Help desperatley needed for my horse ( pics) , he is not right.

[charlie76]

Pico started behaving very oddly yesterday. He was warming up for dressage when he suddenly starting shaking his head like he had something in his ears , this then got worse until he started stopping dead and violently pawing the floor and biting at himself. He kept doing it everytime we stopped however he was ok when we were moving. He did his test and was fine.
Put him back on the lorry for a couple of hours, got him out for his second test. Rode him down to the arena and he got half way down, shook his ears and went mental, bucking, rearing and getting his feet as high as his ears- this is not like him at all.
Got off, checked him all over and there was nothing. Got back on, he was fine for about ten mins then he started again. Got off again , nothing there.
Got back on and he was fine again, did his test and came 5th. He did not show any further signs.
Put him to bed and he had his water, hay and feed and he ate his breakfast this morning. Put him out this morning- normal.
Galloped across the field and started the pawing and ear shaking. Then he grazed.
1/2 hour later got a call to say he had rubbed his face on a fence and cut his eye. This is the result:

Vet came out and stitched it. Whilst waiting for the vet he was shaking his ears and calling a lot and trying to squash his head on the wall.
Vet sedated him and sticthed him up. He then started to come round and was trying to push his head against me. I put him in the stable. The vet left and he went very strange, he fell straight on the floor and was trying to bury his head under the straw, he would then get up and scraping the floor and shaking his head. He would then fall on the floor again and call and squash his head on the wall. Every time he got up he was scraping the floor.
I got the vet back who checked him for colic.
I don't think he was colic, I think he has an issue with his ears/brain.
I am at a loss as to what to do.
They have taken blood tests.

Any ideas?

 

[3Beasties]

Could he have something in his ear which is irritating him?

 

[whisp&willow]

god thats awfull! poor boy.

from what you say it sounds pain related to me- and i would be thinking it was something ear/brain/head related also.

i would seek a second vet opinion right away- as from the symptoms he was displaying colic would not be at the top of my list.

number one i would suspect foreign body/infection in the ear.

i hope its nothing serious and he is feeling better soon.

please keep us posted. xxx

 

[dingle12]

Did the vet have a look down his ear?

 

[Izzwizz]

Does sound either ear related or a neurological problem. I would be asking your vet to follow this up very quickly. His eye looks very painful, poor lad. Hope you get this sorted quick for both your sakes.

 

[Monkers]

Have you considered Equine atypical myopathy?

I have to say yours doesn't sound like the typical symptoms of rapid onset and collapse, but the headshaking and vocalisation ARE symptoms.

Take a look at this and if in any doubt, get your vet to blood test asap.

http://www.horseandcountry.tv/news/...fter-several-atypical-myopathy-cases-reported

 

[indie999]

Yes I am thinking ear brain?? Did they give him antibiotics in case he has an ear infection/irritation etc and then probably they should take him in and have a look in ear first then ie hospital etc or an xray/scan.

Hope he is insured ? but something is really annoying your horse and he is trying to get rid of it out of his head. I sincerely hope he has something just in his ear ie a mite or bit of grass etc????

I hope you call your vet out again as its not normal behaviour. The cut is secondary(ie accident and will heal up).

..just sedating isnt really fixing the cause?? Things like this always happen when you least expect them.

 

[skint1]

Poor boy, and poor you too. I agree with you that it doesn't sound like colic, when can you expect the results of the blood tests?

 

[CBFan]

Erm... Did you tell the vet about his strange behaviour over the last 24 hours?

If so, vet sounds a bit of a numpty... did he not look in his ears?

I would say your horse is displaying quite clear signs that he is uncomfortable in the head.. if it isn't his ears, I'd like his mouth checked (incase he has something odd like a twig stuck) and his eyes.. and if all else fails a course of bute and antibiotics to treat possible infection...

Hope he's feeling a better boy soon.

 

[charlie76]

He is insured.
They have blood tested for AM, he was very noisy yesterday but then he can be when he is at a show. He is a bit insecure.
He is on antibiotics for his eye anyway.
It just came on so suddenly.
The vet has suggested I put him out for an hour to see how he is, so he went out and he is just eating as normal.

 

[QueenOfCadence]

Sounds neurological to me. Here in SA where the horses sometimes get West Nile - symptoms like collapsing, bashing the head against the wall and vocalisation are quite common. Maybe look out for anything else which might signal a neurological problem (things like slight paralysis in hind/front legs and seizures)

 

[dunkley]

Oh, I'm sorry - that sounds really not very pleasant, for you or him. I would expect the vet to be treating it with a little more urgency - definitely concur with head/ears/brain causing distress. As someone else asked, did vet thoroughly examine everything. If he is so uncomfortable he is damaging himself to get some relief, those bloods need to come back asap, and he needs something to keep him stable and comfortable in the meantime, even sedation. Poor boy, hope things improve very quickly. x

Just seen your update re turnout - quite bizarre. I'd be watching him constantly, but I'm sure you are!

 

[Pearlsasinger]

I'd get the vet out again. In fact, I'd make sure I got a specialist equine vet.
It certainly doesn't sound like colic and I can't understand why the vet thought that it might be.
I agree that it sounds as though he has an ear problem. It could be something really simple which is causing great discomfort. I actually think that sedation is possibly a good idea to stop him hurting himself again until you find the cause.
Good luck!

 

[goldenmint]

A friend of a friend had a prob with their horse I don't know the technical terms so will explain best I can.
The ligament (think it's a ligament?) that attaches the horses skull to the neck and poll had become severed half the way through and some of the symptoms sound the same. The horse fell over when loading and managed to damage (rip) the ligament, they didn't know until a little while later ad they knew something was not right (similar to the way your horse is behaving) but it's not a common thing to happen so took a while to diagnose. Horse didn't have to be put down tho and last I heard was recovering well.
Sorry I haven't explained this very well, but might be worth having a google/ asking vet.

 

[smiggy]

did your vet actually look down both ears?
if a dog top differentials would be foreign body in ear-often grass seed or similar
or something in mouth, stuck between teeth or sore area etc

Could be all sorts of strange things but really really sounds like ear to me

 

[brighteyes]

Sounds horribly neurological in origin, although very sharp pain in the head can also cause these symptoms. I would expect 'pain' (such as a wasp sting) to be sudden in onset and wear off, with the horse showing aversion to the place it happened and buzzing things.

I'm afraid I wouldn't have continued to ride this horse.

Please let us know what is found.

 

[Wagtail]

Unless he has made a recovery, I would want this horse to be in hospital ASAP. He must be in excruciating pain for him to behave like this.

 

[Black_Horse_White]

Has your horse ever had any previous problems with his eye or eyes? Symptoms similar to conjunctivitis? Swelling or puffy eyes? Some of the symptoms you describe sound similar to a horse with Uevitis, the pain in the eye ball is like a large build up of pressure and very painful. Just a suggestion hope your horse is better soon x

 

[Silmarillion]

Unless he has made a recovery, I would want this horse to be in hospital ASAP. He must be in excruciating pain for him to behave like this.

I totally agree with this. Give the vet a slap.

 

[Merry Crisis]

Your poor horse, he must be in dreadful pain to behave like this. I would be extremely worried and as another poster suggested, I would want this horse taken to an equine veterinary surgery for analysis immediately. I could, god forbid something as bad as a brain tumour. Please keep us updated OP AND GOOD LUCK.

 

[Marydoll]

Unless he has made a recovery, I would want this horse to be in hospital ASAP. He must be in excruciating pain for him to behave like this.

Agree with this, your horse needs to see either a specialist equine vet immediately, or referred tommorrow to equine hospital.
It sounds as if there is something causing him immense distress at times to cause the this type of behaviour, collapse
Your horse may have an inner ear infection that is causing him intense discomfort, or he may have some sort of neuro problem, what you describe may have been a partial seizure which needs investigated asap.
If this was my horse id have a specialist vet out now, im very surprised your vet didnt address this problem when he was out, is he/she a horse vet ?

 

[Bryndu]

Pico started behaving very oddly yesterday. He was warming up for dressage when he suddenly starting shaking his head like he had something in his ears , this then got worse until he started stopping dead and violently pawing the floor and biting at himself. He kept doing it everytime we stopped however he was ok when we were moving. He did his test and was fine.
Put him back on the lorry for a couple of hours, got him out for his second test. Rode him down to the arena and he got half way down, shook his ears and went mental, bucking, rearing and getting his feet as high as his ears- this is not like him at all.
Got off, checked him all over and there was nothing. Got back on, he was fine for about ten mins then he started again. Got off again , nothing there.
Got back on and he was fine again, did his test and came 5th. He did not show any further signs.
Put him to bed and he had his water, hay and feed and he ate his breakfast this morning. Put him out this morning- normal.
Galloped across the field and started the pawing and ear shaking. Then he grazed.
1/2 hour later got a call to say he had rubbed his face on a fence and cut his eye. This is the result:

Vet came out and stitched it. Whilst waiting for the vet he was shaking his ears and calling a lot and trying to squash his head on the wall.
Vet sedated him and sticthed him up. He then started to come round and was trying to push his head against me. I put him in the stable. The vet left and he went very strange, he fell straight on the floor and was trying to bury his head under the straw, he would then get up and scraping the floor and shaking his head. He would then fall on the floor again and call and squash his head on the wall. Every time he got up he was scraping the floor.
I got the vet back who checked him for colic.
I don't think he was colic, I think he has an issue with his ears/brain.
I am at a loss as to what to do.
They have taken blood tests.

Any ideas?

Hi,
It is his eye that he has self harmed so I really think you need to get a specialist eye vet to look at it.....perhaps something has gone in through the pupil which is not visible from the outside...
Good luck
Bryndu

 

[Holly Hocks]

It could be ear mites/ticks or a fungal infection in the ear. It could also be trigeminal neuralgia which my horse was diagnosed with (although I personally don't think she has it!) which is where the horse will act as if it has been stung by a wasp as the trigeminal nerve becomes irritated - my vet described it as an electric shock to the brain. The horse can act mildy or very violently - although horses are generally worse at exercise with it rather than at rest, although the fact that your horse has been rubbing it's face vigorously can be an indication of it. If I were you I would be getting the vet out again. Even if it proves to be something minor at least your mind has been put at rest and if it's something more serious it's better to be dealt with sooner rather than later. Good luck and keep us updated. x

 

[Mince Pie]

Bryndu, the OP's horse hurt his eye because of whatever is going on with his ears/head.

OP It sounds like he has something stuck down his ear?

 

[Marydoll]

Youre right Bryndu, his eye is a mess, can you get your vet to refer you asap
It could still possibly be neuro related that is causing build up of pressure in his eye.

 

[Bryndu]

Bryndu, the OP's horse hurt his eye because of whatever is going on with his ears/head.

OP It sounds like he has something stuck down his ear?

Hmmmm...would not rule out an eye injury....and there would be no swelling if it is inside the eye....
It is certainly worth getting it checked out.
The thing that worries me is that on partial sedation the boy was fine.....which in my sad experience would rule out brain tumour...something painful is obviously occurring....but I would not rule out the eye...and IMO this horse NEEDS to be on partial sedation til he is sorted.

Hope I don't sound snotty...I wish the boy all the best...

Bryndu

 

[Miss L Toe]

I would get him up to the vet hospital straight away, this is alarming and he needs observation 24/7

 

[joeanne]

That horse needs to be in either Liphook or Billingbear....which ever one is closer.
Whatever is underlying needs to be found, and he needs decent pain relief until its sorted.

 

[Merrymoles]

Slightly wild one but might be worth getting his lead levels checked? I have heard of these sort of symptoms with lead poisoning if you happen to be near an old quarry or something similar.

 

[cumbriamax]

I really wish your horse all the best & hope he soon makes a recovery.However, I don't mean to sound pushy but I would expect a vet to be treating this case with A LOT more urgency.(((((((((((((((good vibes))))))))))))))))))))))) to you & your horse!