Ear Problems
Dr. Jennifer MacLeay is an author and lecturer who is currently based
in Fort Collins, Colorado. Dr. MacLeay was born and grew up in Northern
New Jersey. Her interest in horses began early and she participated in
hunt seat equitation and eventing for many years. Dr. MacLeay has a Bachelor
of Science degree from the University of New Hampshire and received her
Doctor of Veterinary Medicine from the Ohio State University.
More about
Dr. MacLeay
Question
Hi, My name is Kathy. My four- year-old quarter horse gelding
has a real problem with his right ear. When I bought him a year ago he
had white scars in his ears due to ear mites. I put Swat in his ears whenever
I can to help keep them out of there. I haven't been able to touch his
right ear for 2 weeks now. He gets very irritated when I try, it's even
gotten so bad that when I go to bridle him I have to unbuckle the bridle
to get it on him. What do you suggest doing for this problem?
Thanks, Kathy
Answer
Hi Kathy, Your
horse may simply be ear shy and developed an aversion to having his ears
touched because of his previous medical problem. Back then it hurt to
have people handle his ears and now he associates having his ears touched
with pain. Some simple behavior modification of treats and going slow
might work.
However, I have a feeling your problem is not that and that you are dealing with a new problem. The product you mention is quite safe but whenever you put anything in your horses ears (even water) it may get down inside the ear canal and be very irritating and may set the stage for an ear infection. A horse's ear canal is very vertical and hard to clean. Horses can shake their head to try to get water, bugs or anything else out of their ear but that's all they can do. Have your veterinarian come out and sedate your gelding and have a look down inside the ear to make sure he doesn't have an infection.
Best of luck,
Jennifer MacLeay, DVM, Ph.D.
Diplomate ACVIM
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