Injury to head

Question
Hey, a few days ago my horse fell in her stable, i know she could not have slipped because she has a full stable bed of shavings, i went to see her around 3 o'clock on Tuesday afternoon and noticed she had a swollen ear, face, nose, and eye. i had the vet out the same day and i was wondering if the blood that was coming out of her ear would be off any kind of cut that was not visible, or if she has some sort of tumor inside her head. Many Thanks, Nicole x

Answer
Nicole:

the blood from the ear is common to see after head trauma. It is not due to a cut of any sort. this can occur with a fracture in the base of the skull or due to a rupture of a muscle associated with the guttural pouch (ear tube) in the horse. It is not any specific indication of a tumor. I cant surmise why she would have fallen, but sometimes horses that colic intensely may traumatize the skull. Something could have spooked her as well. The blood you have seen I would be fairly certain is due to trauma to the skull. let me know if I can help you any further.