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Discussion on How do I diagnose a cleft palate?
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Member:
lkb8190
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Posted on Wednesday, Mar 25, 2009 - 4:01 am:
I have a new filly, very big and strong, nursing strongly, mare has lots of milk so while sucking on one teat the other is dripping/streaming milk. She sounds gurgly while she's nursing and afterwards and I'm not sure if she's aspirating some of the milk that's dripping or if she's possibly got a cleft palate. I can't feel any abnormality in her mouth - how is this diagnosed positively, DrO? She does sometimes have milk dripping from her nose after nursing so that's my first thought.
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Moderator:
DrO
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Posted on Wednesday, Mar 25, 2009 - 7:05 am:
Hello Lisa,
It is not normal to have milk dripping from the nostrils after nursing. However you put forth a scenerio where the mare is squirting milk from the other teat while nursing which may be the source of the milk.
You diagnose a cleft palate by opening the mouth and carefully visualizing the palate. A good flash light in a dimly lit room may help. Defects further back in the oropharyngeal area may need a scope.
DrO
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Member:
lkb8190
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Posted on Wednesday, Mar 25, 2009 - 9:58 am:
Thanks DrO, I did use a headlamp to look inside her mouth and couldn't see any defect in the hard palate. I found a photo online of a soft palate defect but don't have a scope to see that. I didn't notice the problem last time I saw her nurse so I'm hopeful that it was just milk overflow! Thanks for the quick answer!
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Member:
dres
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Posted on Wednesday, Mar 25, 2009 - 10:01 am:
Lisa we had a colt born that when nursed leaked from the nose.. we had him scoped and it ended up his swallow was not working correctly so when he was in the nursing position he leaked milk down his throat to his lungs.. yup got pneumonia.. we had to pan feed him with head down for over two months till his swallow became stronger , it was a nightmare of a time.. we kept him muzzled so he could not nurse and then milked the mare to keep her milk production going .. all ended well..
I suggest you get a vet out there to listen to his lungs right away..
On the first day God created horses, on the second day he painted them with spots..
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Member:
dres
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Posted on Wednesday, Mar 25, 2009 - 10:07 am:
On the first day God created horses, on the second day he painted them with spots..
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Moderator:
DrO
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Posted on Wednesday, Mar 25, 2009 - 12:57 pm:
Ann, did your foal cough much? In general it is felt coughing is not a regular feature of such aspiration.
DrO
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Member:
dres
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Posted on Wednesday, Mar 25, 2009 - 1:26 pm:
Dr. O he never coughed at all.. We noticed right away he was a strong sucker but the milk would drip steadily out of his nose when he pulled away from the mare .. We took him to UCD within 4 hours of birth..
On the first day God created horses, on the second day he painted them with spots..
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Member:
erika
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Posted on Wednesday, Mar 25, 2009 - 3:49 pm:
Awww!! Poor little guy! What a picture!
Thanks for sharing it, Ann, glad to hear he came out okay.
Lisa, I hope yours is just a drippy mare problem!
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Member:
36541
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Posted on Wednesday, Mar 25, 2009 - 9:53 pm:
Ann, is this your now quite spirited gelding shown on the spring riding thread?
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Member:
dres
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Posted on Wednesday, Mar 25, 2009 - 10:35 pm:
Stacy, this is the one.. he will most likely realize just under 17 hhs tall.. .. He is full of himself becus of the hand / pan feeding for so long.. I spoiled him cus well.. he was so cute and it was so pitiful him wearing that mask for so long and ...and.. But this boy can move out..
On the first day God created horses , on the second day he painted them with spots..
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Member:
lkb8190
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Posted on Thursday, Mar 26, 2009 - 12:52 am:
Thanks Ann, I've got the vet coming tomorrow morning and will have her listen to the lungs - but I'm relieved to report that the problem seems to have resolved - she hasn't had any milk dripping from her nose because she seems to have figured out a position to nurse where she doesn't get sprayed! The mare puts out milk so profusely that it literally streams from both teats once the filly starts nursing, so she has to work fast and hard to keep up until the pressure is relieved, then she can drink normally. I've been watching her through the day and she's scampering around the stall and acting normal, I can't hear anything unusual but the vet will be here tomorrow to verify that. Her only trouble now is a mildly contracted tendon on one front fetlock, so she's wrapped to support that - but that's another discussion! Thanks for the additional info - I haven't run across that problem so now have another thing to watch for. If I find out anything different I'll post the vet's findings tomorrow. Thanks again Ann & DrO!
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