Respiratory diseases including equine asthma and infectious conditions cause significant welfare suffering in horses and are strongly linked to management and housing practices.
Respiratory disease causes substantial, often underrecognized welfare suffering in horses. Equine asthma can progress to severe airway obstruction causing labored breathing, exercise intolerance, and chronic air hunger — a profoundly distressing experience for affected horses. The link to management is direct and actionable: horses kept in poorly ventilated stables with dusty bedding and dry hay are at high risk, while horses with maximized turnover and appropriate feed management have dramatically better outcomes. Many horses suffer unnecessarily because owners are unaware that chronic cough, nasal discharge, and exercise intolerance represent manageable disease rather than normal aging. Treatment with bronchodilators and corticosteroids provides relief but cannot substitute for environmental management addressing the underlying triggers. Early intervention prevents irreversible airway remodeling.