Last Updated on March 9, 2023
While heaves in horses can be difficult to manage, knowing the best and most effective dexamethasone dosage for horses with heaves can help you keep this long-term condition under control.
Heaves are something a horse owner never wants to deal with, but knowing how to treat heaves in horses with dexamethasone can be beneficial. Heaves can affect your horse’s performance and well-being, so it is important to properly treat and manage this condition so your horse is no longer in discomfort.
If your horse has heaves, it is always a good idea to contact your veterinarian. Your veterinarian can help determine what is causing the heaves and the best treatment option for your horse’s needs. Oftentimes, heaves are a result of some sort of allergic reaction and it can lead to serious breathing difficulties.
What are Heaves in Horses?
Heaves is a common allergic respiratory disease in horses that isperformance-limitingg and is most similar to asthma in people. Common symptoms include chronic cough, nasal discharge, and respiratory difficulty. Heaves are a chronic disease that can threaten your horse’s long-term health and performance. Also known as Recurrent Airway Obstruction (RAO), heaves generally don’t occur in horses until they are nine years old or older. Episodes of heaves generally occur when a horse is stabled in straw bedding and fed hay, as a response to dust and mold spores.
Another form of heaven occurs in horses outing grass, who develop an allergic response to airborne pollen. This is called summer pasture-associated heaves.
Horses with classic heaves exhibit flared nostrils and difficulty breathing. The abdominal muscles are used to assist with exhaling, and hypertrophy of these muscles creates the classic heave line.
In milder to moderate cases, horses generally have minimal clinical signs at rest, however, coughing and intolerance to exercise are noted during the performance. Horses with heaves will not have a fever unless secondary pneumonia has developed.
Read more about What Makes A Good Western Pleasure Horse?
What Causes Heaves in Horses? – Heaves in Horses With Dexamethasone
Heaves generally occur in older horses. It is more likely to happen with horses that are routinely stalled and fed hay, with closely confined travel in a poorly ventilated trailer being another contributing factor.
Triggers for heaves include mold, hay, and barn dust, along with fumes and particulates from vehicle exhausts when traveling. These triggers can cause bronchoconstriction, which is the airway narrowing in the lung and accumulation of pus and mucus within a horse’s airways.
Other cases of heaves can be triggered by airborne pollen, particularly during the spring and summer months.
Treating Heaves in Horses
Though there is no cure for heaves, this condition can be managed with changes in the environment and, if necessary, medication. In most cases, the sooner heaves are diagnosed, the more manageable it is. Long-term untreated heavesleads to the abuild-upp of thickened scar tissue in the lungs, which may never return to normal.
The best way to manage heaves is to make the necessary change to your horse’s lifestyle and environment to minimize the risk of exposure to allergens.
If dust and mold spores are the problems, allow your horse to be on pasture turn out as much as possible. The main source of forage should be grass, haylage, or soaked hay, and bedding should be switched to a dust-free option such as rubber matting in field shelters.
When your horse must be stalled, consider soaking their hay or feeding them hay cubes. Keep as many windows open as possible to improve ventilation in the barn. Instead of using dustystrawsw as bedding, switch to cardboard/paper bedding.
In more serious cases, inhaled corticosteroids (“puffers”) or oral steroids such as prednisolone or dexamethasone can be administered. They will reduce the inflammation in the lungs, resolving the symptoms in most affected horses. A bronchodilator such as clenbuterol can also be used alongside steroids to ease constriction of the airways.
What is Dexamethasone for? – Heaves in Horses With Dexamethasone
Dexamethasone is a synthetic corticosteroid hormone used for managing inflammation in diseases or conditions such as heaves. It has anti-inflammatory effects that are estimated to be twenty-five times stronger than those of natural cortisol. It is FDA-approved for use in horses under veterinary supervision.
In addition to heaves, dex powder for horses is also used for hives, respiratory allergies, itching, and inflammatory diseases including arthritis and lymphangitis. In emergencies such as anaphylactic reactions, spinal cord trauma, or shock, dexamethasone injection for horses may be administered in considerably higher dosages than normal. It can also be used topically to treat skin and eye conditions.
Best dexamethasone dosage for horses with heaves
When using dexamethasone as a treatment for heaves, it can be given intravenously, orally, or via an inhaler.
In the case of sudden-onset or acute heaves, your veterinarian will normally give your horse a dexamethasone injection, and dispense a course of dex powder for horses as a follow-up treatment.
When given via intravenous administration, a horse’s lung function should improve within two hours due to the rapid reduction in inflammation. This route of administration is normally only used as a one-off treatment, due to the high risks incurred when giving high doses of steroids.
When given orally, dexamethasone has a bioavailability of about 60%, improving lung function within 6 hours of administration. In more serious cases, it may be administered for one to several weeks in tapering doses. A veterinarian will provide a prescription for your horse if they will benefit from dexamethasone for the management of heaves.
Any long-term course of steroids should be tapered off in lowering doses before it is stopped. Suddenly stopping a course of steroids can cause severe metabolic problems and is very dangerous for your horse.
As dexamethasone can trigger several side effects in horses, it is important to keep the dose as possible. For this reason, many veterinarians will advise using inhalers for horses with heaves. An inhaler enables the drug to be delivered right to where it is needed – the torse’s lungs – at a minimal dose, reducing the risk of complications.
Training a horse to use an equine inhaler can be a tricky task that requires plenty of patience, but it will reap rewards in the long term. It will greatly reduce the amount of oral or injectable dexamethasone your horse needs and can help keep your horse’s heaves under control.
Side effects of this drug – Heaves in horses with dexamethasone
Dexamethasone is one of the most potent and effective ways to treat heaves in horses, but unfortunately,y it is also one of the most high-risk drugs in your veterinarian’s medicine cabinet. Therefore it pays to keep the dexamethasone dosage for horses with heaves as low as possible and to only use this drug when absolutely necessary.
One of the biggest side effects of a high dexamethasone dosage for horses with heaves is the increased risk of the founder in horses. Founder, also known as laminitis, can cause irreversible changes in the horse’s hooves.
In long-term uses of dexamethasone, increased urination increased water intake,e, and muscle wastage have been reported. The use of dexamethasone may also cause or worsen gastric ulcers.
In addition, horses on a course of dexamethasone may be more susceptible to bacterial or viral infections. Be sure to take with your veterinarian about any side effects your horse may experience from taking dexamethasone, and never give any horse dexamethasone without the advice of your veterinarian.
Managing Heaves in Horses
For horses with heaves, the best way to manage their symptoms is to limit their exposure to dust, mol,d, and any other potential allergens. For stabled horses, this means improving ventilation and reducing dust from hay and straw. If the horse is allergic to pollen, it may be necessary to confine it to a stable or barn during times when the pollen count is high.
In more serious cases, dexamethasone can be administered to help reduce inflammation and alleviate symptoms. Good supplements for horses with heaves are those that include omega-3 fatty acids, such as flax oil.
Summary – Dexamethasone Dosage for Horses With Heaves
So, as we have learned, dexamethasone can be a useful medication for treating heaves in horses, but the dose should be kept as low as possible to reduce the risk of potential side effects. Acute cases of heaves can be treated with an intravenous injection of dexamethasone followed by a short course of dex powder for horses. For horses with chronic breathing problems, an equine inhaler can be used to deliver the lowest possible dexamethasone dosage for horses with heaves.
Do you have any questions regarding managing heaves in horses with dexamethasone? Perhaps you’re concerned that you might not be using the best dexamethasone dosage for horses with a heave.? If so, please ask any questions regarding heaves in horses in the comments.
FAQs
How Much Dexamethasone Do You Give a Horse?
Your veterinarian will provide you with the proper dosage of Dexamethasone to give your horse based on their condition and size. Be sure to only give Dexamethasone as recommended by your veterinarian. Dexamethasone has some dangerous side effects if not used correctly.
What is the Best Treatment for Heaves in Horses?
The best treatment for heaves in horses is a change in environment. Try to keep your horse on turn out as much as possible and when in a stall, provide ventilation, soaked or cubed hay and avoid using straw or shavings. In more serious cases, corticosteroids, oral steroids or bronchodilators may be administered.
Is Dexamethasone Safe for Horses?
Dexamethasone is safe for horses when prescribed by your veterinarian. Be sure to go over all of the side effects with your veterinarian and let them know of any pre-existing conditions your horse has, as it is not recommended for horses prone to founder.
Will a Nebulizer Help a Horse with Heaves?
An equine nebulizer can be used to help a horse with heaves, especially one that suffers from long-term heaves. Be sure to talk with your veterinarian to see what the right option is for your horse.