Gutteral Pouch Horse

The guttural pouches are unique to a small number of animal species including the horse.

Gutteral pouch horse.

The fungus has an affinity for growing on the surface of the guttural pouch overlying the nerves and arteries. Guttural pouch disease in horses empyema. What is the guttural pouch. The guttural pouches are structures that are unique to few species of animals.

These structures are large air filled sacs positioned on either side of the neck below the ear of the horse. There are two guttural pouches one on each side that are located just below the ear in the throatlatch region figure 1. It is an extension of the eustachian tube which is an air filled canal that connects the throat to the middle ear. Infection of the guttural pouch can be serious even life threatening.

With each breath or swallow a horse takes bacteria fungi or other infectious agents have ready access to the. Fortunately this type of equine infection is rare but all horse owners should know the symptoms. Guttural pouch mycosis is a fungal infection that affects horses. These structures are large air filled sacs positioned on either side of the neck below the ear of the horse.

Because of the nature of its workings a horse s guttural pouch may become a haven for bacteria fungi or. Guttural pouch empyema is defined as the. Guttural pouch mycosis gpm is a potentially life threatening disease that may initially present as a simple nosebleed epistaxis or even poor performance in an equine athlete. They are lined with a thin membrane which separates them from nerves and and arteries.

They are lined with a thin membrane which separates them from nerves and the jugular artery. The condition occurs in young horses from birth to 1 year of age and is more common in fillies than in colts. Guttural pouches are unique to few species of animals including the horse. They are positioned beneath the ear and each guttural pouch cavity in an adult horse can hold as much as a coffee mug.

One of the main functions of the guttural pouch is temperature regulation. Guttural pouch tympany in horses guttural pouch tympany occurs when the guttural pouch becomes abnormally filled with air causing nonpainful swelling just behind the jaw. They are sacs of air that expand from the eustachian tube with one on each side of the horse s head.