Nasal discharge, lethargic mare

[lilnickers]

Hello, I have a mare that is not acting like herself. The past few days she has acted lethargic; last one out of the barn and last one in at night. Last evening I noticed white/pale yellow discharge out of one nostril and she keeps her head down more than normal. Fortunately she is still eating her grain and hay and drinking. Out to pasture she still grazes. I checked for swelling around her face , ears and throat and feel nothing abnormal. Do horses get a cold virus ? Or can it be the first stages of strangles? I am a worry wart anyhow, so am hoping for some insight from anyone on this. I am certainly ready to call the vet if I need her to come out.(She lives 1 hour away) Should I be very concerned or wait and see if she starts to come around ?? Thank you , Karin

NOTE(not sure if this is relevant): Before the onset of these symptoms, she was showing signs of heat(Supposed to be bred)

 

[chandab]

Sorry, I don't have any ideas. Have you taken her temperature? What is it?

 

[Jill]

I would check her temperature and also check her gums or neck skin to see if she seems dehydrated. You can press a thumb to her gums and see how quick the color comes back. Also can pull skin from the side of her neck and see how fast it goes back to smooth -- which is easier to see with a summer coat vs. a fall one). That will help guage is she's hydrated. I would probably call the vet and tell her what the symptoms are, the temperature, and the gum capalary (sp?) refill looks like and see what the vet says. A lot of times when I call the vet about "something", the vet sometimes will not feel necessary to come out and check, but will tell me what to do and how to monitor.

 

[SweetOpal]

sounds like Strangles to me.

 

[ChrystalPaths]

Hey, who's sick? You have a nice closed barn so I doubt it is strangles unless an outside person walked it in...happens...BUT look at the weather we had this last week....80s then 50's now 30s..it's a wonder more don't get sick. I'm watching mine like a hawk now.

Jill makes several fine points....check her hydration, gum color, poop consistancy and frequency. Are her ears hot, how about her feet any hot ones? Horses do get colds in a manner of speaking....some let them run the course, others use meds. I think if you are this conerned a call to your vet is a good idea. You know your furkids very well and I always say...trust your instincts.

Hope she feels better, is it Daisy?

 

[runamuk]

Check the temp, strangles usually involves very high temps.

Another possibility is an impacted tooth/retained caps, my mare had periodic snots for a year, my vet found nothing and didn't see any obvious reason, after several rounds of smz's, I managed to find an equine dentist who discovered she had several retained caps and after a full on dental she never got the snots again.

 

[h2t99]

I just had a couple of horses come down with colds, one sounds just like yours!! She was off for about a week before she started to feel better. Just watch her and maybe start her on some SMZ's if you find she is running a temp.

Good Luck

 

[ChrystalPaths]

Karin an update please?

 

[FoRebel]

I agree with SweetOpal... Sounds like strangles.

 

[J&HMinis]

Sounds like Strangles, please do not give any antibiotics without having the vet check first.

 

[Mona]

I sure hope your mare is feeling better. I would definately seek veterinarian advise in this case. Good Luck.

 

[evedex]

Yes, it could be strangles but it could be other things too....if she is not acting normally, consult your vet.

We had a horse who had a discharge and it turned out to be a cronic sinus infection. Because the skull has lots of pockets inside it there is room for a lot of discharge to build up without ever seeing any swelling. we used several courses of antibiotics (with the vet's monitoring) and eventually the vet had to poke a hole in her face to let over a cup of puss drain out and then she had to have the area flushed daily for a week or so....YUCK! plus more antibiotics...but she sure felt better without all that pressure and she has been well since.

I also have heard that a tumor can cause discharge...although nasal tumors are not that common they can be malignant so don't wait too long to contact your vet.

Hopefully it is just a cold and will clear up soon.

Good luck!

 

[kaykay]

it could be that virus that has been sweeping the country. Sure sounds like it. I would call a vet out and see whats going on

 

[Miniv]

How's your mare doing? Did you take her temp?

If she does have the flu virus, it unfortunately means you'll just have to wait it out because antibiotics won't do anything for it.

MA

 

[lilnickers]

HELLO, I am finally back!!! My internet service was down since the day I posted this. My mare 's nasal discharge had dwindled to nothing much but clear drips as of yesterday afternoon(only one nostril) and she seemed to be more like herself. She has been eating right along which is a good sign ,I think. I looked up a sinus infection and the book said to tap under her eyes to see if she is in pain. Did that, she showed no pain .THEN, today, when I let the horses out, she had a little more discharge again.

I will check her gums and temp if she is still "snotty". I'll post an update after I let them in tonight(as soon as I get off here)

Thank you all for your advice , what a wonderful group of people

:

DEBBIE: Its not Daisy, its Lady, the black pinto. Thank you for your concern

I am heading to the barn, will be back in about 30 min.

 

[lilnickers]

I'm feeling much better about Lady tonight. She continues to get back to her old self :aktion033: Her nose is pretty clean, both sides. Her head is back up. I checked her hooves and ears for heat and felt none. Whew....I think we are going to be OK

The longer I have these guys , the more they teach me. And thanks to this forum that I found one day several years ago, I have learned so many new things. And I have had horses since I was 16,(Of course, not this many ) ,and I am still learning. Thank you again for all the helpful advice concerning Lady.

 

[ChrystalPaths]

With this screwed up NY weather I don't wonder she may have a bit of a "cold" equine style. Tonite it will go down to 56...Sunday nite will be 28! Sending hope and prayers lovely Lady continues to improve. Hug Daisy for me.