Mucus/nasal issues

Bacterial or fungal infection in the horse lungs cause inflammation with excess of
mucus secretion leading to difficulty breathing and reduced exercise performance. 
Decreased water intake during transportation produces dehydration that can also cause mucus issues.

THE CAUSE?

In the airways one of the key functions of mucus is to trap dust, pollen, pollutants and bacteria. Mucus is continually being produced and cleared from the lungs. It travels up the windpipe and most is swallowed, but where there is an excess this can be coughed up or exits through the nose. If a horse has a bacterial or fungal infection in the lungs which has caused inflammation, this can lead to excess mucus secretion. 


This can lead to difficulty breathing and reduced exercise performance. Dehydration can also cause mucus issues – dehydration leading to thinker mucus which is harder to clear from the airways. The risk of dehydration being compounded by transporting horses due to decreased water intake.

WHAT CAN BE DONE?

Steaming your hay with a Haygain hay steamer is the only scientifically proven way to purify your hay, killing harmful mold, fungal spores and bacteria.A study* showed that 88% of horses examined suffered from Inflammatory Airway Disease and that steaming hay with a Haygain Hay Steamer reduced the incidence by 65%. 


 Steaming also increases the water intake to help with dehydration. A study by Earing et al.** found that steaming increased the water content of hay of an alfalfa-orchard grass mixed hay (initial water content 8%) to 23% (an almost 3x increase). In a 2 hour feeding period the horses also ate 4x as much steamed hay compared with the same hay unsteamed.

A UNIQUE STEAM INJECTION SYSTEM

Developed and tested with Bristol University and The Royal Agricultural University, England, the patented manifold system is designed in a deltoid configuration to be the most effective way for injecting steam evenly throughout the whole bale of hay.