This can provide important information regarding damage involving these areas and is particularly useful if blood is coming from one or both nostrils (epistaxis). Endoscopic examination (‘scope’) involves placing a long flexible tube up the horse’s nostril with a camera on the end to examine the nasal passages, including sinus openings and guttural pouches. Radiographs (X-rays) are valuable for locating and determining the presence and extent of bone fractures and whether the sinuses or brain cavity may be affected. Once the initial assessment has been completed there are a variety of diagnostic tools available to further evaluate abnormalities identified should the veterinarian consider this necessary. Identifying these abnormalities will help the vet to localise the most likely site of nerve or brain injury. If trauma involves the eyes or surrounding area, a thorough examination of eyelid and eye function (an ophthalmologic exam) will be carried out to ensure the eye or surrounding structures are not damaged.Ī neurologic assessment would also be performed, where the vet will look for signs such as head tilt, abnormal eye or ear position, blindness, muscle paralysis, depression or an altered gait. This could include an oral exam to look for injury inside the mouth or failure of the teeth to normally line up (malocclusion) which may indicate a fracture of the jaw. The veterinarian’s first step in assessing head trauma would be a thorough physical examination of the horse with a detailed inspection of the symmetry of the skull. For example if the horse is seizuring on the ground the handler should not put themselves in a position to be injured by the horse, which is unaware that they are there, and padding should be placed around it to minimise the damage the horse may do to itself. The most important thing is to maintain a calm relaxed environment, call the vet and minimise danger firstly to the people around the horse and secondly to the horse. In extreme circumstances the horse may be knocked out or suffer a seizure on the ground. A horse with a head injury that has caused damage to the brain may show signs of changed behaviour, disorientation or become non-responsive to people or objects around them. Lacerations and grazes to the skin are often the most obvious signs of injury, however injuries to deeper structures may be less obvious initially. The severity of damage, and the structures involved, will determine what treatment is required and the ultimate outcome for the horse. Head trauma requires rapid expert attention as, depending on the severity of the injury, it can result in damage to various structures including skin, bone, nerves, the eyes and the brain. These types of injuries are seen more commonly in younger horses and are often associated with the breaking-in period, or as a consequence of paddock accidents. Head injury in horses can occur during accident or misadventure but it is typically a result of the head hitting either another object or the ground due to shying, bolting, pulling back, rearing up and over or a kick to the head from another horse. The Equine Veterinarians Australia (EVA) will be conducting clinics and demonstrations at Equitana Asia Pacific at the Melbourne Showgrounds Nov 20-23rd 2008.Ī blow to the head may appear to be nothing more than a surface injury yet, underlying damage, if severe, could have long-term effects on the horse's health and performance. Struthers, Department of Infectious Diseases and Pathology, University of Florida, Gainesville, USA.By Dr Chris O'Sullivan and Dr Tamara McElroy (EVA) Plummer, Department of Large Animal Clinical Sciences, University of Florida, Gainesville, USA S. Systemically administered iron and calcium chelation therapy may enable some horses to recover vision.”ĭ. It appears that blunt trauma to the skull results in intracranial injury to the optic nerve at the optic chiasm from mechanical and vascular mechanisms. “Blindness from head trauma is a serious debilitating disease in the horse. This article is available on Wiley Online Library ( ) Dennis Brooks and colleagues discuss causes and treatments for blindness and eye problems caused by traumatic brain injury in the article “Traumatic brain injury manifested as optic neuropathy in the horse: A commentary and clinical case.” These injuries can cause damage to the brain that can cause blindness. Many horses have accidents where they strike their heads, whether from falls, rearing and going backward or other types of injuries.
Credit: Thinkstock Blindness can result from traumatic head injury in horses.