Equine asthma encompasses a range of inflammatory airway conditions causing significant welfare harm in horses, with dust management and appropriate medication being the cornerstones of treatment.
Equine asthma causes chronic respiratory discomfort that significantly reduces quality of life for affected horses. Horses with severe asthma at rest adopt characteristic postures to ease breathing and show reduced exercise tolerance, reduced appetite, and weight loss — all welfare indicators of significant ongoing disease. Management is the primary therapy because environmental modification reducing dust exposure prevents the inflammatory triggers that drive disease. This makes equine asthma a largely preventable welfare problem: horses whose owners invest in dust-reduced bedding, soaked or steamed hay, and good stable ventilation have dramatically lower rates of clinical disease. Pharmacological management provides essential relief when environmental modification is insufficient, but medication without environmental improvement provides incomplete welfare benefit.