Coughing and Dry Skin
We asked horse training expert Cheyanne West. More about Cheyanne

Question
From: Susan

I have a 21 year old quarter horse with 2 problems:

1. He coughs when excited and once we begin to work at a trot and then again when cantering. It is a dry cough and can continue for a minute. It usually occurs in the spring, summer and fall leading me to believe he's got allergies. Is there anything holistic I could give him in grain that would help?

2. He has very dry skin on his belly and chest. He also gets very severe welts once bitten by bugs. Some welts can measure up to 4 inches in diameter. Is there anything ingested or topically I could give him or both. Again I know this is an allergy. I would prefer a more natural method rather than giving him chemical shots.

Thank you
Susan

Answer
Dear Susan If you are familiar with homeopathic remedies, I suggest you put your horse on a remedy called Apis (30c) which you can get at a local health food store in tablet/pellet form. I suggest one pellet per day which will help with the allergic reactions to the bug bites and may in fact help with the cough after he has been on it for a short time. If not, a homeopathic remedy called Phosphorus will aid in the cough if a dose is given prior to riding. Please keep me posted if this changes.

Cheyanne West C-Hom.

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