Can anybody explain why she's doing this? *video*

itsonlyme

itsonlyme

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We noticed the other day that Molly has started doing this weird thing with her mouth. She's doing it ALL the time (except when she's eating).





We had a look-see into her mouth and found this strange hard lump.

2011-10-01185905-1.jpg


Poked it with no reaction, so i'm unsure if the 2 are connected?? Any idea on the lump too?! Is she just a wierdo :rolleyes: or do i need a dentist or a vet? :confused:

Thank you muchly :)
 
How odd. Sorry, I've never seen that before. :( However she's not hurting herself in any way. If she was mine I'd ask the Vet to come out and see her.
 
Are there any other symptoms at all like eyes twitching and head tossing? How often does she do it and does she go a bit "vacant" before and after she does it?
 
Thanks all. monkers, there's no other twitching or head shaking that i have noticed. She does it whenever she's stood still, even when ridden (she's ridden in a Dr Cooks, so bitless). As for looking vacant, i think she does actually. is that a sign of something?
The vet is coming out this week for one of my others anyway, so I'll get her to look at Molly too. worried now!
 
At first I thought she was getting food out of her "jewellery box"( food left over from feed, like sucking her teeth) but not so sure. I would have the vet check it, better safe than sorry. Hope she is well.
FDC
 
Looks like some sort of nerve damage. Is it happening all the time now? Definitely worth getting vet to chck it out though there shouldnt be a problem with leaving it until vet is coming out to your other horse as its not an emergency (other than being quite uncomfortable for your horse i would thnk).
 
It could well be that she has a broken molar or something caught further back in her mouth. She needs to have a gag on and someone knowledgeable to feel right through to the back of her mouth.
 
I would email the video link to Dr Cook and ask him, I am sure he would be interested, he is a vet and would be able to provide an explanation I am sure.
 
itsonlyme said:
Thanks all. monkers, there's no other twitching or head shaking that i have noticed. She does it whenever she's stood still, even when ridden (she's ridden in a Dr Cooks, so bitless). As for looking vacant, i think she does actually. is that a sign of something?
The vet is coming out this week for one of my others anyway, so I'll get her to look at Molly too. worried now!
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This is where forums are useful but terrifying at the same time!
The reason I asked is that I have had two horses on my yard with epilepsy. Now please don't panic!! They had major siezures whilst standing up, but one of them would twitch his face a little like your horse after a big siezure. He would look quite vacant whilst he did it.

I am absolutely not suggesting that your horse is having minor siezures so please don't panic!!!!

I would however suggest you get the vet to take a look at her though and maybe ask them if they think it could be any of the above suggestions.

My other thought is that maybe the dr cook has "bruised" the nerves low down on the nose as they are fitted quite low. Is your noseband tight or even a bit too loose so it would pull left and right over the nose?
 
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I agree with other posters in that it looks like she has some sort of involuntary twitch due to nerve damage or a muscle spasm. If she were mine I would get a horse vet to take a look at her. Keep us posted.
 
Thank you everybody :-) i hadn't thought about the Dr cook causing it, but maybe it has. To my knowledge, it is correctly fitted each time it's used, but I'll put it on whilst the vet's there & query it. Will deff also ask about the epilepsy - thank u for that. I've been with her all day today, watching her in the field whilst we sorted out our new tackroom. She's not doing it as much when she's just left alone - seems to do it more when you've got hold of her.
anyhoo, will phone vets tomorrow, get her booked in & let you know what happens. Thanks again :-) x
 
I have seen a horse do something similar on our yard and it was decided he'd eaten something he shouldn't have. It wasn't a huge problem and I believe vet gave an injection to sooth irritation and it went away when the season changed. But to answer your question, yes if vet is coming anyway I think I'd add it in to get peace of mind and maybe some comfort for the horse, who doesn't look distressed but it must annoying!
 
HAs she pulled back at any time prior to this starting? If so have a chiro look at her, if the poll is slightly out it may be trapping a nerve somewhere and causing the twitch.

I'd definately have the vet to look soon though as it is a strange behaviour.
 
My mare sometimes has a few days when she has a huge tic in her muzzle, to the extent that it could cause her to drop food. I put it down to the fact that she has (amongst other things) potassium bromide to help control her epilepsy, and a known side effect of bromide is twitching. Certainly when I first started giving it to her I had more involuntary muscle twitches myself for a while. When she is dozing off she gets a series of twitches and tics which look for all the world like a seizure, but she is successfully drug-controlled so I think it must just be her elderly brain going a bit mushy when there isn't anything keeping it concentrating :)

Monkers, I collect case information about epileptic horses - can I PM you about your two?
 
glenruby said:
Looks like some sort of nerve damage. Is it happening all the time now? Definitely worth getting vet to chck it out though there shouldnt be a problem with leaving it until vet is coming out to your other horse as its not an emergency (other than being quite uncomfortable for your horse i would thnk).
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I agree with it being a nerve thing, rather like a twitch or a tick that some people can develop. I don't think the little lump is related to it though.
 
fatpiggy said:
My mare sometimes has a few days when she has a huge tic in her muzzle, to the extent that it could cause her to drop food. I put it down to the fact that she has (amongst other things) potassium bromide to help control her epilepsy, and a known side effect of bromide is twitching. Certainly when I first started giving it to her I had more involuntary muscle twitches myself for a while. When she is dozing off she gets a series of twitches and tics which look for all the world like a seizure, but she is successfully drug-controlled so I think it must just be her elderly brain going a bit mushy when there isn't anything keeping it concentrating :)

Monkers, I collect case information about epileptic horses - can I PM you about your two?
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Of course you can. Both horses were very different, one horse had "warnings" he knew he was going to fit and he would lay down in preparation. The other had them standing up. I can give you as much info as you like!
 
My mare was like this, but in the end the whole head was going- like a nervous twitch... poor love had a thorn from the hay in her lip which had a secondary infection in it causing her constant irritance!
 
Fingers crossed for you, I'm sure it's nothing to worry about, looks like she has an irritation up her nostril or something similar, or a reaction on her top lip to something on the ground, sure it will be fine, look forward to hearing what your vet says.
 
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