What are the reasons for horses getting nose bleeds?
Horses do not tend to have spontaneous nosebleeds, so there has to be a reason why it has happened. A nosebleed — properly termed epistaxis — occurs when any part of the nasal passages (which are richly supplied with blood vessels), throat, lower airways or lungs are injured to such a degree that blood vessels are damaged and blood leaks out. The commonest cause is a simple knock on the head, when alarmingly large amounts of blood may pour from one nostril. Such traumatic nosebleeds are usually self-limiting, but always consult your vet. Nosebleed are also common reason if the delicate nasal tissues are knocked inadvertently when a vet passes a stomach tube up from the nostril. Sometimes this is inevitable, particularly if the horse moves at the wrong moment, but the bleeding always stops. A moderate nosebleed, if accompanied by coughing, suggests a foreign body wedged in the nose or throat. Occasionally tumours somewhere in the respiratory tract or inflammation of the sinuses (sinusit
