Scoping tomorrow! What to expect?

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welshcobmad

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After 6 months of hell, my boy is eventually going in for scoping & a tracheal wash! Anything I need to know before we go or what to expect? I've been told to take my tack because they want me to ride him before hand & I'm taking my twitch (hes dangerous around vets so I need to twitch him for them to sedate him). The reason the scoping has been avoided until now was due to the vet wanting to try every other avenue beforehand - mainly down to his behaviour. The vet hasnt said anything about not feeding him or anything so assume its just carry on as normal?

We've tried courses of broad spectrum antibiotics (Norodine), 3-4 weeks solidly off, bute - the only thing in my mind to have an effect, a 2 week course of Ventipulmin combined with not being stabled for the entire time as she said it could be COPD but still no luck, but at least that partially rules that out. Dont know what on earth it could be! Basically hes exercise intolerant. The symptoms are being breathless when ridden - double exhales along the way & his breathing out has been prominent at times even at rest, now its developed into him making this horrible rasping noise short & sharp like a cough but its from his throat with his mouth shut, like a raspy exhale. Hes done it with me riding & its now progressed to when hes just stood in the field. Doesnt make a difference whether hes turned out or stabled. Its not like roaring or anything, like a noisy exhale to clear his airways, hes silent the rest of the time even when ridden then he'll do 1 or 2 of them.

Just want an answer tomorrow! Its going on & on now, not fair on either of us. Hes turned extremely bolshy & isnt happy without his work, if anything upset by it making him a nightmare to handle. So nervous but at the same time just want it over & done with!
 
My horse had the same, he had a lump removed off his Larynx. He just started to make a noise when breathing at rest and when worked. He was scoped and had a biopsy taken. He was heavily sedated and it wasn't too bad, quite fascinating to watch. He was on antibiotics firstly and ventapulmin before his op which didn't help. Sadly it returned within 2 months and was inoperable and he had to be PTS. Don't want to scare you, yours could be something entirely different. I was just unlucky. Good luck and let us know how you go on.
 
Oh god I feel sick after reading that! He's only 7 & it all started off in April with him catching a respiratory infection which resulted in him coughing. But he's never really shaken it off & its developed into this. Hopefully we'll get an idea tomorrow, just feels like torture now.
 
Please don't worry my horse was 17 and had a few other problems. It was a shock as it happened so suddenly. His food also came down his nose in the end as hos throat was blocked. He was first scoped in September by January he was gone :-(
 
I am astounded he needs to be twitched to have be sedated, but not surprised he is difficult to work, he mist be scared by this problem.
Please try to keep calm and remember that he will be getting the best of attention, and it may be something quite simple, good luck with it.
a scope and tracheal wash is absolutely routine these days, have a look at Mark Johnstone, racehorse trainer, they have an endoscope which is fitted during work, and a screen to capture the video.
Racehorses have wind ops routinely and the level of expertise in the UK is fantastic.
If it were me I would just have him on rest, feeding Fast fibre and soaked haylage, maintenance only, also get some herbal calmer for his aggression.
Can you clip him near the neck vein to make the job easier for the vet, but not if it is going to upset him.
Make sure you are breathing in 12345 out 1-2-3-4-5 to calm yourself down.
 
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I'm so sorry :-( I can't imagine how horrible that is happening that quickly, mine hasn't even been scoped yet & that's worrying me alone! The noise Addy makes is as if he's clearing his airways but he doesn't do it by coughing, its the horrible rasping heaving noise. We'll see! I'll have to try & hold myself together best I can. Riding him out in walk just for 15 mins or so tonight so he doesn't have a fit when I get on tomorrow suddenly at the vets after a few weeks off.

Thankyou MrsD thats reassuring, I had no idea how routine it was & was under the impression it was something that is only done when things go seriously wrong just by the way they put it as a last resort. Hes been evil with the vet ever since I can remember, all stemming from his first jab as a foal - young vet put the needle in, Addy twitched slightly but the vet being nervous jumped back & so thinking something was wrong he took off around the stable with the needle flapping until it was removed after much chasing etc. So anyone grabs a fold of skin now & it ranges from bolting off, slamming into walls as far as being eye level with his feet! My vet is working with him slowly though & is now able to get a stethoscope on him without much bother by scratching him with it for a few mins! lol Last injection was put in trotting him through the barn with the vet running shoulder level! Major improvement! haha
 
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Mine coughed towards the end but it was an awful noise, I heard him while he was in the field. The vet thought it was choke as the grass was coming down his nose. Yours sounds different to what Taz had. But don't worry about the scoping it's pretty routine.
 
My cob was scoped and had a lung wash done last March as his respiratory rate was 32 breathes a minute and after ventipulmin, blood tests and a course of antibiotics it was the only way to know what on earth was going on! Luckily, my vets allowed me in and I was holding him and supporting his head through the entire thing. The scoping bit was easy with 1 round of sedation but the lung wash proved tricky and he had to be sedated another 2 times as he kept coughing as they were pulling the wash back up the tube.

It isn't an overly pleasant experience but by the time he came round from sedation an hour or two later, he didn't know what had happened and was happy enough to get back on the box to go home! Luckily the lung wash only showed up a high level of inflammatory cells so from that day on he has been known as the 'pony with an allergy of some description' :rolleyes: Good Luck!
 
Sophstar - Is yours ok now to ride etc then? Or do you use any supplements or bute to help it?

Well. We survived! Usually, the sight of 2 lunge lines behind him he walks straight on, yesterday he was having none of it & refused to load!

Dont blame him, due to having no transport its a matter of not going anywhere really bar if offered a lift or essential, last 3 trips have consisted of a nasty ride with a friends father towing, he was far too fast cornering & he was almost colicky when we arrived at the fun ride & refused to jump :o( the mosty recently hes moved yards & now the vets!

Anyway, once on (he had changed his tactics & went straight on after a feed bucket first time ever) he was fine travelling. Got there, he had to be blackmailed with feed into the temp wooden stables & after rearing & knocking his head on the guttering, friends mare went for her scan & he went beserk. Slammed his weight into the stable & has left a crack! Spent the entire hour box walking, pawing the matting & screaming!

His turn. Lunged & he got tired quickly as he doesnt now but didnt make the noise - infact he didnt make it once all day! But vet said after listening with stethoscope lungs are loud but with no crackling or other noises. Told her he would be better off twitched & sedated outside first but they wouldnt listen so blackmailed into the stock & after 15 mins of rearing & threatening to go over the stock he was sedated - something that could have been prevented but there we go. Fought for 5 twitching violently & even fought & I had to twitch him! He doesnt take it lying down! lol

But fair play, scoping was text book she said! No coughing or anything, he was clean as a whistle all down his trachea, infact everywhere! Good thing I know, but still no answer! The put down 50mm of saline & got 40mm back, was a very clean sample with the odd little bit in it & just ever so slightly cloudy. She said some come out disgusting & discoloured but his was very good.

So its been sent for testing to see what cells are in there whether bacterial or alergic! Fingers crossed I can get an answer! 6 months too many now!
 
Well, we have tried the 66 steroid tablets a day...did nothing, the £100 a go inhaler...doesn't have a huge impact. I moved yards so he didn't have his head stuck in a trailer of hay all winter in the hope it would be dust allergy and put him on equiexpectorant supplement which helps to loosen the mucus so he can cough it up and clear his throat. Last winter, he came back into full work as everything returned to normal except for the coughing (induced by the supplement) and then 2 weeks into April, literally everything went 10 steps backwards within 2 days:mad: Had the vet check him, had crackly lungs and given another pointless tub of ventipulmin and told not to ride him. It ispretty clear he has a pollen allergy and he struggles more in Spring and Summer because of the heat. I kept him in very light work and kept him in through the day with soaked hay etc etc and then when both my ponies had a check up, I asked for a different vet and when he checked him over, he agreed his breathing wasn't normal but he told me to bring him back into full work and 'he will let you know when he is breathless.' From that point on, he did 4 sponsored rides and loved every minute of it, I just have to be aware that if he stops randomly, he may not be being naughty, he's just gathering his breath! Plus I hope that the work gets to loosen some of the mucus up and help make it slightly easier for him. You feel cruel, but it helps:)

He's now off work as being investigated for having arthritis:rolleyes: Heat bad for breathing and now cold bad for joints!
 
Scoping is pretty routine - with Irish Draughts, we have to get potential stallions scoped for wind - and they don't sedate them unless absolutely necessary as it can give misleading results if their breathing is depressed.

My 5 year old stallion switched off completely - he practically refused to breathe at all! (the same response his father has to anything unpleasant!) The 3 year old colt - who is a little ratbag - DID have to be twitched - but wasn't too bad at all.

Obviously they might have been easier because they didn't HAVE problems in this area - but with sedation, your chap will be fine.

Hope they find the problem and you get a positive result!
 
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