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Shop Respiratory Supplements for Horses
Explore Mad Barn’s respiratory health supplements for horses, formulated with evidence-based ingredients to support lung function and maintain a balanced response to common environmental allergens and mild respiratory challenges.
Clear Airways, Happier Horse, Better Performance
Your horse’s respiratory system plays a vital role in their overall health, comfort and performance. Whether they’re a backyard companion or a top-level athlete, protecting your horse’s lungs from environmental irritants is essential to keeping them happy and active.
Poor air quality, dust, mold spores, and allergens can all compromise respiratory function, leading to coughing, nasal discharge, exercise intolerance, and even asthma or heaves.
A proactive approach using targeted respiratory supplements can help support normal lung function, maintain optimal oxygen delivery and minimize the risk or common respiratory challenges.
Respiratory Support for Every Horse
Mad Barn offers several research-backed supplements to support lung function, clear airways, and immune defenses. Each formula provides targeted nutrients to maintain respiratory function and reduce the impact of environmental and exercise-induced challenges.
- High-Performance Respiratory Support: NOCR is a natural supplement that supports respiratory efficiency and comfortable breathing in all horses. Its antioxidant-rich herbal blend supports efficient oxygen use, allowing your horse to maintain peak performance during exercise, transport, and seasonal respiratory challenges.
- Balanced Inflammatory Responses: w-3 Oil is enriched with the omega-3 fatty acid DHA and natural Vitamin E to support balanced inflammatory processes and maintain healthy lung function. Supplementation with DHA is associated with improved breathing efficiency and reduced markers of respiratory stress in horses.
- Natural Immune Support: Spirulina is a source of phytonutrients, vitamins, and antioxidants that support immune function and help maintain respiratory health. It supplies nutrients that contribute to the body's natural defenses against allergies and environmental challenges, helping horses with occasional coughs or nasal discharge.
Help Your Horse Breathe Easy
Supporting your horse’s respiratory health starts with the right environment, a balanced diet, and good management practices. Air quality, hydration, forage intake, and stress levels all impact your horse’s airways and lung function.
- Minimizing Dust in Forage: A forage-first diet supports your horse’s overall well-being, but feeding clean, low-dust hay is important to prevent respiratory irritation. Soaking or steaming hay decreases airborne particles and mold exposure. Using ground-level feeders encourages natural drainage of the airways and mimics the horse’s natural grazing posture.
- Clean, Fresh Water: Adequate hydration helps maintain respiratory tract moisture and supports normal temperature regulation. Offering free-choice salt alongside water encourages consistent intake and supports electrolyte balance.
- Air Quality Management: Use low-dust bedding and maintain proper ventilation to reduce exposure to airborne particles that can irritate the respiratory tract. Regular stall cleaning helps limit ammonia, mold, and other environmental irritants. Adjust exercise routines during periods of poor air quality to prevent respiratory stress.
- Regular Turnout and Movement: Daily turnout and low-stress exercise support lung function and promote natural airway clearance. Exposure to fresh air also reduces time spent in enclosed, dust-prone environments.
- Controlling Stress: Chronic stress can affect immune function and reduce respiratory resilience. Supporting a consistent routine, offering social interaction, and providing a calm environment help promote overall well-being and airway health.
For horses with respiratory challenges or high-performance demands, it’s important to optimize the entire feeding and management program, from forage quality and nutritional support to environmental conditions. Our team of equine nutritionists can help you customize a plan for your horse. Submit a free diet evaluation for personalized feeding and management recommendations.
Common causes of breathing issues in horses include poor air quality, exposure to dust and mold in hay or bedding, ammonia buildup in stalls, and seasonal allergens. High-intensity exercise and transportation stress can also impact respiratory function. Horses in poorly ventilated barns or those with limited turnout are at higher risk of respiratory irritation.
Signs of respiratory stress include nasal discharge, coughing, flared nostrils, labored breathing, reduced exercise tolerance, or abnormal respiratory noise. Horses may also appear dull or fatigued during work. If symptoms persist, consult a veterinarian for diagnosis and treatment recommendations.
A normal resting respiratory rate for adult horses ranges from 8 to 16 breaths per minute. This rate can increase significantly during exercise, hot weather, or periods of stress.
To check your horse’s respiratory rate, observe the movement of the ribcage or flank and count the number of breaths in 15 seconds, then multiply by four. You can also use a stethoscope placed over the trachea or ribcage to count breaths. Always assess respiratory rate at rest, in a calm environment, for the most accurate baseline.
Key management practices to support respiratory health include feeding soaked or steamed hay to reduce airborne dust, using low-dust bedding, ensuring proper barn ventilation, maintaining clean stalls to reduce ammonia, and maximizing turnout. Avoid exercising horses in poor air quality conditions such as smoke or extreme humidity.You can also feed a respiratory supplement like Mad Barn’s NOCR to support lung function, maintain clear airways, and support efficient oxygen delivery.
Mad Barn offers several supplements to support respiratory function in horses:
- NOCR – An herbal blend with ingredients like Jiaogulan, Panax Notoginseng and Milk Thistle to support antioxidant defenses and oxygen utilization during exercise or respiratory stress.
- w-3 Oil – Provides the omega-3 fatty acid DHA to support normal inflammatory regulation and maintain respiratory tissue health.
- Spirulina – A natural source of antioxidants and phytonutrients to support immune function and respiratory comfort in sensitive horses.
For personalized advice, submit a free diet evaluation to consult with our nutritionists.
Occasional coughing or mild nasal discharge can result from dust, dry air, or changes in weather. Start by checking your horse’s environment—reduce dust in hay and bedding, improve ventilation, and ensure access to fresh air and clean water.
If symptoms persist or worsen, consult a veterinarian to rule out underlying respiratory conditions. Monitoring respiratory rate, energy level, and appetite can help determine if further evaluation is needed. Nutritional support such as Mad Barn’s NOCR may help maintain respiratory function and support immune defenses.
Supporting your horse’s respiratory function during training begins with a gradual conditioning program to build cardiovascular capacity and improve oxygen utilization. Progressive exercise helps increase respiratory efficiency and reduce fatigue during high-intensity work.
Environmental management is also important for performance horses. Minimize dust exposure by soaking hay, using low-dust bedding, and ensuring proper ventilation. Turnout in clean air conditions supports respiratory recovery and comfort. Consult your veterinarian to address any underlying factors that may affect breathing during exercise.
Nutritional support can further contribute to performance. Mad Barn’s NOCR provides targeted nutrients and antioxidants that support lung function and oxygen delivery, helping horses breathe efficiently during physical exertion and maintain stamina.
Supporting horses with heaves, also known as Recurrent Airway Obstruction (RAO) or equine asthma, starts with environmental management. The most effective strategy is to minimize exposure to airborne irritants such as dust, mold, and ammonia. This includes feeding dust-free forage, soaking or steaming hay, using low-dust bedding like wood pellets or paper, and ensuring adequate ventilation in the barn. Maximizing turnout time and avoiding stabling during cleaning can also help reduce respiratory stress.
Nutritional support with antioxidants, omega-3 fatty acids, and supplements targeted at respiratory function may help regulate inflammation and support healthy breathing. In more severe cases, veterinarians may prescribe bronchodilators or corticosteroids to manage symptoms. A comprehensive approach that combines environmental management, nutrition, and veterinary care provides the best outcomes for horses with heaves.
