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Nerve paralysis
My 6 month old Arab filly I bought in June has injured (I hope it's just an
injury) her facial nerve on the left side. Two weeks ago the upper lip on
the left side did not line up with the bottom lip and was pulling to the
right, making her left nostril elongated and pointing to the right. Her
cheek was swollen.
It took a over a week, but everything seemed to start working again, and
this past Saturday she looked perfectly normal.
Sunday morning I found her with worse symptoms than the first go 'round.
Her bottom lip is totally useless. It just hangs and flops. Her upper lip
is again pulling to the right. I got the vet out on Monday and he saw
something I had not and that was her inability to close her left eye
completely.
He tried to determine if she could hear out of her left ear and we decided
she could. Her head is not tilting like a brain stem injury.
The soft part of her cheek near her mouth seems to stay swollen. It is even
more obvious when she has been eating and the food balls up there and then
falls out.
When she nurses and the left side of her head is facing the ground she
looses all the milk. When she is on the other side of her mother with the
right side down she can keep the milk in her mouth.
The vet's only conjecture was injury to the left facial nerve or, possibly
PME. This filly has been going through the weaning process and every now and
then gets fractious in her stall and she could have very well whacked her
head.
I am giving her injections of Banamine and putting ointment in the eye to
prevent it drying out.
She is pretty sad looking at the moment. She is a beautiful filly and I
have hopes of showing her at halter next year, but that is the least of my
worries. How in the world would she ever feel a snaffle bit with
half her face numb if it turns out to be permanent? She has quickly adapted
to eating without her prehensile lips. She tongues the feed in.
Has anyone seen nerve damage like this and what was the outcome?
Ellen
Memphis
---- Begin included message ----
My 6 month old Arab filly I bought in June has injured (I hope it's just an
injury) her facial nerve on the left side. Two weeks ago the upper lip on the
left side did not line up with the bottom lip and was pulling to the right,
making her left nostril elongated and pointing to the right. Her cheek was
swollen.
It took a over a week, but everything seemed to start working again, and this
past Saturday she looked perfectly normal.
Sunday morning I found her with worse symptoms than the first go 'round. Her
bottom lip is totally useless. It just hangs and flops. Her upper lip is
again pulling to the right. I got the vet out on Monday and he saw something
I had not and that was her inability to close her left eye completely.
He tried to determine if she could hear out of her left ear and we decided she
could. Her head is not tilting like a brain stem injury.
The soft part of her cheek near her mouth seems to stay swollen. It is even
more obvious when she has been eating and the food balls up there and then
falls out.
When she nurses and the left side of her head is facing the ground she looses
all the milk. When she is on the other side of her mother with the right side
down she can keep the milk in her mouth.
The vet's only conjecture was injury to the left facial nerve or, possibly
PME. This filly has been going through the weaning process and every now and
then gets fractious in her stall and she could have very well whacked her
head.
I am giving her injections of Banamine and putting ointment in the eye to
prevent it drying out.
She is pretty sad looking at the moment. She is a beautiful filly and I have
hopes of showing her at halter next year, but that is the least of my worries
about it. How in the world would she ever feel a snaffle bit with half her
face numb if it turns out to be permanent? She has quickly adapted to eating
without her prehensile lips. She tongues the feed in.
Has anyone seen nerve damage like this and what was the outcome?
Ellen
Memphis
---- End included message ----
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