For over 300 years horse riders have seen blood at the nostrils during or soon after performance work in a percentage of athletically trained horses. With the advent of the modern endoscope, a flexible fibre-optic instrument, it has become appreciated that bleeding can be seen in the windpipe from one hour to several days after the exertion. Recent research has used radio-active blood cells to track these blood leakages from the lungs. The important conclusions from these investigations are (a) many more horses are bleeding internally than just the ones seen with blood at the nostrils, (b) in racing, most horses bleed at least once or many times in their career, (c) the blood is coming from the lungs during fast work. It is known that more than half of all racehorses bleed during racing, and some researchers have stated higher proportions, up to one hundred per cent. Bleeding is a common condition of racing horses and always has been.
The condition has been named Exercise Induced Pulmonary Hemorrhage or EIPH and the horses are commonly known as "bleeders". Most types of horse are susceptible, Thoroughbred, Standard bred, Quarter horse, Thoroughbred cross and Arab horses. In addition to racing, eventing, hunting and cross-country, and dressage, bleeding has also be found in horses kept for lighter recreational use. Where a horse is in work only seasonally or at irregular intervals bleeding can be acquired during periods of rest. When the horse is brought back into training, there is often unnoticed bleeding with distress and refusal for apparently unknown reasons. Bleeding is even known in heavy dray horses when they are asked for extra effort.
Why worry about bleeding? One consequence of bleeding is the formation of scar tissue. Clearly over time the oxygen exchange function of the lung may become reduced. Sometimes it is decided to euthanise "bleeding" horses. Researchers carrying out autopsy have seen signs of leakage from the lung capillaries. This is how the blood gets into the airway. The condition can become more severe if it continues for some years. It is obviously desirable to keep the lungs in good condition and racing fit for best performance from the horse.
Is there a positive test for bleeding? If bleeding is suspected the simple answer is to have the vet inspect the windpipe with an endoscope (known as 'scoping), one or more hours after vigorous exercise. A vet 'scoping horses is a familiar sight before race days in busy professional racing yards. There are other signs the horse owner can look out for. All horses have high blood pressure when running. The bleeders have slightly higher blood pressure when running. Looking at the horse after a workout, the nostrils may be a brighter red than normal. There may be redness or red lines at the side of the eyes. Extra pressure and bleeding may result in the horse stopping for no reason. For example, in show jumping, the horse has done well over the first six jumps, then stops for no reason and starts to shake its head. This is typical behaviour associated with extra high pressure. Racehorses rarely pull up as a result of the extra pressure, but they do sometimes. Racehorses will usually keep going, fuelled by adrenaline and competition with the other horses, but they can be bleeding from the lungs all the way. Another sign to look for is a dull dry coat, caused by poor circulation in the skin.
How can this bleeding condition be corrected? "There is no satisfactory treatment" states the British Horse Society Veterinary Manual 2003, recommending against any attempted first aid for "bleeders". But now there is a method of correcting the condition which is not first aid and which is not just temporary. A fresh Equiwinner Patch, an inert device, each day for ten days signals to the horse to reduce that extra high pressure back to the normal pressure associated with maximum exertion. Normal blood pressure is the low resting to high running scale of blood pressure found in a free running wild horse, or a domesticated endurance horse, rising with exertion but not so high as to cause distress or bleeding. The Equiwinner Patches start to work almost immediately. The horse can be ridden and normal training or competition continued. The Equiwinner Patch is an inert device that works by fuzzy logic signaling, a new technology with patents pending. Nothing from the Equiwinner Patch enters the body of the horse, so that the Equiwinner Patch is safe to use in all competitive sport and racing, and will not test positive. It is important to follow the use of the patches every day for ten days to reinforce the new healthy habituation. By following the Equiwinner Patches instructions the horse should be free of the condition of bleeding for the rest of the season, or up to twelve months. It is to be hoped that every horse owner would wish keep high performance horses in the best possible condition by use of this very simple device, the Equiwinner Patch.
Caution! Other cases of nose bleeding, such as injury, and particularly those cases not directly associated with exercise, may have a cause other than the normal bleeding condition described above and should be investigated by a competent person.
The above information is offered for information only and is not meant to be a substitute for the advice provided by your own veterinarian. You should not rely on the information for diagnosis of any specific situation. Always consult your own veterinarian for specific advice concerning the medical condition or treatment of any animal for whose care you are responsible. Equiwinner Patch is a fully guaranteed product. Liability is limited to the return monies paid for the product. In no event will Therapina Ltd be liable for any consequential, incidental, special, or punitive damages, however caused and under any theory of liability.