News Articles

Bleeders - Treatment and Prevention

14 August 2017

‘Bleeders’ or EIPH (Exercise Induced Pulmonary Haemorrhage) refers to the presence of blood in the airways of the lung, in association with exercise.

Sometimes this blood is visible to the naked eye, sometimes it is just suspected by an astute trainer.

Why some horses bleed and others don’t is often debated – but what is clear is that specific vitamins, herbs and natural bioflavonoids help reduce artery wall defects and strengthen capillaries.  This helps prevent excessive bleeding and scar tissue damage.

The treatment depends on

1. The severity of the bleeding
2. The frequency of the bleeding
3. The time your horse has available to recover

We recommend Finish Line XBL for bleeders or susspected bleeding issues. This is predominantly designed to strengthen capillaries and importantly help clot the blood. Always check with your vet before racing a horse that has bled in the past.

A new approach to treating Bleeders is to use supplements that help with respiratory health and open the airways to optimise air flow. Any resistance in the airways is likely to contribute to the overall stress on the blood-gas barrier during strenuous exercise. Therefore, lowering resistance to airflow could help reduce capillary pressure and bleeding. Equine 2000 is the exclusive importer of one of the most effective respiratory supplements available world wide. Tested in laboratories and prooven on the track over and over again. Try Air Support for clear airways, more oxygen, less pressure on the capillaries.

All Bleeder products are on special in August - click here to see details of these products on our SPECIALS page.