Equine asthma, formerly known as heaves or recurrent airway obstruction, causes significant respiratory distress that requires environmental management and medical treatment for welfare-positive outcomes.
Equine asthma causes suffering that is both immediately distressing — the struggle to breathe — and chronically debilitating through years of progressive airway remodeling. Horses managed in dusty stables on dry hay face repeated inflammatory episodes that each contribute to irreversible airway damage. The welfare-optimal approach prioritizes environmental management as the foundation: pasture turnover, dust-free forage, and well-ventilated housing. Medication without environmental modification is welfare-insufficient, managing symptoms while the underlying exposure continues to drive disease progression. Welfare-centered stable management treats air quality as a fundamental health requirement, not an optional comfort.