What are your thoughts?

[longtalltilly]

2 weeks ago my horse went to the vets to be scoped for an excess of custard snot from his right nostril. There was also discharge from his right eye, so all bets to the cause were put onto a sinus problem. Anyway he was scoped and had a chest and head xray but nothing was found. The vet has put it down to COPD and advised me to switch to easy bed and haylage. (at the moment he is on large flaked shavings and Soaked/Steamed hay) He also had a tracheal (sp) wash and this came back better than last year (he went in for a scope due to nosebleeds last June) but still saying he had COPD! Odd thing is he has had to be box rested (due to a tendon injury) but the snot seems to be a little better some days and others there is masses but I have changed nothing!

Throughout all this he has not coughed or weezed. He had a nosebleed from both nostrils in early march whist doing some fast work and then again about 5/6 hours after running XC at at ODE about 2 weeks later (although this time it was only from the right hand side!)

Do you think that there is something else amiss there?

 

[lauraandjack]

Discharge related to the windpipe or lungs typically comes down both nostrils, if it is only coming down one nostril I would be very suspicious that the problem is within the head, (sinuses or guttural pouches are the usual suspects). You can't endoscope sinuses without making a hole in the front of the head so they won't have been able to look in them and just because a fluid line wasn't seen on the xray doesn't mean there isn't a load of pus in there!

 

[longtalltilly]

Vet said she had a good look in the gutteral pouches on that side to no avail! this is what comes out when his head is down - sometimes more yellow in colour and then throughout the day there is alot of thick cold custard consistancy that comes out!