Comprehensive management of severe equine asthma including environmental control, immunotherapy and emerging biological treatments.
Severe equine asthma is a profoundly uncomfortable chronic condition. During acute episodes, horses work intensely to breathe against obstructed airways, developing the characteristic heave line from sustained use of abdominal muscles. Between episodes, chronic airway inflammation causes ongoing discomfort and exercise intolerance that limits normal equine experience. Many horses with equine asthma are managed inadequately because environmental modification is laborious, expensive and requires sustained commitment from owners and stable managers. A welfare-centered approach prioritizes environmental management as the primary intervention, recognizing that medication alone without addressing triggers provides only partial and temporary relief. Horses with severe asthma who are kept in poorly managed environments experience unnecessary chronic suffering.