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  Discussion on Water runs out of his nose?
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Posted on Friday, Jun 28, 2002 - 9:50 pm:

Hi this is not a problem but one of curiosity. My horse when he drinks,. water pours out of his nostrils. He is perfectly fine. I have never seen this before. Is this common? Dr O what would cause this.

Posted on Saturday, Jun 29, 2002 - 7:43 am:

Drip yes but water pouring back out is not common and I wonder if it refluxes from the back of the pharynx or if he just sticks his head down that far?.
DrO

Posted on Saturday, Jun 29, 2002 - 7:58 am:

Hi Dr O,
Its definatly more than a drip. He doesn't stick his head that far down either. Very strange. The manager of the barn first noticed it and could not believe her eyes. He is in excellent condition. Katrina

Posted on Sunday, Jun 30, 2002 - 7:27 am:

How far is not that far, Katrina, does he submerge his nostrils completely for instance.
DrO

Posted on Sunday, Jun 30, 2002 - 2:29 pm:

Hi Dr O
He just puts his lips in. His nostrils are out of the water the whole time. Katrina

Posted on Monday, Jul 1, 2002 - 3:15 am:

It would be interesting to scope the horse to see if there are any abnormalities in the back of the pharynx.
DrO

Posted on Monday, Jul 1, 2002 - 8:30 am:

We had a gelding on our yard that used to lose lots of water down his nose when he drank. It used to swill all the chewed up grass and feed out too so his water bucket always needed changing. He had a palate problem, something was deformed I think and certainly he couldn't whinny, just make breathy noises.

Posted on Monday, Jul 1, 2002 - 10:32 am:

Hi Helen and dr o,
I think I will get him scoped or at least talk to my vet next time I have him out for his shots.
Helen he doesn't do this with feed and he whinnies just fine so maybe its something else. Its a strange thing though. Thanks for your thoughts. Katrina

Posted on Tuesday, Jul 2, 2002 - 6:36 am:

They should be able to visualize most of the soft palate Katrina on the endoscopic exam. The soft palate is the "flapper valve" that prevents reflux of food and liquid back into the nasal
passages so it certainly deserves a close look. The problem however may not be anatomical but functional in which case the problem may not be visualized.

Sometimes under absolutley ideal conditions, or in many heavily sedated horses, much of the soft palate can be visualized from the mouth. So while they are scoping they ought to try and take a look. The problem is many horses manage to ge the tonque up and in the way preventing a clear shot at it.
DrO

Posted on Monday, Jul 29, 2002 - 6:22 pm:

Hi Katrina,
I had this exact same problem with a TB off the track who had surgery for roaring before I got him. The trainer was kind enough to provide all the info on the surgery he'd had at New Bolton.
It was never a performance problem for him.
Is this horse perchance an ex-racehorse?
Linda

Posted on Monday, Jul 29, 2002 - 7:55 pm:

Hi Linda,
No he he is not an ex race horse. He never roared etc. He is a 5 year old arab gelding who has been under saddle now close to a year. I still havent had the vet out as it doesnt bother him. When he has his next check up soon. I will get him scoped. Thank you for your reply Katrina

Posted on Sunday, Aug 4, 2002 - 2:16 am:

Katrina,
Humm this is interesting. I noticed my new horse with water running out of his nose the other day after he took a drink out of his bucket while I was holding it. He was holding on to the drink his lips closed with the tip of his tongue sticking out letting it slowly go down. He just put his lips in. I have also noticed he has a indent at the base of his neck where it runs into the top of his chest, he has always had a noise like the sound you would hear when you blow into a bottle, not a roaring sound and not while we are loping or galloping I hear it while he is eating or resting. Do you see any of this or hear anything like this?
Judy
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