Heaves (RAO/severe equine asthma) causes chronic respiratory compromise that can be managed effectively to restore good quality of life with appropriate environmental changes.
RAO causes genuine suffering in severely affected horses - the effort of breathing against obstructed airways causes visible distress, and chronic hypoxia affects overall wellbeing. The good news is that this condition responds dramatically to appropriate environmental management. Horses moved to outdoor living with soaked or haylage feeding often achieve dramatic clinical improvement without medication. The welfare challenge is that the most effective interventions require significant management changes that owners are sometimes reluctant to implement. Connecting environmental change clearly to clinical improvement motivates the sustained commitment needed for optimal welfare outcomes.