Help - Snotty nose and ** next week!!!

[Jazzy Lady]

So my guy came up with a snotty nose a few days ago. He's not running any other symptoms of a virus, just has one nostril with lovely, gooey, yellow snot. I have a call into my vet to see if there's something I can give him to clear it up before the event that is legal with the FEI but haven't heard back yet.

He ran an intermediate this weekend, and I don't think it effected his breathing as his nasal passages still appear pretty clear. Anything i can do in the meantime until I hear? If he still has a bit of a snotty nose at the **, will this be a problem?

[Mary in Area 1]

Ten years ago, I had a horse about to go to the Fair Hill ***. There had been a little virus running around the barn, so Dr. Marty Simonsen suggested we take bloodwork on the horse before shipping. The horse was fine, no snot, no temp, working beautifully.

We didn't hear anything, so we packed up the horse's stuff and loaded him on the trailer. As we went to leave, we heard the phone ring. It was Marty, and the bloodwork showed an elevated white count. He told us to unload the horse and stay home, for his sake and those of all the other FEI competitors.

We were heartsick and sobbing, but the horse went back in his stall and munched hay. He did go on, in subsequent years, to run successfully around both Rolex and Fair Hill, as well as a whole bunch of CCI*'s in his later years.

But that year, we all stayed home. The horse didn't get sick (or sicker) from shipping and the competition, and we didn't make a bunch of enemies at Fair Hill.

The moral of this story? Proceed carefully and think about all the possible ramifications of your actions.

[Blugal]

Another anecdote - we travelled to a CCI*/** last summer with 6 horses - three in the CCI*, 2 in the HT and 1 greenie. Despite all the FEI passport protocols (and expense), we came home with 3 horses sick with Equine Influenza, and heard that many others did too. Who knows if it came from horses that were showing symptoms already, or if they only started showing after reaching the grounds…

[yellow rose]

If it were my horse I would start him on SMZs

pretty easy to fill out a drug form for that

[deltawave]

As long as you declare whatever medications he requires, he should be fine. There has to be a list of acceptable antibiotics out there--ask USEF.

A horse in our barn was exposed to strangles 2 weeks before we went to the CCI* and of course I freaked out. We gave Gwen prophylactic antibiotics, I told the vets at the 1st horse inspection, and it was no problem.

[spmoonie]

Be carefull, it could be strangles. At a barn near me, all the horses had signs of an upper respiratory infection( snot, coghing, etc) None of them had the open sores on their necks/jaw or any other signs of strangles, but the blood work came back positive. So now all the horses are under quarantine for the next 21 days.

[Jazzy Lady]

It's not strangles. He has all his vaccinations and there have been no outbreaks that I know about anywhere near here, and he hasn't been exposed to much this year.

I am going to try him on SMZs. How do I fill out a drug form or does my vet do that?

[deltawave]

You fill out the drug form when you get to the event and have your FEI in-barn inspection upon arrival. Wouldn't hurt to have a note from your vet indicating the date of diagnosis and recommended course of treatment.

[PangurBan]

I'm going to add my two cents worth to the contingent that are saying be careful and stay at home, for the sake of the horse and the other competitors. We had a horse a few years back, similar symptoms, nothing seemed major... but the problem is you don't know what damage is happening down in the lung...
and yes, we too trailered off to a (different) competition, found ourselves in the stall next to a horse with a snotty nose. The rider said she "didn't think" he was contagious, but by the time we got home, ours was running a temperature. Didn't do much for the rest of our season, or our feelings towards the other competitor.
It's just a show. If the horse ain't right, you just don't go.

[Jazzy Lady]

Well, I'm going to put him on smz's and see how he is. I still have a week before we leave. It's already started clearing up on it's own since it started a few days ago. He's happy, bright, sure has his appetite and none of the other horses have anything. My vet doesn't seem concerned, so we'll see how it goes.

[Carol Ames]

Hard as it is,I would stay home:sadsmile:! You can get a specimen,:yes: of :lol:snot to give the vet, then, you will know what you are dealing with;:yes:

[Hilary]

Sounds like what my horses got last summer - my vet said it was "one of those things going around", and I think she picked it up at an event. What helped a lot along with the SMZs to prevent a secondary infection was cough medicine - expectorant- which I would start now so that he doesn't develop what one of mine did - a horrible hacking cough. Don't let the phlegm build up.

The younger one cleared up in a week, and she never had a fever, just snotty nose and a couple of days of coughing. She worked lightly throughout.

I would worry a little about his wind - if he gets a cough, he won't be able to run XC.

Jingling for you - what crappy timing!!

[inquisitive]

Could just be sinuses too. My mare had a snotty nose twice this year as the weather changed. No cough or fever or anything else. Vets checked everything and nothing came up. It cleared up both times within 3-4 days. We put her on SMZs the second time.

Just have your vet draw blood and check everything, although if it doesn't clear up before you have to leave I would suspect something is amiss...

Good luck!

[Jazzy Lady]

Thanks for the tips. If it's not better by the time we leave, he'll stay home :( So hopefully it clears up!! His wind seemed fine on Sunday. I did run him VERY slow though. I was well over a minute slow but it was a hot day in a pretty hilly venue. He recovered very well, so we'll see. He has no cough, he hasn't been sneezing, has no temp, and is his normal cheery self. The other horses who were on the trailer with him and who go out with him have nothing.

[KellyS]

I've had 2 experiences in the past 2 years that would make me err on the side on caution in this situation--

1. Our event horse developed unilateral nasal discharge with no other clinical signs. However, radiographs and culture showed an abscessed tooth with major sinus infection. We lost the horse 7 months later due to complications from surgery to remove the tooth.

2. Our CDE pony developed bilateral nasal discharge that our vet assured me was just allergies. However, per previous experience, I had him come out to look at him anyway. Turned out he had a lung infection (had not been off the farm or exposed to other horses in months) which led to mild IAD (inflammatory airway disease). This pony was in active riding and driving work and looked fine other than the discharge. We are still managing him for the IAD.

Needless to say, I will never take a chance with possible respiratory issues again. If this were my horse and I was concerned about future impact on career, I'd definitely want my vet to come out and do a baseline exam in addition to:

--Radiographs
--Culture (of discharge)
--Blood analysis (to evaluate for infection, etc)
--Possible endoscopy of nasal passages

In the case of our TB, he develped a sinus infection that was resistant to most antibiotics available. The susceptibility of the bacteria present (if it is present) can only be assessed through culture. Doesn't do much good if they are resistant to SMZs (sulfa).

In the case of our pony, we completely skipped SMZs and went straight to Naxcel (cephalosporin). It is injectable and effective against a wider range of gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria.

Bottom line, no one event is worth jeopardizing your horse or other horses. Get a diagnosis and move forward from there. It could be something simple that clears us with SMZs, but if it isn't, it could cause long term damage (ie, to airways) if the horse is under stress (ie, completing a CIC**).