cleft palate

[charlie900]

Has anyone got any experience of a horse with a cleft palate? I bought a really poorly yearling 3 years ago he was treated for pneumonia lice and a skin condition and made a good recovery he has always been a bit snotty but vet said that was just him and some cobs are snotty in the summer he had pnuemonia again and a different vet sent us for an endoscopy and discovered a cleft palate which means as he eats he can inhale food causimg pnuemonia at the moment he is really well but i cant feed him anything but soaked hay and as i have 2 others all living out i have to soak 2 bales a day and my poor back is suffering so i was hoping some one out there might have come accross this before and hsave some good ideas to help keep him fit and well and not lose weight over winter any ideas gratefully received by me and uggy

 

[charlie76]

Hi, We have a pony here with a cleft palate. He is fine but the vet said its very rare for them to survive however he is great. We have had him for 2 years and he is ridden every day and keeps his weight. We don't feed him chaff as it makes him cough and sneeze. We damp all his food and hay. As long as you can cope with the snotty noses and the food coming down it then great!

 

[AmyMay]

Is there any surgical procedure he can have done?

whispers - full stop is on the bottom right hand side of the key board

 

[charlie900]

wow, thanks i feel so much better, my vet was amazed he had lived till 4. Its good to know hes not the only one , I had been advised to have him put down but he is so well in himself and like you i dont mind being snotted on

 

[charlie900]

Unfortunatly surgery is rarely successful and really only done on foals and v valuable ones at that. Insurance wont touch him now so any treatment is down to me and i could never afford it anyway. Just another joy of horse owning

 

[CBFan]

An aquaintance had her foal (couple of days old) successfully operated on there was a very slim chance of his survival and it was a very costly operation but she could afford it. He is now a fighting fit 3? year old in training...

Sorry no real experience other than this. I would have thought operating at his age would have a slimmer chance of success.