirm that you are a veterinary professional (e.g. veterinary surgeon, veterinary nurse or veterinary student) or ‘My horse has been prescribed Aservo® EquiHaler®’ to continue.

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