[Chaz]

My friend bought a horse about 6 weeks ago and the day she arrived she had a nose bleed (left nostril) it lasted for about 5 days but usually started again after exercise apart from a few times when it just started bleeding while stood in the stable. Now at first we thought it might be a burst blood vessel but on Monday both nostrils started bleeding (did some research on the net and apparently not a good thing) it didn’t last long and there wasn’t much blood but she hadn’t had any exercise she was just in her stable. It lasted about 5 mins then it was fine. On Tuesday her right nostril started bleeding after exercise but again not for long. Now im thinking maybe it could be some kind of growth in the sinuses or it might be something to do with the lungs, now its not my horse but I did mention that maybe now because of how often its happening that a vet should come and take a look at her because I think it might be something more than a burst blood vessel. What do u think?

[DressageGirl]

What breed is this horse?

Did she race?

I would get the vet there ASAP...this is not good

Seek veterinary advice immediately

[probarrelracer]

It may be a bleeder. Was it a racehorse?

[Chaz]

Originally Posted by DressageGirl

What breed is this horse?

Did she race?

I would get the vet there ASAP...this is not good

Seek veterinary advice immediately

She is a Connemara x tb, 12 years old

I did say to her that I think a vet should come and look at her.

I would also say that she is a bit of a head shaker as well

We have no real idea of her past history, but there is something strange about the whole thing. When we went to see her she was fine, we were told that she was from Ireland and that she had been hunted and show jumped. BUT the day she arrived she had no passport (all horses in England have to have 1 by law) we were told that her original passport had the wrong date of birth on it (saying she was 15 not 12) so she needed to get that changed. Anyway when her passport arrived you could clearly see that the original buyers signature had been forged by the woman we bought her off, and also that it was brand-new and the horses age wasn’t on it. Also apparently a vet check had been done but she wouldn’t show us it for some reason, which leads me to believe there’s something wrong with this horse.

[DressageGirl]

In my experience headshakers and nose bleeder usually dont go together.

Yes perhaps the mucus membranes inside her nose are extremely dry, and rubbing her nose has caused the bleed

BUT

It seems to be happening far too often!!

Bleeders and race horses go hand in hand...bleeding in race horses can be from a couple of reasons

1) The physical exertion of racing will sometimes pop a blood vessel

2) Using bute long term can decrease the strength in blood vessel lining.


Bleeders are banned from racing in Australia

Because she is not a TB I am even more concerned about this horse, please let us know what the vet says, I am really curious now

[Chaz]

Originally Posted by DressageGirl

In my experience headshakers and nose bleeder usually dont go together.

Yes perhaps the mucus membranes inside her nose are extremely dry, and rubbing her nose has caused the bleed

BUT

It seems to be happening far too often!!

Bleeders and race horses go hand in hand...bleeding in race horses can be from a couple of reasons

1) The physical exertion of racing will sometimes pop a blood vessel

2) Using bute long term can decrease the strength in blood vessel lining.


Bleeders are banned from racing in Australia

Because she is not a TB I am even more concerned about this horse, please let us know what the vet says, I am really curious now

I’m having the vet out to mine on Monday so hopefully her owner will let the vet take a look at her. I’m hoping its nothing serious but it is happening far too often.

[ThisIsMe]

A normal vet check won't pick up if a horse is a bleeder or not. Plus any horse can be a bleeder, it isnt limited to just racehorses.

But agreed on seeking vet advice.

[DressageGirl]

Originally Posted by ThisIsMe

A normal vet check won't pick up if a horse is a bleeder or not. Plus any horse can be a bleeder, it isnt limited to just racehorses.

But agreed on seeking vet advice.

TIM what can cause it in other horses aside from the racing thing?

Is it just a weakness in the blood vessels or something more serious??

[lacy]

I think my grandparents used to use Lasix (sp?) with their Standardbreds. I could be wrong though.

If the nose is bleeding just for the heck of it then I would be really worried. I am worried either way and suggest the vet get out immediatly- but would worry more if it bled just for the heck of it and not after working hard.

[ThisIsMe]

Originally Posted by DressageGirl

TIM what can cause it in other horses aside from the racing thing?

Is it just a weakness in the blood vessels or something more serious??

The most common theory is that it's due to excessive pressure in the pulmonary blood vessels relative to the pressure in the alveoli. So when effort (exercise or otherwise, could just be from moving around in the stall too quicky) the pressure in the lungs rise until the small blood vessels burst.
Then the blood is released into the airways, a noseblood isnt always shown though. Sometimes it can just be coughing during exercise.

There's also another new theory. I'll copy and paste it.
Our new theory looks at the process from a radically different perspective. We have proposed that the damage to the lung results from lung trauma due to the impact of the front legs on the ground. The impulsive force at the hoof on impact is transmitted, but attenuated, as a wave up the leg to the scapula, or shoulder blade. The scapula, in turn, impacts on the chest wall and the force is felt by the rider. The force is transmitted through the body skeleton, but it also passes through the soft tissues of the lung as a wave.

The wave passes from the front to the back of the lung and becomes strongly focused and amplified in the region of the dorso-caudal tip of the lung (the top back part of the lung, located just under the saddle). It is then reflected, with even greater intensity, back through the lung. This wave causes microscopic shearing of the lung tissue that, even at low levels, can disrupt its structural integrity. The damage caused at the lower shear stresses is a breakdown of the structure of the tissues with leakage of fluid (oedema – rather like in bruising). If the wave is intense enough it can readily cause rupture of blood vessels – and thus EIPH.

Which makes great sense as it explains why some horses have EIPH (Exercise induced pulmonary haemorrage) that arent racehorses.


And it is very common. I think the figures are about 90% of horses will bleed from their lungs at some point in their lives, whether it's from doing cross country, or running around the paddock like a loon.

So this leads me to another question for the OP. Do you notice if the horse coughs at all while doing any kind of exercise or movement?