My neighbor asked me to plumb the rich experience
of ride Camp as she and her vet are stumped. She as a fat and otherwise healthy
quarter horse who spends 100 percent of his time being pampered and munching in
his barn or pasture. (read...never ridden).But he gets the best of dental,
farrier and vet care.
Within the past three weeks, he has developed a
very strange head tossing. Not from side to side but straight up in the air.
Sometimes repeatedly and sometimes only once. He can be grazing in the field or
standing in the barn and will suddenly, almost violently throw his nose straight
up and then down. He has also begun to walk with his nose almost dragging the
ground in a most unusual way. In between these bouts of head tossing, he seems
perfectly normal.
Two days ago, he had his dental appointment and the
vet checked for anything abnormal (nothing). The vet is stymied because he said
he has never seen a horse toss his head in this direction repeatedly. He
conjectured a possible infection. He thinks that if it were a foxtail lodged
somewhere the direction of the head toss would be from side to
side.
He suggested waiting about a week adn then if it
has not abated, he can use an endoscope to check for foreign material perhaps
lodged in his nasal passage.
Anyone out there seen this sort of
behavior?
Pat
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