The term equine asthma is used to describe chronic non-infectious inflammatory lower airway diseases in horses. Depending on the severity of clinical signs, equine asthma is divided into mild to moderate and severe equine asthma. The most common symptoms are coughing, increased nasal discharge and poor performance. The aim of this cross-sectional study was to describe the factors contributing to equine asthma in horses in Estonia. The data used as study material were from a web-based questionnaire collected in 2021 from horse owners, whose answers were based on the past year. The questionnaire was answered by 46 horse owners from Estonia, and it consisted of questions about the horse’s age and sex, housing type, feeding and housing conditions along with the occurrence and treatment history of respiratory diseases. Statistical analysis was performed using Epitools Epidemiological Calculators, MS Office Word and Excel, where p-value ≤ 0.05 was considered statistically significant. At the time of data collection, the mean age of the horses was 14.6 years. Respiratory symptoms were reported in 71% (n = 32) of the study population, of which 69% (n = 22) were recurrent. Risk factors for the development of respiratory signs were the age of the horse, stabling, eating hay and poor air quality in the stable. A statistically significant positive correlation was found between the occurrence of recurrent respiratory signs and eating immersed hay (p = 0.05). The effect of immersing, soaking and steaming hay should be further investigated. Further studies should be done with a larger sample size, and more specific questions in the questionnaire to provide more accurate and reliable information.

Hobuste astma on krooniline, mittenakkuslik alumiste hingamisteede haigus. Olenevalt kliiniliste tunnuste raskusastmest, jaotatakse hobuste astma kergeks kuni mõõdukaks ning raskeks vormiks. Kõige sagedamini esinevad kliinilised tunnused on köha, nõrevool ninast, kõhuhingamine ja sooritusvõime langus. Käesoleva läbilõikeuuringu eesmärgiks oli kirjeldada hobuste astma sündroomi võimalikke soodustavaid tegureid hobustel Eestis. Uuringumaterjalina kasutati elektroonilise küsimustiku abil kogutud andmeid. Küsitlus viidi läbi aastal 2021 ning sellele vastas 46 hobuseomanikku Eestist. Küsitlus sisaldas küsimusi hobuse põhiandmete, pidamise, söötmise ja hingamisteede haiguste esinemise ning ravi kohta. Statistilise analüüsi teostamiseks kasutati programme Epitools Epidemiological Calculators, MS Office Word ja Excel, ning p-väärtus ≤ 0,05 loeti statistiliselt oluliseks. Andmete kogumise hetkel oli hobuste keskmiseks vanuseks 14,6 aastat. Hingamisteede haiguste tunnuseid oli uuringule eelnenud aasta jooksul esinenud 71% (n = 32) uuringus osalenud hobustest, kellest 69% (n = 22) korduvalt. Hingamisteede haigustunnuste tekkimise riski suurendas hobuse vanus, tallis pidamine, heina söömine ja kehv õhukvaliteet tallis. Statistiliselt oluline positiivne korrelatsioon leiti korduvate respiratoorsete nähtude esinemise ja kastetud heina söömise vahel (p = 0,05). Heina kastmise, leotamise ja aurutamise mõju tuleks täiendavalt uurida. Täpsema ja usaldusväärsema teabe saamiseks, tuleks täiendavaid uuringuid teha suurema valimi ja spetsiifilistemate küsimustega.