Is there anything in a feed that would/could cause a few horses in the herd to cough or not agree with? Even brought home a new horse (test rode w/o issues) and after 2 feedings, it’s coughing. Hay is good. Thanks for any thoughts. I will be switching to something just to see if it helps.
Much like people and allergies - it will differ from horse to horse. I’ve never experienced coughing as a symptom I could tie directly back to feed but I’ve certainly had horses not flourish on one feed or another.
Is the coughing only at feeding time or is it persistent? Persistent I think I would be having a vet out.
One thought might be that they are inhaling dust if the feed is pelleted and the pellet quality is poor. You could try wetting the feed down for a week or 10 days to see if that helps. Or removing grain entirely and offering good quality free choice hay for a similar time frame.
I’ve also had horses cough when they were carrying a worm load.
Grain issues?
