Presented by Daniel Toriola
Bronchitis is coughing with mucous. Bronchitis is a respiratory disorder where the bronchi of the lungs
become inflamed. Most people who suffer from this illness are people who are habitual tobacco or cigarette
smokers.
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Equine Heaves
By RON PETRACEK
Heaves. Even the name sounds icky. And if you are a horse owner who has had to deal with
heaves, you know it’s no day at the park.
What exactly are heaves? Heaves is basically another word for pulmonary emphysema, a condition in
which the lungs can’t be properly emptied of air due to the rupture of alveoli, which are tiny air sacks in
the lungs. What happens is that the air that escapes the alveoli becomes trapped in the pockets
between them. And this makes it difficult for the lungs to properly empty. While heaves is most often
seen in horses older than five, it can be seen in younger horses who have had respiratory illnesses.
While it’s never been proven what causes the alveoli to rupture, theories include allergic reaction,
exposure to dust or molds, chronic bronchitis, feeding of poor roughage for a long period of time, and
overworking.
You’ll know it if your horse has heaves! Heaves will start with a runny nose and cough, but will
progress to the emphysema phase where your horse will experience obvious shortness of breath.
Another clue that your horse has heaves is the use of his abdominal muscles to breathe after exercise.
An attack of heaves can last just a few days or can persist a few weeks or more.
As heaves progresses coughing and difficulty breathing will become more severe, and you’ll see
further signs of heaves in the horse’s respiratory muscles. For example, the abdominal muscles may
become misshapen, and the nostrils may dilate. In very severe cases, the rectum may even pro