Respiratory

Low-intensity exercise in horses with severe asthma

By Modern Equine Vet News Staff

Rapid bronchodilation occurred after brief aerobic exercise in horses with severe equine asthma (SEA).

Intense treadmill exercise tends to increase exacerbations among horses with SEA, so researchers wanted to know the effects of light exercise (Equine Vet J. 2025). In a crossover study, they compared the lung function of 8 SEA horses after standardized exercise with that of an equal duration turnout or walk/trot lunge.

To compare exercise-induced bronchodilation with that of a potent bronchodilator, salbutamol (albutamol) was administered after the turnout intervention only, and lung function was measured again 5 minutes later.

During the treadmill phase, exercise led to a mean 50% reduction in pulmonary resistance, but it remained unchanged after the turnout intervention. Giving the horses salbutamol after the turnout made the lung function comparable to that of horses that had been lunged, “suggesting that the extent of exercise-induced bronchodilation was similar to that achieved with a beta-2-adrenergic agonist,” the researchers wrote. MeV