KarlR
24th Apr 2001, 11:12 AM
When I bought my horse, I'd been told by the previous owners that the discharge from one nostril was a mild infection - a fact supported by the vet at the time. However on the day that I went to pay for him one of the stable girls said "poor lad - he's always had some sort of sinus problem!". So much for honesty and quality of vetting! Even knowing this though we decided to buy him since he was so nice. Later, we phoned the previous owners vets and asked about it - they told us that the problem was at least 3 years old, but the previous owners wouldn't treat it (and still owed them money for the earlier work in 1998)!
The symptoms are that he has a yellowish discharge from one nostril which is messy and he throws his head about to disperse it. The discharge gets much worse after exercise and stops if he lifts his head up for any time, such as when stood in the stable. He seems to be in no discomfort with it aside from occasionally rubbing it although he is not yet in hard work.
My vet is keen to sort it out for fear of the discharge getting drawn back into the lungs (which are fine at present). She says that it needs scoping and x-raying to see the cause of the problem. If it is a simple sinus infection then she will drill a hole into the sinus and insert a drain. This would need a week at the surgery and then up to 2 months of 24-hour turnout to avoid infection. However, she says that it may be a hind-tooth infection which is "a major problem. We have to chisel away a lot of bone with those and recovery is slow".
I've looked on the Internet and the one source that I found said that sinus problems are almost always caused by hind teeth. However they also say that the discharge is very smelly and I've never noticed that was the case (although I've never actually checked).
My vet is universally acknowleged as the best equine vet in the area and has vast experience although she does tend to be a little pessimistic at times.
Even though he is insured this will not be covered since it was pre-existing and was mentioned on the pre-purchase vetting (albeit as a cold!)
Obviously we will not let the problem continue no matter how much it costs - that's just unfair on him. However I'd be interested to know if anyone else has had similar problems, whether it was hind tooth, and what the outcome was.
TIA!
The symptoms are that he has a yellowish discharge from one nostril which is messy and he throws his head about to disperse it. The discharge gets much worse after exercise and stops if he lifts his head up for any time, such as when stood in the stable. He seems to be in no discomfort with it aside from occasionally rubbing it although he is not yet in hard work.
My vet is keen to sort it out for fear of the discharge getting drawn back into the lungs (which are fine at present). She says that it needs scoping and x-raying to see the cause of the problem. If it is a simple sinus infection then she will drill a hole into the sinus and insert a drain. This would need a week at the surgery and then up to 2 months of 24-hour turnout to avoid infection. However, she says that it may be a hind-tooth infection which is "a major problem. We have to chisel away a lot of bone with those and recovery is slow".
I've looked on the Internet and the one source that I found said that sinus problems are almost always caused by hind teeth. However they also say that the discharge is very smelly and I've never noticed that was the case (although I've never actually checked).
My vet is universally acknowleged as the best equine vet in the area and has vast experience although she does tend to be a little pessimistic at times.
Even though he is insured this will not be covered since it was pre-existing and was mentioned on the pre-purchase vetting (albeit as a cold!)
Obviously we will not let the problem continue no matter how much it costs - that's just unfair on him. However I'd be interested to know if anyone else has had similar problems, whether it was hind tooth, and what the outcome was.
TIA!