ear problem

bbcrystal

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30 October 2007
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Last year at exactly this time my mare showed signs of having pain in her right ear, (she allowed me to get her bridle over one ear but I had a real struggle to get it over the other ear. She accepted the bit with no problem so I eliminated that as the cause. I called the vet out and she didnt even look at her ear, she took her temperature and trotted her up?? and told me to give bute for a week. This did seem to work and my mare quickly went back to normal.

The same thing has now happened again this year... I have started giving her bute yesterday but wondered if anyone had any idea on what the problem might be... after the fiasco with the vet last year I'm a bit reluctant to get them out again but will probably ring them tomorrow for some advice.
 
bumping up for you because today my horse wasn't happy to be brushed around his ears and wriggled a little more than usual to put the bridle on but i thought nothing of it since he is a sensitive tb and can just be fidgety some days. after our short ride (during which he was totally chilled and normal) he was so distressed about me getting near his ears (particularly the right) that after several attempts we had to dismantle the bridle to get it off. RI/YO had a go at massaging the base of his ears and he obviously didn't like being touched there but wasn't sure what to do, he seemed to want the massage but at the same time wanted to get away, and got less stressed about it the more she did.
he did pull back and break the baler twine when he was tied up a few days ago but has shown no signs of pain or sensitivity around his ears until today so i wonder if it's actually due to something else. would be interested to hear other possibilities.
 
I had the exact same scenario with Che, my TB earlier this year, reluctant to have his left ear touched and eventually I couldnt get the bridle on without dropping the bit off. He had a course of a-biotics for an infection in his ear and is now fine again. I would def get the vet out and have his ears scoped.
 
I got the vet out on Weds after ringing for advice they insisted on coming out to investigate. He couldn't get near ears to look in them but suggested clipping the hair out of them so left me with a sedative to do the job! I have ordered a fly fringe with ears attached and have also bought some parasite repellent but at the moment I'm really no further forward and have a £92 vet bill to boot.
 
I think maybe the vet should be considering sedating your horse and then popping a scope down to see whats going on. Are you insured for vet fees? My total bill was just over 500 quid, for 2 visits, including scoping, sedation and treatment. Are they an equine practise?
 
I wanted them to do a proper examination and said when I booked that they may need to sedate her. I am insured for vets bills and it is an equine practice.

I have had a battle this morning to try to get fringe with ears on but she's having not of it. I have kept her in away from the flies today and have decided not to ride or try to get her bridle on for a few days to avoid getting into too many arguments with her cos she is obviously in pain.
 
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