The Horse has had many questions asked about the potential of respiratory problems because of the smoke and ash associated with the wildfires in California. We turned to Phoebie Smith, DVM, Dipl. ACVIM, who lived and worked in California for years before recently moving to become assistant professor in Clinical Equine Internal Medicine at The Ohio State University.

Following are Smith’s answers to our questions:

1) What can be done to protect horses in smoky areas where you can’t get them out?

Misting systems, common in barns in hot, arid regions, should be turned on, along with fans directing the smokiest air away from the horses. Alternatively, large standing fans that have a port for attachment of a garden hose can be used in barn aisles