Severe equine asthma (heaves) causes significant respiratory welfare suffering in horses exposed to dust and moulds requiring comprehensive management changes.
Horses with severe asthma experience respiratory distress that causes significant welfare suffering during exacerbations. The effort of breathing against bronchospasm and mucus accumulation is uncomfortable and frightening. Long-term exercise intolerance reduces horses' ability to engage in positive activities. The welfare priority for asthma management is dust exposure reduction, which provides more durable welfare benefit than medication alone. Soaking or steaming hay reduces respirable dust by 90-100%. Moving affected horses to outdoor management eliminates the stable environment trigger. Medication provides symptomatic relief while management changes address the underlying cause.