Exercise caution with horses, smoke
GUELPH – Wildfire smoke can leave horses coughing weeks after the air clears, warns Equine Guelph.
The horse owners’ centre at the University of Guelph issued an advisory July 17, citing research by equine respiratory researcher and veterinarian Janet Beeler-Marfisi.
Coughing and mild asthma can appear two to three weeks after horses breathe increased fine particulate and nitrogen dioxide. When ozone reaches 44 to 46 parts per billion during a smoke event, sport and working horses face a higher risk of exercise-induced pulmonary hemorrhage for a week.
Equine Guelph advises cutting exercise using the Air Quality Health Index, controlling dust by soaking hay, wetting bedding and watering paddocks, and calling a veterinarian if there are signs of irritation – coughing, laboured breathing, watery eyes or stumbling.
Airway damage takes four to six weeks to heal after air quality improves.
“The evidence in humans suggests there is no ‘safe’ amount of exposure in poor air quality, and we can assume that the same is true in horses,” Beeler-Marfisi said.
