Silmarillion
Well-Known Member
Just need a bit of a vent, really, but any experiences / suggestions / thoughts are welcome...
My mum's horse (15yo ID x happy hack, likely ex-broodmare) has been prone to injury since we bought her nearly five years ago - eight months into ownership she tore her tendon badly and has been demoted from RC all-rounder to happy hack, she's had unexplained nosebleeds from alternate nostrils (which baffled the vet), she's colicked on and off (though not badly), and now has decided choking is her favourite pastime. She has been choking fairly regularly on the most normal of foodstuffs (eg haylage last night) despite being cared for very carefully with soupy feeds and a bucket of water next to her at dinner time and near where she has her hay / haylage in the field.
I decided last night that it had got to a point where there is obviously an issue, though she was 'scoped 18 months ago and was completely fine - no cause of choking found. Vet came out today and found a lump right in the back of her throat, which is quite obviously the cause of the choking. Long and short is, she's on steroids for a month to see if it brings the lump down, but if not then the likely diagnosis is a melanoma (she has one below her left ear, where the browband should sit, which has never bothered her but has only developed over the last three years or so and I consider a very likely candidate for being the cause of the lump, which means it's really quite a big lump).
Obviously, if it keeps getting bigger and causes worse and worse choking episodes to the point where she can't eat anything without choking (worst case scenario) then the outcome is a given. I'm hoping that it'll go down in the next three or four weeks with the steroids so that when the vet comes back, she can rule out a melanoma - though realistically I don't think it's likely. Yes, I'm a pessimist
I just partly needed to vent this somewhere and partly wanted to see what sort of thoughts people have on the subject, and especially if anyone has had anything similar happen to theirs - unidentified lumps, melanomas in the throat, how you cared for the horse to minimise the risk of choking. I'm trying to be hopeful!
So cookies on offer for those who got this far, and any comments appreciated
My mum's horse (15yo ID x happy hack, likely ex-broodmare) has been prone to injury since we bought her nearly five years ago - eight months into ownership she tore her tendon badly and has been demoted from RC all-rounder to happy hack, she's had unexplained nosebleeds from alternate nostrils (which baffled the vet), she's colicked on and off (though not badly), and now has decided choking is her favourite pastime. She has been choking fairly regularly on the most normal of foodstuffs (eg haylage last night) despite being cared for very carefully with soupy feeds and a bucket of water next to her at dinner time and near where she has her hay / haylage in the field.
I decided last night that it had got to a point where there is obviously an issue, though she was 'scoped 18 months ago and was completely fine - no cause of choking found. Vet came out today and found a lump right in the back of her throat, which is quite obviously the cause of the choking. Long and short is, she's on steroids for a month to see if it brings the lump down, but if not then the likely diagnosis is a melanoma (she has one below her left ear, where the browband should sit, which has never bothered her but has only developed over the last three years or so and I consider a very likely candidate for being the cause of the lump, which means it's really quite a big lump).
Obviously, if it keeps getting bigger and causes worse and worse choking episodes to the point where she can't eat anything without choking (worst case scenario) then the outcome is a given. I'm hoping that it'll go down in the next three or four weeks with the steroids so that when the vet comes back, she can rule out a melanoma - though realistically I don't think it's likely. Yes, I'm a pessimist
I just partly needed to vent this somewhere and partly wanted to see what sort of thoughts people have on the subject, and especially if anyone has had anything similar happen to theirs - unidentified lumps, melanomas in the throat, how you cared for the horse to minimise the risk of choking. I'm trying to be hopeful!
So cookies on offer for those who got this far, and any comments appreciated