Head injury

J

Judziah

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Last night, one of my horses, Casper, banged his head. My old tb decided that he didn't like the fact that Casper was in the field shelter, lunged at him...and Casper reared to full height, smacking his head on the beam (which has to be over 8ft up)

He landed, spread his legs out, head down, eyes closed, ears flat...and seemed to stagger for a few moments. He seemed momentarily confused...he walked out the shelter, then straight back in, then out again (he was moving fine). I stayed with him as he didn't seem to be registering things correctly. He then seemed to perk up, walked over to me, then to the water trough, had a drink then went and found the nearest full hay net. After watching him for a little longer, he seems back to normal. So I decided to leave him to it.

This morning, his behaviour was normal, however I noticed he had a brown discharge in both nostrils. Would it be old blood? Or is there a chance it could be related to the fact he'd only just finished eating his dinner (a bucket of Happy hoof chaff)...because it then dawned on me that his staggering and confusion had been very similar to when he gets choke.

I spoke to the vet (well, to the person who answered the surgery phone, anyway!) and they say to just keep an eye on his behaviour and his eating/drinking and to call if any changes.

Has anyone seen similar? Any words of reassurance??
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Generally nose bleeds from a head bang, occur in only one nostril. If there is blood coming from both nostrils then it usually indicates some internal bleeding. I have to say if he was my horse I would have a vet come to him.....IF you can figure out whether it is chaff or blood
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One of my horses broke his neck a few years ago and his symptoms were similar apart from no nose bleed.

Does your horse have normal co-oridination today?
 
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Generally nose bleeds from a head bang, occur in only one nostril. If there is blood coming from both nostrils then it usually indicates some internal bleeding. I have to say if he was my horse I would have a vet come to him.....IF you can figure out whether it is chaff or blood
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One of my horses broke his neck a few years ago and his symptoms were similar apart from no nose bleed.

Does your horse have normal co-oridination today?

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Yeah, he seems perfectly normal in all respects.

If it had been bleeding...would it have been more...messy? For example, there was no sign of any red fluid...and it was in the nostril only. I think I'm explaining badly...He once had a minor nosebleed after being spooked and galloping across heavy going and really exerted himself...it was a gentle trickle that extended all the way down the lip as well as nostril and left a red 'track'.

The vet didn't think there was any need to come out as there was no sign of red blood (as the discharge looked brown) no problem with co-ordination and he has a history of choke.
 
Not necessarily. Some nosebleeds can be fairly trivial however they make the stable look like the Texas Chainsaw Massacre! Others can be slow and leave not much evidence particularly if the horse has been in the stable unattended for hours. Eating and drinking water and rubbing their noses on bedding can get rid of the tracks on the muzzle.

When my horse broke his neck, 6 vets came to see him through the day; I stayed with him for hours and checked on him every hour throughout the night. It was the following morning that he was diagnosed correctly though. My horse didn't have a nosebleed though, he just had very bad co-oridination for 2 years afterwards. He's much better now.

If the vet isn't coming out then you should keep a VERY close check on him today and watch his movements. If anything seems amiss then call the vet out asap.
 
I'm not trying to frighten you, but the last time I saw a horse with a similar injury (it had backflipped on the lunge) and a trickle of blood from both nostrils, it had brain damage and had to be put down.
It wouldn't hurt to get your vet out....would it?
S
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Well that is a little of a "how long is a piece of string" question. I really depends on if there are any injuries and what those injuries are. Symptoms will be different depending on what trauma his body is going through.

I'd watch for all the usual symptoms of an unwell horse, including stiffness, bleeding, lack of co-ordination, lying down a lot. disinterest in food etc.

I find if you watch them for at least a couple of hours non-stop, you can generally figure out whether the injury is serious or not.
 
Concussion can sometimes be mistaken by a vet for Wobblers as the symptoms are similar, lack of coordination, bleured vision, spookiness all relating to the neurological system. My mare didnt bleed and there were no signs of any trauma to the head.

Do you have a good equine vet who could check your horse out and put your mind at rest?
 
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Concussion can sometimes be mistaken by a vet for Wobblers as the symptoms are similar, lack of coordination, bleured vision, spookiness all relating to the neurological system. My mare didnt bleed and there were no signs of any trauma to the head.

Do you have a good equine vet who could check your horse out and put your mind at rest?

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They're a bit hit and miss! Some of the vets in the practice are sharp and sensible with horses, others seem...well, a little clueless at times.

The vet that came to see him was one of the ones I trust and has the benefit that she's treated him before, in fact, he gave her concussion when she turned up to castrate him!! Her verdict was he was alright - Co-ordinated, alert, bright. She says choke was a possibility (knowing his history of it) The thing that made her relax more than anything was the fact she couldn't find any tenderness on his head, she said she'd expect swelling (anywhere in the area), physical discomfort, reluctance to have the area touched/Head shy... so thinks he scared himself more than hurt himself. She's told me to monitor his behaviour and movement for any changes just in case.

Would you be happy with that conclusion?

From seeing how he is, he seems no different from normal, if I'd not seen it happen then I'd not be worried...which makes me say she's right...but I keep expecting something to go wrong!!
 
I think that if something was desperately wrong then you would have seen further symptoms between then and now. Presuming you haven't, therefore it sounds like the blood could well have been chaff and the damage done to the horse was minimal, perhaps just gave him a fright and disorientated him for a short while.

I would be keeping an eye out for any signs of trauma to his back, neck etc in the future and if none show up when ridden then I think he has had a lucky escape.
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