Working in a dust cloud?

I have a summer job at a barn that has coarse sand footing everywhere (stalls, arena, walkways). It's dry, so we and the horses kick it up and it gets everywhere. I guess we also breathe it in a lot because I often have a sore throat and junk in my nose (sorry, gross!). Can this dust breathing cause long-tern respiratory problems? If so, how can we make it safer for ourselves and the horses?