One of my haflingers has coughed the past month off and on. I gave him 12 cc penicillin a day for about a week. Still coughing some. Any ideas? The hay is not dusty. I have that happen in the spring before and penicillin has stopped it in past years. thanks,
Jim

Most coughs in horses that come and go like this are due to airway irritation and not infection. Of course, irritated airways can get secondary bacterial infections and so sometimes antibiotics do help. But dealing with the cause is equally as important. The irritants can be airborne from pasture plants, flowering trees, etc. or then can be ingested. Whatever the cause there can be other irritants in hay that can exacerbate the problem. Even though you don't see dust in the hay I'd recommend soaking hay for this horse for at least 30 minutes in a large tub of water before feeding - just dunking, spraying, or watering from buckets doesn't really do the trick. Keep him outside as much as possible, unless being on pasture causes more coughing. If so, keep him off the pasture more. Your veterinarian can help with antihistamines (limited usefulness in horses, although some seem to help a bit and they are safe), bronchodilators, or corticosteroids. I hope this helps give you some ideas of how to try to help your horse. Please let us know how things go.