DISCHARGE ID

The color, consistency and odor of nasal secretions reveal important information about their source and your horse’s health.

• Thin, gray, frothy snot, particularly from one nostril, is a hallmark of a guttural pouch infection.

• Foul-smelling discharge can be produced by an infected tooth or sinus. It may be accompanied by headshaking, reluctance to eat or other signs of discomfort.

• Thick, creamy pus is indicative of an infection, such as bacterial bronchitis, rhinopneumonitis or strangles.

• Bright red blood is usually a sign of injury to the interior of the nostril, but it can also come from a severe guttural pouch bleed or burst capillaries0 within the lungs if the horse has recently exerted himself.

• Dark blood draining from the nose has usually collected elsewhere first, perhaps in the guttural pouches or sinuses.

• Thin, watery discharge with no other sign of illness is usually a reaction to cold air or other airborne irritants.