Nose bleed

[loobylu]

Fellow livery's horse is a TB type and quite prone to little nosebleeds. Not normally a worry but this morning he was lying down and looking a bit dull and there was some dried blood in his nose and a little on the floor of his box. Just wondering if the nosebleed could be a symptom of something that would cause him to be dull and listless or if he was off because of the nosebleed? Any ideas welcome as it seemed a little odd.

 

[fuzzyp]

Nosebleeds can be symtomatic of many things, stress exhaustation, over heating etc... however they can also be due to there being an obstruction in the nasal passage and or/ a respiratory condition. We have a couple of horses here that suffer with the heat occasionally resuting in a minor nosebleed.Perhaps the horses TPR should be taken to see if everything else is normal. Clearing up the blood and then keeping an eye on how recurrent it is and the severity of the bleeding should help determine whether it is necessary to call the vet. Personally if in doubt or just worried i would seek professional advice.

 

[loobylu]

Yup, it has been really muggy here for the past few days so the heat would sound like a reasonable cause. He was much brighter tonight when I brought him in and ate all his feed. No sign of any more bleeds and he seems happy now it has cooled down a little.
Thank you.

 

[GreedyGuts]

Unlikely to be caused by the weather etc, unless he has underlying problems. Horses can bleed a little following hard exercise, but in other circumstances it is abnormal and merits investigation. I would advise getting him scoped, particularly if he appears unwell in himself. This will enable conditions like guttural pouch mycosis and ethmoid haematoma to be ruled out, and allow his lungs to be examined for inflammation.

 

[loobylu]

Not sure it would be worth it tbh...and I can't see his owner doing that. I will keep an eye on him btu he was back to normal fairly quickly. He hadn't worked since the night before and he doesn't get worked hard- lunged or schooled lightly perhaos 5 days a week so no fast or stressy demands on him.