Bits and breathing. Both words start with the letter “b” and most might assume their relationship ends there. But Dr. David Mellor, a leading animal welfare expert at Massey University in New Zealand, believes there is more to the story, especially when it comes to our horses. His research, shared in a talk at the University of Guelph in autumn 2017, looks at how bit use can impact equine breathing during exercise and what this means for equine welfare.

Like humans, horses can be hypersensitive to a wide variety of allergen triggers including insect bites, pollens, dust and molds, chemicals in crop sprays, hay dust, stall bedding materials, wool (sometimes in saddle pad and blanket products), grooming sprays, shampoos, synthetic materials such as neoprene found in boots and pads, medications, supplements, and some ingredients in feed pellets.

Evidence Suggests Previously Unrecognized Latex Allergies May Play Role in Equine Asthma - Evidence Suggests Previously Unrecognized Latex Allergies May Plan Role in Equine Asthma - Latex exposure could be detrimental to a horse’s respiratory health. That’s the surprising discovery from Morris Animal Foundation-funded research at the Royal Agricultural University and University of Nottingham.

Recurrent airway obstruction (RAO, also known as heaves, broken wind, and chronic airway reactivity) is a common respiratory disease of horses characterized by airway narrowing (bronchoconstriction), mucus production, and bronchospasm. The term chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is no longer used to describe this condition in horses, because many aspects of the disease are different from human COPD.