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Message |
    
Dorthy Brown
Weanling
Username: Dodib
Post Number: 33
Registered: 04-2006
| | Posted on Wednesday, January 03, 2007 - 03:50 pm: | 
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I may just be a worrier but how can you tell if your mare if just having normal edema or if she may have the starting of prepubic tendon rupturing?? I have a draft cross mare for the first time(never had drafts) she is around 15 has had other foals--I have no idea how many. She was bred when I got her have no idea how far along--at this point the vets guess is between 7-9 months--well last month the guess was between 6-8.........she just recently got a pretty large area on the very bottom of her belly of what I assumed was edema but its hard its not soft like I thought edema would be. Its not back by her udder either but right at the very bottom point of the belly. She has no udder starting at all so I know she is not nearing delivery(even though we are still just guessing when she may have it)
Can edema be hard? She is eating fine moving around fine seems in no discomfort. Should I just watch her?/ |
Kris Moos
Breeding Stock
Username: Kris
Post Number: 893
Registered: 01-2006
| | Posted on Wednesday, January 03, 2007 - 05:16 pm: |
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my mare did that as well, she was about 10 months when it started and as she progressed it did as well. it too started at the point of the belly and was hard, it didnt get soft until the last week or so, then it was about 4 inches thick, and softer. Here is what it looked like the day before she foaled, it had spread from front to back. [IMG]http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e222/krismoos/101_6571.jpg[/IMG]
I worried like you, the vet even told me that if she didnt seem in pain when i pressed it she was probably swelling which is common earlier in older or overwight mares, mine was both(she was 17 in photo) it did begin to bother her about a week before foaling. He also told me to slowly walk her 15 mins per day to try to reduce hte edema.
just a few things i was told...but all mares are different...good luck!
if all else fails call the vet. |
Joni G Hyrick
Neonate
Username: Jhyrick
Post Number: 1
Registered: 11-2006
| | Posted on Wednesday, January 03, 2007 - 05:53 pm: |
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I have a now 21 year old Arabian mare that gets edema from her udder through her front leg area.
We were in a bit of a panic about it last year, when her previous breeder told me she gets really big, in fact, looks as if she'll explode. We cut back on protein and walked or ponied her everyday. This did not start however until about a month before her due date. If it were me, I'd ask the vet about it, so I'd have a better comfort level.
Here's a section I found on www.horseadvice.com:
Ventral Midline Swellings (VMS), a common event
A healthy mare in the last month of pregnancy will occasionally develop VMS that can be remarkable. The swelling forms along the belly just in front of the teats and may reach all the way forward to between the front legs. This swelling represents passive edema, it is cool and pits when pressure is put on it. There are some less common but more serious causes of ventral swelling in the late gestational mare including:
inflammation of the placenta
mastitis
herniation
prepubic tendon rupture
It can be hard to differentiate uncomplicated from serious causes but some clues that it is not a problem are:
The swelling begins within several weeks before normal foaling and develops slowly.
The swelling is cool, nonpainful, and bilaterally symmetrical down the midline.
The mammary fluid does not have clots or blood.
It accompanies enlargment of the breasts.
No other signs of disease, no fever, and/or no colic.
If you are uncertain as to what you are looking at consult your veterinarian. For uncomplicted swelling exercise is probably the best treatment and it will resolve when the foal is born and begins nursing. |
Amanda Gilbert
Yearling
Username: Amanda
Post Number: 94
Registered: 11-2005
| | Posted on Wednesday, January 03, 2007 - 06:56 pm: |
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My older TB mare last year had this problem. She was bred to an Arab and was not over due she got a ridge line from her front legs all the way back and the skin started weeping and spliting open. In the end she was induced and was unable to push at all. She now has never damage and has yet to realy recover from foaling. here is a pic of her taken shortly before she was induced. She did have a big healthy foal. http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j179/Aagilbert/100_0741.jpg
I would call you vet and have them out asap if you think that this is going on. Amanda Let me know if there is any ? I can help you with
Amanda |
Dorthy Brown
Weanling
Username: Dodib
Post Number: 34
Registered: 04-2006
| | Posted on Thursday, January 04, 2007 - 08:00 am: |
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I will try walking her and see if that helps at all. I guess the reason it concerned me is because its so hard. If it was soft like I thought edema would be,my mare last year had no edema so this is my first experience with something like this, then I wouldn't be concerned. Also if I knew when she had been bred I may not be so concerned--if I could say she was "due" in approx a month or so but I truly have no idea the vet gave an educated guess--he did ultrasound but said its so hard to tell at this point until the foal actually is practically in birth canal. Especially because she is a large mare. Her belly has grown A LOT in just a months time and the edema or whatever came on fast its not as large of an area as in your picture but I would say maybe 1/2 that area and right in the middle of the belly--and like a rectangle. And after reading about drafts and older and larger mares and rupturing the tendon is why I worry. she seems in no discomfort at all. Would there be discomfort is the tendon was beginning to rupture?? |
Amanda Gilbert
Yearling
Username: Amanda
Post Number: 95
Registered: 11-2005
| | Posted on Thursday, January 04, 2007 - 08:07 am: |
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Do not walk her if it is not just edema it could make it worse. I was going to do some walking with my mare as she didnt want to move any more and was looking worse the vets told me not to thta it could make things worse. ( I had more than one vet look at her from different offices both said the same thing) |
Amanda Gilbert
Yearling
Username: Amanda
Post Number: 96
Registered: 11-2005
| | Posted on Thursday, January 04, 2007 - 08:15 am: |
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My mare started out just having a large belly then over the course of the last month or so the swelling started and just got worse over time. At one point they thought that the foal might be resting on a nerve. If she had been left to foal on her own she and the foal would not have made it. |
Heather Kutyba
Breeding Stock
Username: Heatherck11
Post Number: 372
Registered: 01-2006
| | Posted on Thursday, January 04, 2007 - 01:04 pm: |
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Walking a mare will not cause edema to be worse. Increasing motion will assist edema to reduce (whether it is in legs, higher up, or ventral).
Edema is INCREASED when a horse kept in a stall or confined and not allowed to move around.
Dorothy,
Earlier this year when my mare was rather large in foal. She increased rapidly much like your mare. At around 9+ months, she started having ventral edema extending all under her abdomen to her udders. Due to the weather being poor, she was stall confined for several days. The edema would get thick.
They can also have increases in ventral edema if the foal is pressing on lymph glands in that area. Allowing the mares to move around will reduce the swelling...and often the foals will shift enough to reduce compression.
Mares with PPTR tend to look and feel uncomfortable. Typically, the distinction between heavy edema and rupture are clear. BUT, if you have concerns....have your vet out to look at her.
Caution is always advised in any pregnancy, but pregnancy itself is healthy and natural. Appropriate exercise is healthy for all pregnant animals/people in moderation.
If you can, allow your mare to move around freely to reduce the edema. My guess, is that your mare is farther along than initially anticipated.
There is no harm in doing regular temp, pulse, and respiration checks on her to keep an eye on her vital signs.
IF you believe this "could" be a PPTR, you should have the vet out to look at her, as this is a medical emergency. |
Amanda Gilbert
Yearling
Username: Amanda
Post Number: 97
Registered: 11-2005
| | Posted on Thursday, January 04, 2007 - 01:43 pm: |
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I was not saying that walking would make the edema worse I was saying that it could make things worse if she is PPTR. I am just sharing what happened with my older tb mare who was bred to a smller arab. I am not saying anything that I wasnt told by more than one vet. If your mare as a lot of edema and you are worried you should be calling you vet. My mare was turned out with a big run in shed and she refused to move even to get feed or water we had to bring it all to her. I just dont want to see anyone go threw what I did. |
Dorthy Brown
Weanling
Username: Dodib
Post Number: 35
Registered: 04-2006
| | Posted on Thursday, January 04, 2007 - 02:21 pm: |
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My mare is out all the time--she has access to the barn and her stall 24/7 she moves around freely and does not act like she is in any discomfort at all and this is why I have not had the vet out and just assumed it was edema. She is very timid and I have only had her since November --I was only able to to just recently-a week ago or so feel the swelling and then realized it was hard and not soft at all like I thought edema would be. She will not yet let me feel her udder area but it does not look as though there is any swelling in this area. Her teats are enlarged but they look more like they probably were that way before-like from having several foals--not from milk. I will watch her closely and if there is any change I will call the vet out. She is now still eating well and moving around fine, I just want everything to go well --I hate not knowing when she may be due!! |
Heather Kutyba
Breeding Stock
Username: Heatherck11
Post Number: 373
Registered: 01-2006
| | Posted on Thursday, January 04, 2007 - 08:23 pm: |
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Amanda,
Thank you for clarifying.
I remember the pictures of your mare...and sorry to hear she continued on to have so much trouble. That's the problem with breeding  . When things go wrong...they go REAL wrong.
Dorothy..glad to hear your girl continues to feel well (minus the swelling). I have a feeling she's going to string you along for many sleepless nights!
Not to worry....as you are in good company  |
Dorthy Brown
Weanling
Username: Dodib
Post Number: 36
Registered: 04-2006
| | Posted on Friday, January 05, 2007 - 08:41 am: |
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Oh yeah I am sure of it! Our mare last year that we knew the exact breeding date had me up a while!! Then I still missed the birth!!! Just barely though --
Again she has no bag at all so I know we are at least a month away so I will just keep a watch ful eye on her and just hope things progress normally--thanks for all the info |
Dorthy Brown
Weanling
Username: Dodib
Post Number: 37
Registered: 04-2006
| | Posted on Monday, January 08, 2007 - 08:25 am: |
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I had to stop in the vet clinic to pick up vaccinations for our 8 month old foal and I asked the vet-- he said it can be hard and to push my thumb very hard up into it and it should leave an indent. He said the way I describe that he would bet me the vaccinations I was buying that it was edema!! Sure enough I went home and pushed very hard and my thumb let a pit --its edema--it really relieves me. I just never knew I would have to push so hard!!! |
