I think our mare may have a tipped uterus and have been looking at our books and can't seem to find a whole lot of information about it. Our vet will be out Tuesday to check her and see how things are progressing (if she waits that long).
Thank you Jodi
Jos
Posted on Saturday, February 24, 2001 - 09:45 pm:
When you comment "if she waits that long" I am led to believe that perhaps you are talking about a mare that is pregnant - in which case the tipped uterus may be of less significance.
There are three natural barriers against entry to the mare's uterus. The labial seal; the vestibular seal and the cervix.
If one looks at the labia, the anus should be slightly tail-wards of the upper portion of the labia. This will assist in preventing bits of manure from passing into the vagina. If the reverse is true - the anus is "sunken" and the labia is tipped - then that is an early indicator that there may be internal problems too.
The vestibular seal is internal in the vagina and is positioned close to the highest point on the vagina. Cranially (head-ward) of that, the vagina is almost parallel to the ground and then after that the third seal - the cervix - is encountered and all then descends downwards to the uterus. With this arrangement, there are solid seals that protect the uterus to a great extent from access by unwanted pathogens.
With a "tipped uterus" the whole sequence progresses downwards from the labial entrance cranially, which means that there is no (or little) protection against the invasion by external pathogens.
The concerns about a tipped uterus primarily relate to establishing pregnancy more than pregnancy maintenance, although it can have a part to play in the possibility of development of a bacterial ascending placentitis complication during pregnancy.
It is a little hard to explain this, but hopefully you can visualise it to some extent.
quartercrazy
Posted on Sunday, February 25, 2001 - 09:35 pm:
Thank you that did help and yes she is pregnant - we bought her this way about a month ago. (was told she had a hay belly and after worming the hay belly started to move). She has the beginnings of a bag and we have no idea when she is due. The person we bought her from said she only had her for six months. We wormed her when we got her and she passed significant worms and started having diarrhea we felt it was from the amount of worms that she was passing. However, it seems to be getting worse. It's weird that she can have a "normal" bowel movement and then projectile in her stall...so we have arranged for the vet to come out Tuesday. A friend said that she appeared to be tipped and that the diarrhea may be from an infection probably gotten from the manure slipping into the vagina. I started reading "Blessed are the Broodmares" and found diarrhea related to the foals, but none really on the mare and there was only a small article about mares that are tipped and it was about not conceiving. I thank you for explaining it and hopefully we will have good news on Tuesday. Baby is still very active - so I know it's ok for now. THANKS AGAIN.
Jos
Posted on Tuesday, February 27, 2001 - 10:28 pm:
As your vet will probably have explained to you, there is little likelihood of a systemic infection causing diarrhoea as a result of manure entering the vagina, so it is unlikely that this is the cause, but hopefully you may have an idea as to what it is by now - it is possibly simply as a result of further worm infestation.
Although I'm late on the uptake on this thread, this may be of use to others as well. If you are concerned with the possibility of debris entering your mare's vagina, discuss the possibility of a Caslick's procedure with your vet. The vet will simply suture the labia to ensure that it stays sealed (or closed). I have an older broodmare who's labial seal is not what it used to be after seven foals. We use a Caslick's for her in order to help reduce the risk of infection in her reproductive tract. The Caslick's has to be removed a month prior to foaling, however, in order to prevent tearing during foaling.
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