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  Discussion on Roman nose
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Posted on Monday, Nov 12, 2001 - 6:25 pm:

My horse has a very prominent "Roman" nose,sometimes called a banana nose. I am interested in any information, or experiences, people have, which would indicate a problem with breathing with this type of nose. My horse seems to not be able to sustain his stamina during exercise and yet he does not seem to be extended or blowing at the end.

Posted on Tuesday, Nov 13, 2001 - 7:50 am:

I know there is a joke in here somewhere but no Robert, your horses stamina problem is not related to the Roman nose. For more probable causes see, Equine Diseases: Lameness: Exercise Intolerence and Poor Performance.
DrO

Posted on Wednesday, Nov 14, 2001 - 3:52 am:

No joke. I guess what i'm looking for is infomation on the possibilities of obstuction or reduced airflow[thus breathing]with the Roman nose.We had him scoped yesterday and the vet indicated a narrow airway in the nose was present.We're going to do a before and after training scope today. We're looking for any increase in restriction with the increase need for air created by the training.The narrowing of the nose airpassageway appears to be a hereditary problem. Any ideas on treatments or dealing with this would be appreciated.

Posted on Wednesday, Nov 14, 2001 - 10:09 am:

Hello Robert
The problem is not likely to be related to the Roman nose, I know plenty of such horses in the hunt field and that event that do just fine. If your horse just has conformationally narrow airways in the nasal passages, I do not know of any way to correct this nor have I ever heard of anyone diagnosing such a condition. In general the airway is not considered a limiting factor in exercise (pg 62, Equine Sports Medicine, Jones, 1989) unless some disease process is present.

If the nasal passages are narrowed due to some disease like a space occuying mass you will have to identify the mass and remove or treat it. Most commonly air way restriction diseases involve the entrance to the larynx, for more see, Equine Diseases: Respiratory System: Respiratory Noise in Exercising Horses.

What type of endeavor are you and your horse involved in and does he make any unusual noises when he exercises?
DrO

Posted on Saturday, Nov 17, 2001 - 12:52 am:

Dr O,
My horse is a standardbred pacer who is trained down and is racing approx each week.He is in good health,has a good coat,holds his weight well, and has no lameness showing.During a race or a training mile he will have good speed until around the three/quarter mile mark where he will "hit a wall" and slow up dramatically.He will not blow hard after this, and does not require a lot of cooling out.He does appear to "be trying" and not just quitting,but does appear to not be getting air at that point.We scoped him before and after training on Wednesday without finding anything of note other than the narrowing of the nasal passages.No bleeding or apparent problems in the throat area.Although he has no apparrent allergy symptons does he appear as a candidate for problems in that area?If so,how do you suggest investigating further.

Posted on Sunday, Nov 18, 2001 - 5:31 am:

I do have some ideas Robert. I have then laid out in the article, Equine Diseases: Lameness: Exercise Intolerence and Poor Performance. Don't forget to follow the links for more information on each condition or test.
DrO
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