Inhale, Exhale, Cough

On Sunday Phantom was my priority ride. She hadn't been ridden since Tuesday, and that was just a quick walk outside.

I usually give her the Ventipulmin when I arrive, then ride Cisco. Thus by the time I ride Phantom afterward the medication has had a couple of hours to kick in.

Since I wanted to for sure ride Phantom on Sunday, she had to go first. By the time I got on her, the Ventipulmin had only been onboard for just over an hour.

Phantom said that grazing would have been a better use of our time.

It didn't appear to be enough.

She coughed a bunch. She was also coughing at rest in the barn. We did some trot - she was totally game and was forward and willing, but I just didn't like her breathing. Then I tried a short canter and really didn't like her breathing. Not that she wanted to stop.

So we just went for a walk outside instead.

Can't really see the rain coming down, but about 15 minutes after I got off Phantom it started pouring. This had been mostly dry before a few minutes earlier. 

We haven't really had these problems since she's been on the Ventipulmin. Not sure why on this day. Could be one of a few things.

1) the Ventipulmin just needs longer before it's effective
2) the air quality wasn't great on Thursday and Friday - some forest fire smoke was back. Nowhere near as bad as a few weeks ago, but it seemed to be affecting people with respiratory issues.
3) the humidity is up with all the rain we've had.
4) Phantom is typically worse later in the summer. We could be approaching that time.
5) because she's a horse. And a princess of a horse at that.

She was perfectly fine on Friday night during her playtime in the arena, without any Ventipulmin. So I'm hoping that this is just a one-off. We'll see!