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 Coyote Country Queen
Posts: 5666
   
| I have a horse with a guttural pouch infection and was looking for some experience. I've seen posts on here in the past, and thankfully at least skimmed them so I knew what was going on. But I never really read the responses that close because I'd never experienced one before! So here I am for some insight!
First off, this horse has been seen by a vet, and I'm still in contact about his care. I will be back at the vet next week so I'll have an opportunity to talk to him more about this. I first noticed something was wrong because he was draining out of one nostril and it smelled disgusting. He drained for around 5 days, a lot at first and then tapered off. He was given 2 different types of antibiotics.
So these are my questions/concerns. First, what should I do for the future? Is this something that can become chronic? And how do I know that the infection is cleared up? Second, he has been spilling grain when he eats, and quite bad. He was floated this past year, and I'm sure that he needs checked again. So I was blaming that on the grain spilling, but the strange thing is that while he was draining he did not spill hardly any grain. Now that he's quit draining he's spilling grain again. My vet said his teeth didn't look that bad when he examined him. So is it possibly the guttural pouch that's causing him to spill so much?
Thanks for your input! |
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 Accident Prone
Posts: 22277
Location: 100 miles from Nowhere, AR | The inflammation can put pressure on nerves. My horse's eyesight was affected in one eye, it wouldn't surprise me if the trigeminal nerve was being affected and causing the grain dropping. We did a flush, culture, and antibiotics. Pretty sure my horse's respiratory allergies were the root cause. As long as I keep his allergies under control, he stays cleared up. |
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Coyote Country Queen
Posts: 5666
| I have not had any allergy issues with this horse, but he was recently changed to a different forage, and is now back on his normal hay. Can these infections be present for awhile before they break open and drain? My vet did not flush and culture, he just did a visual exam and started him on antibiotics. Should I request a flush when I take him back for a recheck? I just want to make sure we get this cleared up so I don't have to deal with it again. |
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Accident Prone
Posts: 22277
Location: 100 miles from Nowhere, AR | It wouldn't hurt to ask about flushing. This was my only experience with it and that's what the vet did--she said the meds work better if it's cleaned out. And yes, my horse had symptoms for several months before it drained a little on its own and and we got it diagnosed. He was shying from things on the left because he wasn't seeing well, had a warmup cough, and his ear was sensitive. I even took him to an opthamologist when it first started, but his eye was healthy and the doc didn't know why he acted like he couldn't see well. |
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Coyote Country Queen
Posts: 5666
| Mine was draining a lot and maybe that's why he didn't flush. He told me that he wanted it to drain for 4-5 days to make sure it cleaned out. Oh my, it was nasty! Thick and chunky, and smelled disgusting. |
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 Winner winner chicken dinner
Posts: 2047
Location: California | Yours might be more advanced then the one I dealt with because my horse's was only snot and no chunks. My vet flushed it really good. He then inserted a long skinny tube up into it and sewed it into her nostril. He sent me home with a betadine solution that I had to inject into the tube. It's been several years but I believe I did this for 3-5 days and it cleared out all of the infection. My vet did tell me that my horse was super easy and usually he would recommend the horse stays at the clinic for treatment. |
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 Veteran
Posts: 189
| Bump for more replies |
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Veteran
Posts: 189
| How long before the infection clears up? Is it common for them,to reoccur? |
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Guttural Pouch Infections