Equine Sinus Infection Information

Identification

• Horses are primarily nasal breathers. They depend on their noses to get them the supply of oxygen they need to fuel those enormous bodies, especially during exercises. Some ways to tell if a horse is suffering from a sinus infection are noisy breathing, being winded easier, a resistance to exercise due to fatigue and a purulent discharge from one or both nostrils. If you horses is exhibiting any of these signs, along with an irritated disposition and just lack of normal vigor, there is a good chance that your horse has equine sinusitis.

Causes

• An equine sinus infection is caused in very much the same way as a human sinus infection. The horse breathes in irritants, be they mold, pollen, dust or other airborne particles, and these irritate the lining of the sinus cavities. The area becomes inflamed, and more irritants get stuck in the mucous. The body reacts to these invaders, causing more swelling and irritation, and the additional mucus just adds to the existing colonies of irritants. Before long, bacteria begin to grow in this mess, and you have a sickness brewing. Just as in humans, a sinus infection, if left untreated, can develop into the far more serious ailment of pneumonia.

Prevention/Solution

• One of the main causes of equine sinusitis is stalling. By keeping a horse penned up in one small area for the majority of its time, you are forcing it to live in an area that is used as its toilet as well as its dinner table. Ventilation, even in the best of stables, cannot compete with outside air movement, so particles from bedding and feed, mold spores from manure piles and urine spots and pollen from the hay given are all floating in a continuous cloud around the horse the entire time he is stalled. By making sure your horse spends more time outside than in or at least a good portion outside every day, clearing his lungs, you will go a long way in preventing equine sinus infections.

  If your horse is outside, but conditions are dry, dusty and still. it can be affected in much the same way as if it were stalled. So taking time to wet down the ground or move the horse to a less dusty area is well worth the trouble and effort.

Treatments

• The first thing to do is get your horse some fresh air. Get him outside, and keep him outside for awhile. If the discharge coming from his nose is thick and yellow, you will need antibiotics to help you clear the infection out. If his nose is just running, and he has a dry cough, it is likely you can get him past it with a little TLC. Give him a soothing bran mash with some corn oil in it to ease his throat. If he continues congested, you can purchase an oral antihistamine from the veterinarian's office and even in some feed stores. That will help clear his airways and make breathing easier. You can also take Vick's VapoRub and apply it to his nostrils. It works just as well on horses as it does on people.

Warning

• If your horse should develop any of these symptoms--a deep cough or fever, the discharge from his nose turns thicker and comes from both nostrils, lacks appetite or appears lethargic--it is time to get the vet out and quickly. Equine sinusitis can turn into pneumonia if left untreated or if the infection worsens despite your care. If the horse's fever spikes into a high one, you need to load up your horse and haul him to the nearest animal hospital. The quicker you can treat pneumonia, the better the prognosis.