Nosebleeds in a very accident prone TB

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avthechav

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I have a 7 yr TB raced as a 2, 3 and 4year old. In the last year I have XC, SJ hunted her e.t.c. and she has never had a nose bleed. Arrived at yard a couple of weeks ago to find what looked like scary amounts of blood everywhere(was actually prob not that much but am freaked out by blood). We deduced that she had scratched the inside of one nostril, no blood in mucus and had stopped by the time I found her. Looked al round paddock but no sign of how she did it Today she was turned out in the same paddock -1st time for ages and pretty much the same thing happened and YO found her. Once again only one nostril, quite a lot of blood but dry, clear mucous and no obvious method!! I am hoping that she is just being a typical TB and finding somewhere to injure herself. Would mucous from nostril be clear if it was something more serious? Has anyone had any experience of bleeders and could tell me what it is like and how my experience compares to yours?
Thanks
 
My TB is 19 and has had a few very slight nosebleeds, from one nostril. They have usually been when he has been out in the field and I have put it down to his snorting at the pollens etc (we have rape nearby).

Another TB I look after who is the same age (and distantly related!) has also had a couple of bleeds after fast exercise, again from one nostril. This same TB has also had two nasal infections two summers running, the first indication being blood and pussy snot coming from one nostril. Antibiotics have cleared this up on both occasions

If I were you I would diarise the bleeds and the circumstances leading up to them. I believe that bleeding from one nostril is generally nothing much to worry about if it happens infrequently, but bleeding from both may indicate something more serious going on further up the nasal tract.

There are quite a few posts in this section about nosebleeds. If you do a search you should come up with quite a lot of info.
 
Thanks very much Rueysmum- I am a really paraniod TB mum and that reassures me that her brains probabaly wont leak out of her mose quite yet!
smile.gif
 
It depends on what you mean by "scary amount of blood" and whether she is bleeding from one nostril or both. I went to my horse one day to find what I would have thought was a large amount of blood on the floor, obviously from her nostril. I told my instructors and asked their opinions and both said it's nothing - I would DEFINITELY know if my horse was a true bleeder because the walls would be completely covered with blood.
My horse only ever bled a few times, never out of both nostrils at once but out of a different one each time. It totally baffled the vets and she was endoscoped twice, once for one nostril and once for the other - nothing was found. We concluded that she was banging her head on the stable door frame (she's not overly intelligent like that) and once she had bled once, the blood vessel wasn't healing quickly enough to stop it happening again. She's since been turned away for the last year for an unrelated injury so I can't tell you how she's doing now; the grass tends to clear up any blood.
I was advised by my vet to give her an easy week or so after each bleed, as hard work seemed to make her bleeding worse. I was also advised to treat her like she has RAO/COPD - always feeding from the floor (hay and hard food), always soaking hay, plenty of turnout to ensure her head is down and everything is draining properly, dust-free bedding etc. It really did seem to help at the time, especially the feeding from the floor bit. In fact, I am a bit obsessed about feeding horses from the floor now, it's so much better for them anyway let alone if they have respiratory problems.
I agree as well with keeping a diary, it really helped me explain to my vet what was happening. If the bleeding lasts for more than 10-15 minutes or is severe, or if it happens in both nostrils at the same time suggesting a lung bleed, I would suggest calling the vet. Same for if it carries on - generally it's nothing to worry about but I had my horse endoscoped anyway and now I know there's nothing wrong with her airways (quite handy as I also know the location of one of her melanomas, in her guttural pouch, nothing to do with the bleeding though) and that it's not guttural pouch mycosis (which can cause bleeding). I wasn't intending on claiming on my insurance though and forgot to check my vet bill for her tendon injury I was claiming for - insurance assumed I was claiming for the endoscope exam and now she's excluded for 'epistaxis'... oops.
 
Thanks Silmarillion,
Insurance companies are sooooo rubbish! I always feed hay e.t.c on the floor, hay is lovely and fresh and she has been out all day for most days. Will defo keep track and get her scoped if anything else happens. Hope your nag is ok now.
 
My riding pal has an accident prone TB and a couple of years ago he was hoolying around in the field and got himself a kick in the head! Almost between the eyes. Boy did he bleed! The blood running down his nose must have tickled or irritated coz just when it started to dry up he would lower his head to the floor and give an almighty sneeze that sprayed everyone with fresh blood and started the bleeding all over again! Vet thinks he chipped the bone on his face - but it was pretty easy to see that he had a kick/bang mark on his face. He now has a permanent lump on his nose and looks a bit like he belongs to some equine Mafia gang! He's a sweetie though! Never, ever seen him carrying a switchblade!
 
i posted quite a long winded reply to Nosebleeds the other week....i am happy to explain my devastating experience with a nosebleed if you cant find it
 
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