Respiratory disease in horses is extremely common and significantly welfare-compromising, with dust management in stabling being the primary modifiable risk factor.
Equine respiratory disease welfare involves chronic suffering that is often inadequately managed because owners normalize early signs like mild coughing as acceptable. A horse with equine asthma coughing regularly during exercise is experiencing airway inflammation and restriction that impairs breathing capacity and causes discomfort. Left untreated, the condition progresses from subclinical to severe with progressive airway remodeling. The welfare-optimal response to any persistent equine cough is veterinary assessment and comprehensive dust management - not accepting coughing as inevitable. The primary interventions are environmental: soaked or steamed hay, dust-free bedding such as paper or rubber matting, and maximizing time at pasture reduce exposure dramatically and often produce significant clinical improvement without medication.