Cough update

[3equines]

Well, I ordered AnaHist from Horse.com last Wednesday and they just sent me the shipping tracking info yesterday:doh: so it won't get here for at least a week. So I went to every feed store in a 30-mile radius today looking for cough stuff for horses; the very last one had Cough Free by Farnam. It is an herbal preparation, mostly ginger and elecampine, and smells like curry powder. I do not have a high amount of faith in the many herbal snake-medicines out there in the home-veterinary market, but emotional desperation led me to pay $25 for a 1-pound jar of the stuff.

Fortunately, Sweet P is a pig when it comes to food. I made her a "cookie" with some COB, the powder, water and molasses. Smells like a very strong ginger snap, tastes awful (I had to try;)) but she ate it! So I mixed up about 5 of the 'cookies' and wrapped them in wax paper.

The instructions were 2 scoops daily, but I did some research on the herbs and elecampine (second ingredient) is best given 2-3 times daily for use as an expectorant, so I am going to hit her pretty heavy with the stuff and give her a cookie 3 times daily for three days, then taper it off over the next week. If it works, it will be worth while, if it doesn't, the AnaHist will be here soon and I can give her some real medicine. If the stuff does work, I am going to start growing the elecampine.... the common name for the herb is "horse heal", it has been used for a very long time as a horse-medicine. It works as a smooth muscle relaxant in the trachea and intestines, as an expectorant in the lungs, and is effective against gram-positive bacteria and some species of intestinal worms.

[Gypsy Rose]

Hope it works for you! I know I've had good luck with it the few times I've had to use it for Gypsy.

[cloedoll]

I hope it works, I've heard some really good stuff about Cough Free and was going to get some for Cloe but her current medicines seem to be working nicely for her.

[3equines]

I started Sweet P on the Ana Hist Saturday and there is a significant reduction in coughing episodes. The Cough Free helped her form a productive cough and reduced wheezing, but did not stop the coughing. On Saturday, after the first dose of AnaHist, she still had an occasional cough when running from one end of the pasture to the other or rooting around in the dry, dead grass for something to eat. On Sunday I noticed less coughing, and the only time I heard her cough today was early in the morning before I gave her the medicine.

It is still a battle to get her to take the stuff, Ana Hist doesn't emulsify with water at all, so it turns into a clump in the dosing syringe and won't eject. Molasses works better as an emuslifier, but I am still having problems. Sweet P, as fat as she is, won't eat grain that is coated with the stuff. I am going to try adding a little oil to the mix tomorrow and see if I can make it easier to get down her.

[Gypsy Rose]

Have you got beet pulp or hay cubes? Try soaking and mixing in that.

Good to know something else works well besides the Cough Free!