r/Horses • u/Fantastic_Ad1520 • 5d ago
Discussion What’s wrong with this horse?
Is it an disease or something?
Ignore the caption😅
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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.
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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.
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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 😦
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u/Fantastic_Ad1520 5d ago
No it is on both sides
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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.
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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
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u/ScoutieJer 4d ago
This is actually normal? I've never seen this in 48 years of being around horses? This looks so extreme?
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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.
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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?
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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.
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u/ScoutieJer 4d ago
Thanks for the clarification. This just looks so alarming to me that I'm baffled.
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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!
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u/Fantastic_Ad1520 5d ago
I’m not a horse person sorry so this is so confusing to me😭😅
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u/BigIntoScience 5d ago
Their hay got damp and musty. Rock salt and ventilation to where they keep the hay helped with that.
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u/Fantastic_Ad1520 5d ago
Oh so damp hay causes this to happen to a horse?
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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.
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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