The horse’s respiratory tract is a highly specialized organ system that can move extremely large volumes of air in and out of the lungs each minute. When things go wrong they go very wrong, making respiratory disfunction one of the leading causes of performance problems in equines.

In this fact sheet, you’ll learn about:

  • How the respiratory system works;
  • Common respiratory infections, including equine herpesvirus-1 (EHV-1), strangles, and equine influenza (EI, flu);
  • Laryngeal hemiplegia (roaring);
  • Exercise-iinduced pulmonary hemorrhage (EOPH);
  • Recurrent airway obstruction (RAO, heaves, formerly COPD));
  • Respiratory diagnostics; and
  • Treatment options.