Respiratory disease is among the most common welfare-relevant conditions in horses, with stable management practices being the primary prevention tool.
Equine respiratory disease is largely a disease of management rather than inevitable biology. Stable environments with high-dust bedding, unsoaked hay, and poor ventilation create conditions in which horses breathe air laden with particulates, mould spores, and ammonia that would be unacceptable in human workplaces. Chronic exposure produces inflammatory airway disease that, while manageable with medication, permanently reduces respiratory capacity and quality of life. The welfare cost — reduced exercise tolerance, coughing, airway discomfort — is significant and largely preventable through better management choices. The transition from straw bedding to dust-extracted shavings or paper, combined with soaked or haylage feeding and maximising turnout, reduces respiratory antigen exposure dramatically without medication.