Sorry put in wrong forum originally! I have a 19 y.o. Appy that I've owned for about 11 months. A couple weeks ago she started to cough (sounds more like she's backfiring). It is High pine and grass pollen season here which means everything is coated in sticky, yellow stuff. I thought maybe I had a bad bale of hay so i switched it out. The next bale she did well but she started coughing today after the first few flakes of this new bale. My hay man has awesome coastal hay and I have used him for several years. The last couple feedings I've shaken the flakes before feeding. She is also in a very dry, dusty pasture. When I let her out in the yard to graze (yes, I just let her out in the unfenced yard in a subdivision...I trained her for that) she coughs a little until she has some grass in her. Other than the cough and being the fat, lazy horse she has become since I bought her she acts fine. Oh yeah, we went for a long ride the other day and she was fine until we started going around freshly cultivated farmer fields that were deep, dry, and dusty. Should I soak her hay to see if that might help or do I need to call in the vet? Any other suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
Juls