Le Cheval Sportif - South Africa

18/06/2026

🐴Equine Pleuropneumonia 🐴(Travel Sickness)

Equine pleuropneumonia is a severe and potentially life-threatening condition that affects the lungs and surrounding pleural space.

‼️COMMON CAUSES‼️

⚠️Long distance transport- an elevated head position can cause a bacterial colonization in the respiratory tract.
⚠️Aspiration of food, saliva or liquid.
⚠️Pre-existing viral infection
⚠️Stress
⚠️A Penetrating chest wound.

🐴WHAT TO LOOK OUT FOR🐴
▪️Coughing and laboured breathing
▪️Fever
▪️Depression(Pleural pain is incredibly painful and can cause the horse to stand in an abducted(wide) elbow stance. Often pneumonia can initially be mistaken for a colic.
▪️Nasal discharge
▪️Lack of appetite

Promt Veterinarian intervention is required and will be diagnosed with a physical exam and a thoracic ultrasound to locate the fluid accumulation. A Pleural tap may also be performed to collect a sample for culture. Treatment requires intensive antibiotics and in severe cases the chest cavity may need to be drained. Strict box rest is needed to reduce stress as as very ill horses are predisposed to gastric ulceration.

Scan shows a wedge of black which is the fluid accumulation in the Pleural space(an abcess). Photo courtesy of Baker McVeigh International.

12/06/2026

Why are JHB horses coughing so much?

Sadly the quality of our air in JHB currently is at a dangerous level, leaving humans and equines with asthma/COPD in quite the predicament.

Nebulisation is a key tool in managing respiratory issues especially at this time of year when the air pollution is at its highest.

Email [email protected] or 📞 0824153892 for more information

08/06/2026

🐴When Should You Be Concerned About Your Horse's Coughing?🐴

Horses are obligate nasal breathers and occasionally cough to clear their airways. If the coughing becomes more frequent or persists over time, it raises concerns about potential underlying issues.

‼️CONCERNING COUGHS‼️

❗️Deep and persistent coughs are often early signs of Inflammation in the airways which can lead to Equine Asthma/COPD. If left untreated it will cause irreversible and permanent damage.
❗️Coughing + fever + nasal discharge often indicate infection such as
🔹️Equine Herpesvirus(EHV)- Endemic to South Africa and can lead to abortions in pregnant mares and cause severe respiratory issues in younger horses
🔹️Equine Influenza and Strangles- both are highly transmissible and require barn quarantine protocols.
❗️EIPH(Exercise induced pulmonary hemorrhage) Coughing after a workout could indicate that your horse is bleeding into the lungs
❗️Environmental Irritation-Coughing can be caused by dusty barns/bedding/grass or Environmental irritants like veld fires/smoke inhalation
❗️Coughing could also be a sign of a physical blockage/ CHOKE.

If you are concerned about your horse coughing or if the cough persists longer than 24 to 48 hours, is accompanied by a fever or nasal discharge, contact your vet immediately.

For more information contact 📧 [email protected] or 📞 0824153892

04/06/2026

Nortev has implemented user-friendly enhancements to the medicups, eliminating potential user errors, with colour-coded caps now indicating the specific medicup in use.

Green medicup= More viscous, harder to nebulise medications 💊

Grey Medicup= Standard medications or saline.

For more information please contact 📧 [email protected] or
📞 0824153892 and we will gladly advise which medicup you require for your treatment plan.

03/06/2026

Why Feeding Your Horse Off the Ground is Important:🐴🐴🐴

Horses are designed to eat with their heads and necks in a downward position. Feeding at ground level aligns with their natural grazing posture and provides multiple benefits.

✅️Clear Respiratory Tract: Gravity helps to drain and clear the sinuses and airways and reduces the amount of dust and mould particulate being inhaled into the lungs. Research has shown that prolonged periods of head elevation(such as long transportation times or exclusively being fed from haynets) can significantly increase the risk of respiratory conditions.
✅️Optimal digestion: The downward stretch encourages saliva production, correctly aligns the jaw thereby also promoting even tooth wear and naturally slows down the eating speed(reducing the risk of colic and choke)
✅️Spine and muscle alignment: The heads-down position naturally stretches and supports the muscles of the neck and back, reducing tension and allowing the muscles to remain strong and supple.

For more information contact 📧 [email protected] or 📞 082415392

29/05/2026

21/05/2026

🥶THE EFFECTS OF WINTER ON THE RESPIRATORY HEALTH OF HORSES🥶

Horses breathe exclusively through their noses and their lungs are large, powerful and engineered for maximum performance. When cold air is inhaled, the airways have to work hard to warm and humidify it before it reaches the lungs. Winter also brings higher dust and mould particulate challenges.

🐎🥶Tips to alleviate the winter stress

✅️Proper airflow in your stables to allow natural cross ventilation
✅️Remove your horse from the stable/barn before mucking out, (the ammonia from urine and dust will significantly affect your horses respiratory issues.)
✅️Use low dust bedding.
✅️Turn out your horse as much as possible
❌️DO NOT work your horse intensely in temps under -5C as this can lead to cellular changes, and increase in inflammatory proteins and potential lungs damage
❌️Avoid large round bales- they contain a higher dust and spore count.

🐎🥶Management and treatment🥶🐎

🐴*FLARE UPS require veterinary intervention. Your vet will provide systemic corticosteroids and bronchodilators to get the inflammation under control quickly

🐴*MAINTENANCE * Ongoing management in horses with known asthma/COPD/RAO is key. Daily nebulisation will significantly alleviate the symptoms and reduce the frequency of flare ups.

For more information on the Flexineb E3 Equine Nebuliser 📞 0824153892 or 📧 [email protected]

20/05/2026

ℹ How the Flexineb E3 works

Simple steps that make the difference 🔁

1️ Fill the Flexineb E3 Cup and turn on the Flexineb E3 Controller
2️ The liquid is converted to a fine mist (aerosol) through vibration of the mesh/membrane (90 thousand times per second)
3️ The fine mist is released into the Aerosol Holding Chamber
4️ The available aerosol is actively inhaled by your horse
5️ Fine particles are delivered to your horse’s lungs
6️ Your horse exhales through the exit valve.

The cycle repeats with every breath 🌬️

Contact us for more information
📧 [email protected]
📞 0824153892

29/04/2026

Another happy Flexineb E3 client. Thank you Suzy Lamb for allowing us to look after your beautiful steed 🐎 and many happy nebulising days🐴🩷🐴🩷🐴