my mare came in yesterday with her ear flopping down to the side, obviously really bothering her and man is it making her cranky!   i looked best she would let me and dont see anything obvious.   it's no better today.

any ideas or suggestions on how to clean or flush her ear, or just leave it alone??

Bet she has a big ol' tick inside her ear.

That's NEVER fun.

Happy to report that the mare and the ear are back to normal this morning.   I suspected it was a bug in there is why I wasn't to hasty to haul her to the vet for big $$'s.

You should still call the vet, she may need antibiotics!

You need to watch her carefully, those tick bites can turn ugly in a matter of days.  Any fever and you are looking at a HUGE vet bill.

 I am keeping a close eye on her.   She had a similar problem a time or 2 when we lived in Colorado a few years ago and came out fine....again, I assumed it was a bug in there.  Flopped the ear down and was touchy for a couple of days, then resolved.   I have yet to see a tick on a horse or dog where we live,,,,not to say they aren't here somewhere.   I"m not too anxious to have her knocked out so they can look deep in there if not necessary.

I do check my animals minimum of twice a day top to bottom so she is closely watched. 

If I see any signs of infection or reoccurence she will be vet checked.

Thank you for your concern.