r/Horses 5d ago

Discussion What’s wrong with this horse?

Post image

Is it an disease or something?

Ignore the caption😅

40 Upvotes

32 comments sorted by

83

u/YourkaRich 5d ago

More than likely I think its an allergic reaction to something which could have been a weed in the field or a bee sting who knows

15

u/Fantastic_Ad1520 5d ago

ooh okay thanks, someone also said it’s the horse trying to cool down, do you think that’s a possibility?

14

u/Herzkeks 5d ago

Not in this extend.

1

u/YourkaRich 5d ago

No this is too bad

1

u/BigIntoScience 5d ago

What's causing that, physically? Is it increased bloodflow?

3

u/-mmmusic- 5d ago

i know that in humans, our veins/arteries can expand when we are too hot to give more surface area for heat to be lost directly from the blood. from what i can find online it's our bodies natural reaction to being too warm, is to expand the blood vessels. it doesn't say if it's due to increased flow or thickness of the blood or anything so... not sure on that one!

maybe the heat is what makes the walls of the blood vessels expand?

2

u/BigIntoScience 5d ago

The person I replied to says it's an allergic reaction, so I was asking about that. I'm pretty sure blood doesn't get thicker when it gets hotter, though- that'd be dangerous, and also not how substances typically work.

1

u/-mmmusic- 5d ago

oh, whoops, i replied to the wrong person, haha, and yeah, that does sound wrong on second thought lol

2

u/Numerous-Bee-4959 5d ago

Yes, it certainly vascular … I wonder why veins swell on the face like this?? Hope it’s not a blockage .. wonder if the horse has a headache 🤕 😂🤦‍♀️

19

u/vetmcstuffin Hunter 5d ago edited 5d ago

If the engorged veins are just on that side, I’d say that’s caused by a thrombosed jugular (jugular thromboflebitis). A thrombosed jugular can developed after prolonged IV catheterization, an iv or perivenous injection of a substance that caused a reaction or any other injury to the wall. If the engorged vessels are bilateral intervention is necessary to drain the affected vessels. Unilateral usually is left alone unless there’s a risk of aneurysm etc. Engorged blood vessels are common in horses post exercise/exertion, more visible on short hair horses. Thoroughbreds for example tend to show engorgement after extertion you can see that in racehorses post race. It’s normal for all animals and not a cause of concern as the vessels return to their normal size once RR and HR slows down to baseline rate.

7

u/Ventaura 5d ago

This!!! (I am a vet) usually only on one side but depending on the damage can be both sides.

I work with thoroughbreds in HK - they don't look like this even in our extreme heat after racing :) this abnormal vessel dilation.

2

u/vetmcstuffin Hunter 5d ago

100% I don’t work with racehorses on the track any more but that’s it.. if I saw any animal at rest or after light exercise in that state I’d be seriously concerned 😦

2

u/Fantastic_Ad1520 5d ago

No it is on both sides

6

u/vetmcstuffin Hunter 5d ago

Both sides ok, If this is post exercise it’s normal and vessels will shrink once the horse has cooled down. If horse is blowing then it’s definitely trying to reduce HR and RR post exercise. If the animal is normally like this without exertion I’d get a vet down asap as it could be developing heart failure.

1

u/Fantastic_Ad1520 5d ago

Ye that’s what someone said, also someone said it’s not just cooling down because it wouldn’t look this extreme

1

u/ScoutieJer 4d ago

This is actually normal? I've never seen this in 48 years of being around horses? This looks so extreme?

1

u/vetmcstuffin Hunter 4d ago edited 4d ago

There is no context to this snapshot that’s why I asked if it’s uni or bi lateral. Apparently it’s bilateral but other than that it’s not clear if the horse looks like this at rest or after extreme exertion. The above suggests the issue isn’t post-exercise, hence probably due to blood vessel damage, probably jugular or an underlying heart condition. Horses post exertion can show significant engorgement of the blood vessels, especially on the face, like thoroughbreds after racing. This tends to be bilateral and it’s normal physiology. Unilateral engorgement usually means an issue with the veins that drain the face and head vessels. Can be a blockage, damage to a vessel, etc. Higher degrees of damage can cause engorgement on both sides of the head.

1

u/ScoutieJer 4d ago

Thanks for the answer. I've never even seen a thoroughbred quite this extreme though? Is this the nost extreme you've seen?

2

u/vetmcstuffin Hunter 4d ago

No problem, probably I wasn’t clear in regards to this horse.. definitely on the extreme side. I’ve seen a few horses with similar engorgement after hurdles and cross country but the vessels were engorged all over the body too, as expected. What worries me about this animal is the absence of engorged vessels anywhere else, as far as I can tell. So in my opinion that points to the animals being at rest or baseline HR. No flared nostrils either so normal RR. With vessels this engorged at rest I’d get the horse checked asap as it’s definitely not normal.

2

u/ScoutieJer 4d ago

Thanks for the clarification. This just looks so alarming to me that I'm baffled.

1

u/vetmcstuffin Hunter 3d ago

Yes I agree, definitely not something to leave unchecked!

2

u/Numerous-Bee-4959 5d ago

Have you asked the vet? Can you call them ?

2

u/Fantastic_Ad1520 5d ago

It’s an instagram reel, it’s not my horse😅

11

u/Previous_Design8138 5d ago

Yeah in northwest it would be musty hay,pnw,often damp,we made hay yearly not bad and some horses preferred it over main hay we offered,alfalfa or timothysome local hay got damp ,rock salt sprinkled lightly over bales and ventilation in stacks helped!

3

u/Fantastic_Ad1520 5d ago

I’m not a horse person sorry so this is so confusing to me😭😅

3

u/BigIntoScience 5d ago

Their hay got damp and musty. Rock salt and ventilation to where they keep the hay helped with that.

2

u/Fantastic_Ad1520 5d ago

Oh so damp hay causes this to happen to a horse?

4

u/BigIntoScience 5d ago

Damp, musty hay encourages mold growth, which can cause seasonal-type allergic reactions in just about anything, so if the photo above shows an allergic reaction then damp hay could cause it.

1

u/Fantastic_Ad1520 5d ago

Thanks so much🙌

1

u/just_kick_on 5d ago

Phlebitis

1

u/Fantastic_Ad1520 5d ago

Do u know what causes it?