ElvisandTilly
Well-Known Member
Last Saturday my horse had routine annual dentist visit. This was with a new dentist and he explained and showed me where there where sharp edges and a wedge at the back teeth. Nothing major but quite a bit of rasping in the backs of his teeth to get wedges down. After filing down my horse was flushed out with some pink fluid taken from the rasp storage bucket. All fine apart from horse couldn't eat haylage but dentist explained he would be sore for a few days due to the wedge being removed and his sharp edges. If continued for 3 days then to give him a call.
Next day my horse came in from field with a massive swollen head. No heat and not pitting oedema. It was just fluid and wobbled when touched. My horse is prone to grass glands in his guttural pouches but never anything like this! It started at back of his throat and filled the gap between his jaw bone. He had only eaten half of his haylage the night before too.
His face had gone down next morning but not completely and he still only eaten half of his haylage again but I put him out as normal. At teatime fetched him in again to find his head massive again and now swelling down into his lips and chin groove. I could only just fit his head collar on.
Contacted dentist and he said not a usual reaction and he would come and see him the next night.
On Wednesday night dentist came to check inside his mouth but could find nothing other than the inside cheeks were puffy and hot to touch. The tongue was normal and the teeth were all fine and no sign of any localised inflammation or abscesses. He had never seen anything like it in his years of dentistry and only thing he could think of was reaction to the pink fluid swilled mouth out with as it was made up stronger than usual as the horse before our yard had impacted grass between teeth so to clear any infection with the stronger swill. The solution was antibacterial and alcohol solution. Can't remember the name he said.
He suggested piriton for a few days to see if allergic reaction. I decided to get the vet as it was so swollen and he was struggling to eat. He had terrible watery poo and it smelt real bad too.
By the morning it had reduced quite a bit again so I got the vets to come in the afternoon when it had swollen again.
I think it swells in the day as his head is down eating all day and on an evening his head is up eating his haylage all night so it drains away? The grass is short in the field and because mild is sweet and his grass glands where up slightly for the week before his dentistry work but nothing like this swollen!
The vet thinks an allergic reaction but can't confirm if the fluid used to swill his mouth. He was given steroid injection, antihistamine injection and antibiotic injection and bloods taken. He was eating much better the day the vet came.
Morning after the vet he was completely back to normal, apart from stretched baggy wrinkly skin and had eaten all his Haylage. He still had runny watery poo but it didn't smell like it had been.
The vet rang with blood results all normal apart from slightly low protein. She said not very low so could be down to him not eating as much over past few days and anything he has eaten passing quickly through as he has diareah.
He is now eating all his haylage every night and every morning his face is completely normal and his poo is now getting firm but with the runny fluid still. He has always been a runny bum on feed like alfalfa and other sugary feeds and rich haylage can send him this way. Up until the dentist treated him his bum was dry and had been for weeks since he had come in for the winter. He is on haylage and calm and condition and that is enough for the amount of work he does.
My worry is that his face is still up on a night when I fetch him in. He is on 20 piriton a day and 5 large steroid tablets twice a day and one antibiotic sachet a day but still getting the swelling? It's no where near as bad as when he first swelled but he is still swollen in jowl and lips with fluid on a night but completely gone by the morning?
Vet is coming again on Monday and if his protein is still low or lower then he will have to be referred to horse hospital.
Has anyone ever encountered anything like this? Vet said his heart is normal and no infections or anything just the low protein? I am unsure what it could be and dentist and vet are unsure? Is there something we could be missing that's an obvious cause? Could just the damage from over stretching the tissue in his head etc be why there is still leakage into his face during the day although no where near as bad as at start? It's just awful seeing him like this. He has been in this field over 12 months. The other horses are all fine and it is just grass he can access no trees or other plantations.
Any advise or details from similar cases would be appreciated.
Thank you for reading if you got this far!
Next day my horse came in from field with a massive swollen head. No heat and not pitting oedema. It was just fluid and wobbled when touched. My horse is prone to grass glands in his guttural pouches but never anything like this! It started at back of his throat and filled the gap between his jaw bone. He had only eaten half of his haylage the night before too.
His face had gone down next morning but not completely and he still only eaten half of his haylage again but I put him out as normal. At teatime fetched him in again to find his head massive again and now swelling down into his lips and chin groove. I could only just fit his head collar on.
Contacted dentist and he said not a usual reaction and he would come and see him the next night.
On Wednesday night dentist came to check inside his mouth but could find nothing other than the inside cheeks were puffy and hot to touch. The tongue was normal and the teeth were all fine and no sign of any localised inflammation or abscesses. He had never seen anything like it in his years of dentistry and only thing he could think of was reaction to the pink fluid swilled mouth out with as it was made up stronger than usual as the horse before our yard had impacted grass between teeth so to clear any infection with the stronger swill. The solution was antibacterial and alcohol solution. Can't remember the name he said.
He suggested piriton for a few days to see if allergic reaction. I decided to get the vet as it was so swollen and he was struggling to eat. He had terrible watery poo and it smelt real bad too.
By the morning it had reduced quite a bit again so I got the vets to come in the afternoon when it had swollen again.
I think it swells in the day as his head is down eating all day and on an evening his head is up eating his haylage all night so it drains away? The grass is short in the field and because mild is sweet and his grass glands where up slightly for the week before his dentistry work but nothing like this swollen!
The vet thinks an allergic reaction but can't confirm if the fluid used to swill his mouth. He was given steroid injection, antihistamine injection and antibiotic injection and bloods taken. He was eating much better the day the vet came.
Morning after the vet he was completely back to normal, apart from stretched baggy wrinkly skin and had eaten all his Haylage. He still had runny watery poo but it didn't smell like it had been.
The vet rang with blood results all normal apart from slightly low protein. She said not very low so could be down to him not eating as much over past few days and anything he has eaten passing quickly through as he has diareah.
He is now eating all his haylage every night and every morning his face is completely normal and his poo is now getting firm but with the runny fluid still. He has always been a runny bum on feed like alfalfa and other sugary feeds and rich haylage can send him this way. Up until the dentist treated him his bum was dry and had been for weeks since he had come in for the winter. He is on haylage and calm and condition and that is enough for the amount of work he does.
My worry is that his face is still up on a night when I fetch him in. He is on 20 piriton a day and 5 large steroid tablets twice a day and one antibiotic sachet a day but still getting the swelling? It's no where near as bad as when he first swelled but he is still swollen in jowl and lips with fluid on a night but completely gone by the morning?
Vet is coming again on Monday and if his protein is still low or lower then he will have to be referred to horse hospital.
Has anyone ever encountered anything like this? Vet said his heart is normal and no infections or anything just the low protein? I am unsure what it could be and dentist and vet are unsure? Is there something we could be missing that's an obvious cause? Could just the damage from over stretching the tissue in his head etc be why there is still leakage into his face during the day although no where near as bad as at start? It's just awful seeing him like this. He has been in this field over 12 months. The other horses are all fine and it is just grass he can access no trees or other plantations.
Any advise or details from similar cases would be appreciated.
Thank you for reading if you got this far!
