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FROG IN THE THROAT?
Q: Our 13-year-old Clydesdale-cross of solid build has developed a small but noticeable rasping sound in his throat as he inhales during exercise. This has occurred only in the last couple of months and despite a three-week rest is still evident.
He works honestly and can be a little keen during exercise, the noise does not seem to worry him and his recovery rate is quick and without stress. He has been active all summer and is very fit and until now has been clean winded.
He lives an outdoor life and gets a 3-4kg hard feed (moistened) every evening and good quality baleage morning and night, and is a good keeper. He gets yearly vaccinations for equine herpes and is generally a sound and healthy horse.
He did have pneumonia as a seven-year-old, and the vet said at the time that some scar tissue may have occurred in the lungs. Could this be an issue after so long?
What could this issue be and how worried should we be given that the horse seems untroubled by it? Could you suggest a way forward to clear the problem up?
James Williams, via email
A: I do not think the noise will be related to his bout of pneumonia. You say that he is keen to work and has a good recovery rate; this suggests that there is no problem with his lungs.
The fact that you can hear an unusual sound on inspiration says to me that there is a disturbance to the normal flow of air in the upper airway.
There are a number of possible causes for this, including:
a generalised narrowing of the nasal airways due to inflammation, with or without exudate.
A deviated nasal septum – this can narrow one nostril (and enlarge the other) which will result in an increase in noise.
A growth or foreign body within the airway, including cysts, polyps, tumours etc.
laryngeal hemiplegia (a horse with this condition is refered to as a ‘roarer’). This is where there is nerve damage leading to a paralysis of one side of the larynx, which in turn causes a disturbance to the air flow into the trachea.
A soft palate and/or epiglottis problem.
So, while you can take a lot of comfort in the fact that he is untroubled by the problem at the moment, it may not remain this way.
I would recommend having your vet examine him thoroughly. This will probably involve an endoscope, so ensure on initial contact, that he/she has one available. Only once a diagnosis is made, will you be able to evaluate the significance of the problem.
Night sweats
Q: I have a seven-year-old Arab gelding which I rescued approximately six months ago; he was skin and bone.
I have had his teeth done, a chiropractor has adjusted him, and he’s been wormed, bathed and well fed. He is not being ridden yet; we are working on basics and lots of TLC. But even though it’s the middle of winter, every so often he will be sweating on his neck, chest and behind his front legs – sometimes even around 11 at night when I check on him. It’s definitely not from being exercised.
At times there is a swelling down the side of his body from his back to his ribs, around where the front of a saddle would fit if that makes sense. Sometimes it is on the opposite side, and never both sides at once. It doesn’t seem to be sore to touch, and it’s not always there when he is sweating, so I’m not sure if the swelling and the sweating are related.
Originally I thought it might be from stress, as it seemed to occur if I was late home from work to feed him, but now I’m not sure. He is in a large yard with free movement, and is hand fed.
Ann Ryan, South Australia
A: I assume that this sweating is only in the areas you mention, and not all over.
That being so, it is what is described as focal sweating (as distinct from generalised sweating).
This is most likely a result of damage to the sympathetic nerve supply to the area that is affected. The sympathetic nervous system is part of the autonomic nervous system, which is largely involuntary, and controls organs such as the heart and lungs, and functions such as gastric motility, blood vessel dilation/constriction, gland production etc.
When there is damage to the sympathetic nerve supply to an area, you can have an increase in temperature to that area as a result of vasodilation of the blood vessels concerned. This temperature increase can manifest itself as focal sweating.
This damage may slowly repair with time, with a return to normal function.
I am not sure about the swelling you mention, and how it may ‘shift’ from one side to the other. I would guess that it is not related to the sweating, and that it is not a problem at all.
Possibly it is just the way he is standing. If more weight is on one front leg, the superficial muscle on the other side may be more relaxed and appear “swollen”.
Rain scald
Q: I am treating my 17-year-old Arabian cross mare for mud fever, and she is responding well to a combination of apple cider vinegar and copper sulphate washes, and Betadine cream.
However, I have noticed when I was stroking her ears that she has crusty scabs on them. When I rubbed her ears the scabs came off, as did the hair. I am presuming this is rain scald – I have only had her eight weeks so don’t know what her history is. I am wondering if you have any suggestions for treating this. I currently am feeding her chaff with dolomite, linseed and kelp, and it has been suggested that I also feed her a small amount of copper sulphate in her food maybe twice a week, as well as hay and grass of course. I am wondering if maybe she has a deficiency.
Nicky Spencer, Arkles Bay
A: Yes it certainly does sound like rain scald (or dermatophilosis). This appearance of this bacterial skin problem does vary depending on where on the horse it is, and the length of coat. Normally, the longer the hair, the larger the scabs.
The bacteria are easily killed by most antibacterial agents – including iodine (Vetadine shampoo is commonly used), halamid, dilute copper sulphate solution (5 grams per litre), Malaseb or Sebolyse shampoo, and many more.
It is important to remove the scabs first, because the bacteria are “hiding” beneath them. That is why a lot of treatments fail – for example, a good antibiotic cream plastered over the scabs will normally be ineffective, because it does not contact the bacteria. Removing these scabs is often easier when they are thoroughly soaked first. This is best done with a sponge or cloth. This obviously can be very difficult with some horses.
There is often a reluctance to remove all the scabs because of appearance, but that hair is going to be lost anyway, and the condition is resolved much earlier if you do.
There is anecdotal evidence to suggest that if a horse is deficient in copper then he will be more susceptible to mud fever. It therefore follows that supplementing a deficient horse will be helpful in resolving the problem and preventing a recurrence.
However, copper can be dangerous if given to excess, although horses are a lot less susceptible to copper toxicity than sheep and cattle. Copper sulphate (bluestone) is a good (and cheap) source of copper to supplement.
But before you do add any copper to your horse’s diet, it is best to check any other supplements you are already giving, for their copper levels.
A blood test can help determine if your horse is deficient.
If there is a deficiency, I give about one teaspoon of copper sulphate per week for a few weeks (depending on the degree of deficiency), then drop to a maintenance dose of half a teaspoon per week.
Crusty eyes
Q: My pony often has crusty eyes, like he has ‘sleep’ in them. I clean them gently every day but the next day his eyes are crusty again. Should I be worried about this, and is there anything I can give him to help clear it up?
BN, Canterbury
A: I would not be too worried about a small amount of crustiness.
During a normal day most horses get exposed to a reasonable amount of dust and small airborne particles which can come into contact with their eyes.
Through the production of tears and with the help of the eyelids these particles get washed out, forming this ‘sleep’.
The more dust, the more ‘sleep’. But whatever your horse’s environment, there will always be some.
There are problems which can cause an increase in the amount of discharge from the eye. So depending on your horse’s environment and the amount of discharge, you may be best to have your vet check him out.
The two main causes of increased discharge from both eyes are:
i. conjunctivitis – an inflammation of the conjunctiva around the eyeball (the cause can be viral, bacterial or allergic).
ii. blocked tear ducts. The tear ducts are small tubes which run from the inside of the eyelids, down the side of the face (under the skin), and come out just inside each nostril. These ducts drain the tears produced by the lacrimal glands which lubricate the eyes. If they get blocked, you have an overflow of tears running down the skin below the eye.
It is normally an easy procedure to flush these and unblock them.
Pregnancy safety
Q: Can you please tell me how long into their pregnancy that mares in-foal can be safely ridden, and is there any type of exercise they should avoid (like jumping, for instance)?
Debbie, Manawatu
A: A mare can be safely ridden through most of her pregnancy. Of course, the type of work and the length of time ridden, has a big bearing.
It is accepted by most, that performance horses (including racehorses) can continue to perform successfully during pregnancy, with minimal risk to mare and foal, until at least five months of pregnancy. This would include jumping.
After six months it is best to begin to reduce the level of work that you do ask of her, but a quiet hack out is fine until at least the last month of pregnancy. From then on, it does depend on the mare, and what she is comfortable with.
The foetus gains about 66% of its body-weight in the last three months of gestation.
So in the last month, the discomfort of a large pendulous abdomen plus the extra weight of a rider, makes anything other than a short hack out not much fun for mum-to-be.
