Nosebleeds

[RioSG]

Hi all, I saw there were a few threads on nosebleeds from around Christmas time, but thought I'd repost in case there was any more information on this topic.

My horse has always suffered from nosebleeds, particularly in the cold weather. Over the autumn / winter period she might have two or three.

However, she has had two in the past two weeks, so that concerned me a little - particularly as the weather has been warm.

They are very slight, just a small trickle that lasts only a few minutes. The blood is bright red.

My mare is 11 years old, Arab X Warmblood. She is quite fit, I ride / lunge 4 or 5 times a week. She is quite mucousy though and always seems to be sneezing up white gunk, particularly after a good canter.

I haven't consulted the vet as yet, as have always heard they are nothing to worry about, but having them both in quick succession concerned me a bit. I am hoping it's just a weak vessel in the nose that keeps rupturing?

Does anyone have any thoughts or advice?

 

[smiffyimp]

Hi. I posted about nosebleeds a few months ago, my boy's turned out to be rather a nasty cut up his snoz but as the vet was out doing boosters I mentioned it anyway. Without scoping they cant really see, could be a vessel or could be something sinister (sorry cant remember what she called the condition). TBH Id get the vet to look and scope, I know its a vet bill but itll put your mind at rest. My vet events her horse and it suffers from nosebleeds, has all its life, so hopefully nothing to worry about

 

[Bruised]

One of my lads gets nosebleeds when it's very hot - burst blood vessel. The vet has always told me not to worry if it's very slight and stops quite quickly. However, if it's heavy and/or doesn't stop then to call them out straight away. When the weather's hot and my chap canters around he does get nose bleeds.

 

[RioSG]

That's really helpful, thanks guys Even just knowing other people deal with them makes me feel a lot better!

 

[mja]

Yes I know race horses with frequent nosebleeds and eventers as the blood vessles burst at high speed doing such strenuous work and are fine.

However, if discharge from her nose I would have been inclined to contact the vet as this can be a sign with the nosebleed of an infection needing antibiotics (my horse had this-a common cold apparently) xx

 

[Aces_High]

The bleeding in a racehorse is due to bleeding in the lungs and isn't as simple as a "nose bleed!" Often they can be bleeding and will not show any blood from the nose as it's all lower down and can only be seen through scoping. If it was as simple as a nose bleed it would explain a lot of poor runs from a lot of horses!! When a horse is racing and it hits a wall it's often due to bleeding. The management of a "bleeder" (Exercise Induced Pulmonary Hemorrhage) is difficult and down to a lot of trial and error. Obviously as the horse in question is only having little bleeds now and again EIPH can hopefully be completley discounted and it's due to a small vessle in the nose. Having said that general horses with EIPH will be fine providing they are not put under stress eg. racing/eventing/pacing etc

 

[BnWJack]

could be something sinister (sorry cant remember what she called the condition).

Guttural pouch mycosis?

Firstly, is it the same nostril that bleeds each time, or does the blood come from both? If same side each time, it is more than likely an upper respiratory issue. If both, then a lower resp tract problem would be higher up on the list.

The only way really to determine the severity of the underlying condition causing recurrent nosebleeds, is to scope the respiratory tract. Most likely, the cause of your horse's nosebleed is something minor; the vessels in the nasal passages are very delicate and bleed easily - and once a vessel is damaged, it can bleed intermittently as the healing process gets accidentally disrupted.

However, without scoping, you can't rule out EIPH (which has degrees of severity from a tiny trickle to lots of blood in the respiratory tract), nor can you rule out a guttural pouch problem.

I'd monitor the situation and call your vets for advice if the problem persists or worsens. HTH