# Yellow discharge in a maiden mare?



## Sprout (Dec 28, 2005)

I pulled my old girl (18) out of her pasture today to go work the cows and while brushing her tail found a yellow mucous discharge on her vulva. She has been classified as barren and has never been bred. The only thing I could find online was that it might be vaginitis due to a poorly conformed vagina and that she needs a Caslick's done. But I've had her for almost 7 years and was friends with her previous owner, and she has never had a Caslick's or had anything wrong with her reproductive system other than being barren. I didn't get the chance to take her temp but she didn't feel abnormally warm and she's otherwise fine no other symptoms. Any ideas?


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## wr (Aug 10, 2003)

The only time I've ever heard of a mare needing a caslick is if they're bred but there would be no reason for an otherwise healthy and open mare to have the proceedure done.

You don't mention odor and it sounds like she's in good health so I'd probably take a wait and see approach.


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## Sprout (Dec 28, 2005)

no odor at all. I'm going to take her temp tomorrow and if she's running a fever I'll give her some pen and see if that helps clear it up. I've never had a mare do anything like this so its rather puzzling


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## SFM in KY (May 11, 2002)

Past history doesn't mean things can't change, especially in older mares. Just like people, you get older and things start to sag!

I've had lots of older broodmares over the years as well as just "older mares" and they can start to sag/ fall in so that the upper part of the vulva doesn't stay tightly closed and they can then develop an infection. I've had mares do this and I've noted that there was necessarily a fever or bad odor ... a culture is usually necessary for a confirmed diagnosis.

Based on my experience, my reaction when I have an older mare that shows the "external" signs of an infection and the vulvar conformation is perhaps questionable, particular if a mare is in their mid-teens or older, has been to follow my vet's recommendation. His usual advice is to infuse to get rid of the infection and put in a caslick, which can then stay in indefinitely if the mare is not being bred. This solves the problem.


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## wr (Aug 10, 2003)

Thanks SFM, it's been a long time since I've had mares and never encountered such a thing so I appreciate your input.


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## SFM in KY (May 11, 2002)

Sprout said:


> no odor at all. I'm going to take her temp tomorrow and if she's running a fever I'll give her some pen and see if that helps clear it up. I've never had a mare do anything like this so its rather puzzling


Injectable antibiotics don't work on uterine infections in a mare. To clear these up, you need to do a uterine infusion with antibiotics and sterile saline. The uterine wall tends to filter out "foreign substances" to some extent and it is very unlikely enough of the antibiotic will get to the actual site of the infection.

Some of the "stubborn" infections I've dealt with have actually required a combination of antibiotics and I've also had vets add DMSO to the lavage solution to help carry the antibiotics through the cell walls.


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## 2horses (Jul 19, 2004)

shutting up


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## Sprout (Dec 28, 2005)

Thank you SFM. Now at the risk of getting my head chewed off by 2 horses, here is the situation, funds are nonexistent I have been trying to find this girl a new home but I can't even give her away, especially now with her needing vet work. And this is what I dislike most about the equine community is that we have lost our self sufficiency. I can treat just about any ailment in a cow or sheep but whenever one of my horses gets sick i have to fork over and arm and a leg for something that I could easily do with very little know how. I've taken the time to read about both procedures. Caslick's sounds like a simple enough procedure uterine infusion slightly more difficult but similar to ai. Could I give her a uterine bolus in place of an infusion. My first choice would be to take her to a vet but I am quickly running out of options.


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## 2horses (Jul 19, 2004)

shutting up again


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## 2horses (Jul 19, 2004)

shutting up for good.


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## Sprout (Dec 28, 2005)

Well yes you are sounding rather horrid. She isn't a useless unhealthy animal, she is an amazing sweet girl who can do anything in the world and in the 7 years I've had her this is the first health problem I have ever had from her she is a great mare and it breaks my heart to be in this position. I'm asking for help because I'm not ready to put a bullet in her head just because I can't afford a vet bill. I'm rather done talking with you.


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## SFM in KY (May 11, 2002)

Sprout said:


> Thank you SFM. Now at the risk of getting my head chewed off by 2 horses, here is the situation, funds are nonexistent I have been trying to find this girl a new home but I can't even give her away, especially now with her needing vet work. And this is what I dislike most about the equine community is that we have lost our self sufficiency. I can treat just about any ailment in a cow or sheep but whenever one of my horses gets sick i have to fork over and arm and a leg for something that I could easily do with very little know how. I've taken the time to read about both procedures. Caslick's sounds like a simple enough procedure uterine infusion slightly more difficult but similar to ai. Could I give her a uterine bolus in place of an infusion. My first choice would be to take her to a vet but I am quickly running out of options.


If you can AI a mare, you can infuse. If you want to PM me I can walk you through it. A bolus is probably not going to work, I've never used one on a mare and never had any of my vets suggest it.

I have watched a Caslik being put in but would not try it myself as it requires a local anesthetic. The inside of the upper part of the vulva has to be stripped so there are two raw "edges" and then sutures to close it so it "seals" shut. Without a local anesthetic, a mare is not going to stand quietly for this. I've taken them out and I've put in a "temporary" with no raw endge or sutures, just using super glue (vet incision glue) which will hold long enough to get a brood mare from foaling to rebreeding ... but the regular Caslik is something I've always had a vet do.

The other thing is that if the infection is not "invasive" many times ... if the re-infection isn't constant ... it may clear itself up during the winter months when the mare is not going through heat cycles. It is also pretty rare for a uterine infection to go systemic ... again the uterine wall barrier tends to limit the spread of infection.

Under the circumstances I think I might just keep an eye on things and see if things get better or worse.


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## Sprout (Dec 28, 2005)

Thank you very much, you have no idea how much your help means to me. This girl has been with me through a lot of things and I don't want to just give up on her. I know what kind of glue your talking about. Could I use that as a temporary caslick's until I can afford to have a vet come sew her up. I just found a temp job (thank god) so if all goes well mid January would be the latest. Thank you again for all your help.


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## SFM in KY (May 11, 2002)

Sprout said:


> Thank you very much, you have no idea how much your help means to me. This girl has been with me through a lot of things and I don't want to just give up on her. I know what kind of glue your talking about. Could I use that as a temporary caslick's until I can afford to have a vet come sew her up. I just found a temp job (thank god) so if all goes well mid January would be the latest. Thank you again for all your help.


I wouldn't. I don't remember now how long the glue usually lasted ... I'm thinking a week or so at best. I do remember checking the mares almost daily to see if it needed to be reglued and the reason I was using the temporary was to try to keep the mare from reinfecting between the time I had to take the caslick out for her to foal and when another sutured caslick could be put in by the vet.

With this mare, I would probably wait until I could schedule the vet to do the caslick, then do the infusions (if I were doing them myself) and get the caslick done immediately after the last infusion. You want the caslick done after the infection is cleared up, to prevent re-infection.

The other thing is you want the mare in heat so the cervix is open when you do the infusions. Makes things much easier and you want the cervix open to "flush" easily as well. Here in Kentucky some of my mares cycle year around, maybe off in January and February, others quit around October and don't come back in until March or April. There are ways to bring them in if they are cycling, but if she is already in anestrus you may be better off to wait ... or check with the vet.

Some vets will infuse off-cycle ... I've done my own mares for years now and find it much easier to not try to deal with it except when the mares are actually in heat.


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