Me pony has developed a facial tic

[dany]

As if things couldnt be any worse with the mystery lameness (2 months box rest so far) Solo has developed what can only be discribed as a tic.

Our normal routine was disrupted by me first noticing he had become quite head shy, we got past this and it was then that I noticed the tic / headshake every 30 seconds. No one could figure out a reason for it and he seems fine in himself. His top lip is a little swollen on one side also (same side / direction as tic)

He can eat ok, although isnt searching for the food that well and there isnt any bad smells coming from the mouth either.

Someone suggested he may have been stung? but hes been like it all day....any other suggestions?

 

[Box_Of_Frogs]

If he's on box rest he could have pranged his head into a wall while being cross about being in. That would account for the swollen lip and the tic. Might be an idea to ring your vets for advice as there's an outside chance he may have broken something eg jaw, or done some other damage to his head. Is he still able to chew his hay ok? Wouldn't be a sting at this time of year unless you're a professional bee keeper!

 

[fatpiggy]

Could he have bitten by a rat? I know of a pony who came up with a hugely swollen nose and the vet concluded that was what had caused it. I react very badly to stings and bites and every so often the sting area will throb suddenly, and I will want to shake it to try to get rid of it.

I think if he had hit his head, you would see far more obvious problems than a bit of tic.

 

[Box_Of_Frogs]

He could easily have clonked his head with very few external signs, but with enough of a jolt to cause minor neurological damage. So a swollen lip + tic could easily be that. A horse on my yard suddenly went off his haylage. Wouldn't eat it but no other visible signs. Another horse was going off to the vets for pregnancy testing and there was a space on the lorry so the not-eating horse went along for a check up. Vets checked his teeth and manipulated his jaw looking for reasons, but couldn't find anything other than some mild discomfort. They x-rayed his jaw looking for more info and were absolutely staggered to find the horse's lower jaw was badly fractured. No external evidence at all. It happens.

 

[dany]

Thank you for all your suggestions, he has since improved and the tic has disappeared, so ive decided to just mention it to the vet when she comes on monday for another lameness review.

Ill keep you posted!