
08/29/2025
Horses with severe equine asthma are at risk of repeated respiratory distress when consuming dry hay due to high numbers of respirable particles, especially in the breathing zone. In a 2024 study, researchers compared the effects of feeding steamed hay versus pellets on lung inflammation.
Steaming hay reduced respirable particles by 69% for standard hay and by 87% for dusty hay. Based on clinical scores and BALF neutrophilic inflammation, both steamed hay and pellets led to significant improvements in clinical signs and lung function. Overall, however, pelleted feed vastly improved lung function and tracheal mucus.
“Feeding steamed hay as the sole intervention for the management of horses in exacerbation of severe asthma can lead to significant improvement of clinical scores, lung function, and BALF inflammation, but less reliably than feeding pellets,” the study authors wrote.
Read more: https://equimanagement.com/research-medical/research/research-spotlight-managing-equine-asthma/