Endurance.Net Ridecamp Archives

> It is also possible that the blood may be originating from the guttural
> pouches, and possibly related to a fungal problem (guttural pouch mycosis).
> The guttural pouches in horses are somewhat unique in that the internal
> carotid artery runs past it at a very shallow depth as a heat loss mechanism
> during exercise.  A fungal infection can erode the artery wall and can
> potentially cause a fatal blowout.  Don't lose sleep over it yet,
> though---if there were a fungus up in there, you would generally also be
> seeing other symptoms and it's doubtful he would have otherwise performed
> well at an endurance ride.

I would add, though, that you don't always see other symptoms!  I lost a really 
lovely mare this way.  She was not participating in endurance rides yet, but 
she was in training, and doing great.  She was full of life, slick, shiny, and 
otherwise the picture of health.  Came out one morning and found her dead, bled 
out through the nose, and it was an erosion in a gutteral pouch...  So yes, 
ditto what Susan said--get the horse scoped, and see if you can find out where 
the blood is coming from.

Heidi

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