VET notes
WHAT YOU'LL LEARN:
• All about the upper respiratory tract
• How it works
• Treatments for problems
The horse, especially the Thoroughbred, has an extraordinary ability to increase the air flow through his respiratory system (the upper and lower respiratory tract) while at speed. In fact, oxygen uptake can be up to 40 times that of the same horse at rest (compared to only eight times in human endurance runners). It is this dramatic increase that allows racehorses to power along a track at speeds in excess of 40mph, or for sport horses to gallop for mile after mile.
However, the horse's respiratory system isn't perfect — he is an obligate nasal breather, after all, which means that he can only breathe through his nose and not his mouth — and air will be entering his airway at an exceptionally high rate and so things can and do go wrong. Often, however, the rider will be given notice that all is not well with the upper respiratory tract and their mount may become exercise intolerant — because he isn't getting enough oxygen into
