Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease

The official title for an all-too-common respiratory ailment in horses is chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). For the average horse owner, however, that rather cumbersome title has been reduced to a single word: heaves. Other people call it broken wind.

In this article, we'll stick with the acronym COPD. While there is some debate about the primary cause, it is the general