Respiratory conditions including equine asthma cause significant welfare problems in stabled horses. Understanding the relationship between stable management and airway health enables prevention.
Equine asthma causes chronic breathing difficulty that ranges from mild coughing to respiratory distress at rest in severe cases. Affected horses cannot exercise normally and may struggle to breathe comfortably even at rest during acute episodes. The condition is largely preventable through appropriate stable management — the welfare cost of inadequate ventilation and dusty hay affects horses every moment they spend in affected stables.