An adaptive airway treatment system (200) for treating an upper airway disorder in a horse is described, in which the system comprises: one or more external components including a pacemaker processor (201) configured to generate a treatment signal to be applied to upper airway tissue of the horse for treating the upper airway disorder and one or more internal components including a stimulation module (204), in communication with the pacemaker processor, configured to receive the treatment signal, and one or more stimulation electrodes (206), configured to receive the treatment signal from the stimulation module and configured to interface with the upper airway tissue for delivering the treatment signal to the upper airway tissue, wherein the one or more external components are mechanically fixed to remain coupled to the horse during vigorous exercise.
