# Are Nose Bleeds Normal?



## KTSpeedhorse (Mar 10, 2009)

:-(After working my mare yesterday. I noticed she was bleeding out of one side of her nose. I did notice that she had a bit of a runny nose earlier but it was clear, not yellow or greenish. I did not see her hit her face on anything and am not sure why she would have one. It did stop without any treatment. Any ideas???


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## farmpony84 (Apr 21, 2008)

no. Nosebleeds are something that need to be checked ASAP.


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## KTSpeedhorse (Mar 10, 2009)

farmpony84 said:


> no. Nosebleeds are something that need to be checked ASAP.


Ok. So what can they be a symptom of? Do you know?


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## farmpony84 (Apr 21, 2008)

I take it back. I was always told that a nosebleed in a horse was VERY serious but I just surfed the web and from what I've seen it's not as huge a deal as I was thinking.


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## G and K's Mom (Jan 11, 2008)

Usually if it's coming from one nostril only it's from the head or a cut inside the nostril. If it was coming out both nostrils it could be a sign that they were bleeding internally. If you worked her hard it could be exercise induced pulmonary hemorrhage.

If it's a "one of" incident, out of one nostril, I wouldn't be going into panic mode, but if it happens again then it needs to be looked at. (this is just me, I don't call the vet for every little thing, you may feel better calling).

This has lots of good information:

Understanding nosebleeds - Horse&Hound online


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## KTSpeedhorse (Mar 10, 2009)

Me too. Looks like I'm just going to have to keep an eye on her and see if this is happens again and such. Thanks tho : )


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## Sarah Murphy (Mar 25, 2009)

Nose bleeds after a workout usually mean that the lungs are bleeding, if a horse is pushed past its limit the lungs will usually bleed, to have it actually coming out of the nose means that it is pretty **serious. You have to look at how hard you are working her and if her endurance is up to par.

**serious meaning it can hurt as well as effect their health at that time. But it is not life threatening. If the blood is in the lungs it could take up 2 weeks for it to dry up and the horse should not be worked hard durning this time**

The best way to figure out what is going on is to get your vet out to scope her after you work her. even if you do not see blood coming out of her nose there could still be traces in her lungs. You should wait about 45 min after you give her a good work out, then scope. In case you dont know, a scope is a tiny camera inserted up their nose into their lung. It is not as invassive(sp?) as it sounds and will help you find out what the cause is, it could just be allergies....


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## BluMagic (Sep 23, 2007)

Overwork and/or dehydration


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## appylover31803 (Sep 18, 2007)

You could always call up your vet and see what your vet recommends. Talking is free


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## morganshow11 (Dec 19, 2008)

Nosebleeds are fairly uncomman in horses. Trauma to the nose si your first possibility- a hard blow to the nose or a laceration or irritation to the nasal canal. But these dont happen that often.
I do not think horses are prone to dry sinuses or allergies, so i would assume that is not the case.
The big worry i would have is Guttural Pouch disease, which is the most comman causes of heavy nosebleeds. Guttural pouch is a pouch at the base of the horse's skull. Occasionally horses can get infection or bacteria into these pouches which can cause chronic problems. Worst yet, if they get a fungus there the fungus can slowly irritate the main arteries, and the horse can begin to have repeated nosebleeds. If left untreated the arteries will burst and the horse will rapidly bleed to death(which does not sound like it would happen to your horse since the blood is out of one nostril, adn not both).
I dont think it is horribly comman, but they do suggest that horses with nosebleeds be investigted for this as it is one of the main causes of nosebleeds. If this was my horse i would keep a close eye on her(like you said) for now. I would not be hauling her off to the vet after one minor nosebleed. But if i found heavy bleeding in the snow after this, or repeated minor bleeding, i think i would be visiting a good equine vet soon.

I hope you wont be too paroniod with my comment about gluttal pouch mycosis. But i wanted you to know a worst case senario in case the nosebleeds continue. Hopefully this was a one time thing and it wont happen again!


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## NewHeart (Dec 10, 2008)

morganshow11 said:


> Nosebleeds are fairly uncomman in horses.


Actually, nosebleeds are more common than you think. It happens a lot it in barrel horses and other performance horses. Although it something to watch, my first thought would be induced pulmonary hemorrhage such as G and K's Mom had mentioned; generally these horses become labeled as "bleeders". There is a helpful article about it in this months Barrel Horse News, the OP might be able to find some helpful information there. Another idea would be to get information from your vet as well. 

I would not worry a whole lot about it unless it becomes a reoccurring issue, defiantly something to keep an eye on though. Good Luck!


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## KTSpeedhorse (Mar 10, 2009)

Thanks everyone. I did call the vet and he is not too concerned because it was out of one nostril and not both, so most likely not a pulmanary hematoma or anything. He said it was most likely a broken membrane and only to be concerned if it happens again. I rode again tonight and no problems what so ever. Thanks for all of the info : )


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## smrobs (Jul 30, 2008)

Yep, they are actually pretty common in TB's and slightly less common in QH but still not rare. If it is just one nostril and the horse shows no signs of trouble breathing or pain, generally it is just a capillary in the nose that broke. If it gets to be a very common thing, you may want to talk to your vet about possibly cauterizing the offending vein.


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## NewHeart (Dec 10, 2008)

Glad to hear that he is doing better.


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## Spastic_Dove (Oct 4, 2007)

If it is coming from both nostrils and is regular, I would be concerned, right now it just looks like something that needs to be monitored.


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## morganshow11 (Dec 19, 2008)

I am sure it is just a deep cut in the nostril, if it has not happend again


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## KTSpeedhorse (Mar 10, 2009)

I love this place!! Thanks for every comment ; ) One person did say dehydration and overworked, but that cant be the cause of Millie's bleed. She has open access to fresh water and right now we are only working at a walk trot and not for an extended period of time. Thanks tho. This was all good feedback.


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## BluMagic (Sep 23, 2007)

I'm glad its not either! Honestly, I think it could even be as simple as dry nose. My nose bleeds when I don't drink water in sports, even if I am drinking Gatorade. Sometimes noses bleed if they are dry as well. Blu's had a bloody nose once. But it didn't really concern me much. I just figured it was water and it hasn't happened since.


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## Jessabel (Mar 19, 2009)

Nosebleeds aren't normal. If it was a particularly intense workout, it could mean internal bleeding. Like pulmonary hemorrhaging. That's serious. Get the vet out there ASAP. And watch for bleeding from the mouth, too. Don't work her any more until she's checked out.


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## JsJ204 (Mar 18, 2009)

Im not sure where you live, but my mare gets nose bleeds as the weather changes. Just like yours, its only out of one nostril. For people, when the weather changes, your skin and hair dry out... When the weather changes, Sasha gets a nose bleed because the skin in her nostril cracks. We just put some vasoline in her nostril. Works everytime.


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