I have 18 month old cross Paint Stock Horse gelding. He had diarrhea for some time and now has a swollen scrotum and some swelling on his belly just forward of his scrotal area. I can’t see his penis at all. Vet came and gave him antibiotics and anti-inflammatory shots last week. the diarrhea has stopped but swelling is still in scrotum same size about as big as oranges. VET DOESN’T KNOW WHAT IT IS, but said he may come back for blood to do tests if swelling doesn’t go away in a week. Any ideas for my little boy? His respiration and temperature are ok and he is eating ok.

Dr Kimberly Gryl’s Answer:

Mark:

This is a difficult question to answer, as so many things can cause diarrhea.  Some parts of the country have a sand problem, so that may need to be added to your list of possible causes.  If you live in one of those areas, it would be a good idea to start your horse eating psyllium.  Your local veterinarian can give you a feeding schedule that is appropriate for your area.

The swelling in the sheath and bottom of the belly is probably caused by excess fluid between those cells.  Usually that is caused by protein leakage out of the blood vessels, and gravity tends to pull the excess fluid down.  Thus, the sheath is usually the first thing to swell.  Some things you can do to help decrease the swelling are sheath massage (if tolerated – be careful to not get kicked!), cold/cool water hosing, anti-inflammatories (which you’ve started on), and exercise.  Even if you cannot do the first the massage or cold hosing, the exercise may be your best chance at reducing; it improves blood and lymph circulation.  You can expect that this will take several days, and may not completely reduce back to normal but should help some.  Thankfully the diarrhea has stopped.  I hope this helps.