Here's the story--any advice, similar cases you've heard about or seen, would be greatly appreciated!
I have owned horses for the better part of the last 25 years and have seen or dealt with many basic veterinary issues. I have no experience, however, with any respiratory type problems. Around September, my 8 year old Rocky Mountain gelding, Bull's Eye started to occasionally have this slight "rattling" type noise in his right nostril when he exhaled. It wasn't constant and everything else was perfectly normal except an occasional clear slight discharge out of that nostril. When this didin't clear up on its own I called my vet. She didn't feel the need to see him since his symtoms seemed minor and she sent me an antihistamine--- this seemed to help a tiny bit--but the symtoms never completetly went away. Then suddenly about a month ago he got worse--thick snot out of both nostrils, really quite different from what he had before---no coughing though and his appetite was still great, but now I got a vet to come out.
They scoped his nose and didn't find any blockages and said his guttural pouches are clear. They put him on two antibiotics. Then when the culture came back --it said it was Strep Zoo so they put him on a different antiobiotic for 10 days. He finished that course of meds a few days ago. He definitely does not have the thick major discharge any more--but he still has a slight discharge out of that right nostril and a slight tear streak out of his right eye---through all of this he has never missed a bite of a meal or a chance to run and play with the mare he lives with (btw he lives at a private boarding facility with no new horses in or out of the facility and no one else is sick. He is outside unless its bad weather.)
So I called my vet the other day and updated her and said I am willing to take him to an equine hospital to get to the bottom of this and get him what he needs. She finally just called me back and said she thinks that is a good idea and she will give me a referral and they will probably X-Ray his head--she said she could do the X-Ray, but if he needs any kind of complicated treatment it is probably better he is at the hospital. This is so frustrating and I'm also so worried, sigh....
I have owned horses for the better part of the last 25 years and have seen or dealt with many basic veterinary issues. I have no experience, however, with any respiratory type problems. Around September, my 8 year old Rocky Mountain gelding, Bull's Eye started to occasionally have this slight "rattling" type noise in his right nostril when he exhaled. It wasn't constant and everything else was perfectly normal except an occasional clear slight discharge out of that nostril. When this didin't clear up on its own I called my vet. She didn't feel the need to see him since his symtoms seemed minor and she sent me an antihistamine--- this seemed to help a tiny bit--but the symtoms never completetly went away. Then suddenly about a month ago he got worse--thick snot out of both nostrils, really quite different from what he had before---no coughing though and his appetite was still great, but now I got a vet to come out.
They scoped his nose and didn't find any blockages and said his guttural pouches are clear. They put him on two antibiotics. Then when the culture came back --it said it was Strep Zoo so they put him on a different antiobiotic for 10 days. He finished that course of meds a few days ago. He definitely does not have the thick major discharge any more--but he still has a slight discharge out of that right nostril and a slight tear streak out of his right eye---through all of this he has never missed a bite of a meal or a chance to run and play with the mare he lives with (btw he lives at a private boarding facility with no new horses in or out of the facility and no one else is sick. He is outside unless its bad weather.)
So I called my vet the other day and updated her and said I am willing to take him to an equine hospital to get to the bottom of this and get him what he needs. She finally just called me back and said she thinks that is a good idea and she will give me a referral and they will probably X-Ray his head--she said she could do the X-Ray, but if he needs any kind of complicated treatment it is probably better he is at the hospital. This is so frustrating and I'm also so worried, sigh....