I have a new client, with a new horse he bought from a dealer. This horse bleeds from the nose constantly. Not just when running or exertion. A constant trickle.

The dealer swore that the vet looked at it and it's just a tumor that's not cancerous Anyways, my client talked to the "vet" which who knows who he really was...and the "vet" swore the horse was healthy.

So I gave the horse his first trim in a long while judging by the appearance of his hooves...he is super thin (I'm thinking anemic from bleeding all the time), wormy, etc. all the junk that comes from dealers, right?

So, any  ideas on the bleeding? Can't see anything, just a trickle of bright red blood. I tried to google it, but all I'm coming up with is the race horses that bleed from running. I think this is something worse. The owner has an appt with the vet next Monday.I'm just stumped and wondered if anyone else knows.

Oh, and he needs his teeth floated in a bad way just from the peek he allowed me into his mouth.

I'm glad the owner will have the vet out soon;  as you already know, there are alot of possibles.

My handy, dandy HO Veterinary Handbook says

"Nosebleeds do not ocur spontaneously in horses as they do in children.The majority are related to gutteral pouch mycosis, infections, tumors, and ethmoidal hematomas (more on this).  Bleeding tends to occur intermittently, often with the horse at rest.  The blood may be mixed with a mucopurulent discharge" (that even sounds yucky!)

"Bleeding from guttural pouch mycosis can be massive and life-threatening. Major bleeds are often preceded by intermittent minor bleeds from one nostril.

"Trauma to the face, especially when accompanied by a fracture of the nasal bones, is another cause of nosebleeds.

"A nosebleed may be a manifestation of a clotting disorder such as hemophilia, liver disease, warfarin poisoning, or dicumarol (moldy sweet clover) poisoning.  These causes are rare.

Infrequently, blood will be seen at the nostrils - suggesting a nosebleed - but the actual site of bleeding is in the lungs.

"Progressive ethmoidal hematoma affects the nasal turbinates.  This nonmalignant tumor is actually a growth of fibrous connective tissue and blood vessels.  The tumor-mass can become quite large, fill the entire nasal cavity and eventually become visible at the nostril.  The cause is unknown.

It goes on to say that malignant tumors are usually already metastisized when symptoms occur and treatment is usually "nonproductive".

Well, now that I've had my usual scare from reading the vet manual...

Keep us informed.  It sounds like this poor guy has more than one thing going on from long term neglect and abuse.  Was he supposed to be a rescue?  With what you are describing overall, it sounds like the buyer should have been able to clearly see that there were major health issues.  I hope he can be "fixed".

Scout went through treatment for an Ethmoidal Hemmatoma. I took him to Cornell University for injections. I'm thankful that it wasn't anything worse. When I had my vet come out and look at him first, she thought maybe he'd have to have surgery to have it removed. Which I wouldn't be able to afford, so I had my fingers crossed. But it was in a spot that was able to be reach by going up the nasel cavity. Scout's growth was large, it started out on one side of the cavity and expanded into the other side. They injected him and it went down quickly. He went back for a recheck a few weeks later. He still had some of it left so they injected him again.

I'm glad the vet is coming out to see him. Just make sure that the owner has him scoped to see it. That way they should be able to see where it is.

 http://merckvetmanual.com/mvm/index.jsp?cfile=htm/bc/121325.htm 

Thanks for the input guys! I'm betting it is a tumor. I'm supposed to stop by tomorrow to check another horse they have. (They got totally screwed by the dealer...they were new to horses, ended up with the bleeder, a foundered mare and an old mare that's half blind and arthritic. All of them needed dewormed and such. But the new owners are willing to do whatever to get them back to health. At least so far the horses have been pretty gentle, though a tad barn sour (except the foundered one, she was "sound" when they bought her, but when they brought her home she was lame so they haven't ridden her). I HATE it when dealers take advantage of newbies...if that's the first impression you get you're less likely to stay in the horse world.

Awesome question... this happend to CHANCE! last weekend and i was so busy with Zeus's colic I forgot to ask the vet... it was just a tiny bit and only lasted (off and on) for about 15-30 min... I wonder if I should be worried.  I'll call the vet Monday and ask.

None of these scenarios sound very good. Especially the part about the bleeding being constant. I would make the suggestion to the owners they NOT tie this horse for any length of time and avoid lengthy trailering, even to the vet, with the horse tied short. If it can't lower it's head to clear normal nasal discharges it all goes to the lungs (i.e.: shipping fever). Constant nasal bleeding then becomes even more problematic and dangerous.

I hope these "new" horse owners just wanted some nice lawn ornaments. I commend them for taking responsible action on behalf of the horses anyway, though.

Hoping for the best possible outcome here.... ~FH