# Don't know what is up with my mare



## littlebitfarm (Mar 21, 2005)

Mare has just been a bit off for a few weeks now. 16 year old Haflinger mare. She is a big solid girl. No chance of being bred although she has had a couple foals in the past. 

Couldn't really put my finger on it. She never missed a meal and dug right into the hay. Then I noticed that half her udder was swollen. Very hard, not hot, and didn't seem sore to touch. Talked with my vet started her on sulfa tabs. 

After 10 days udder is smaller but mare really doesn't seem happy. She hasn't missed any meals. Checking her out some more and I notice heat in her front feet. She is only getting about a cup of senior grain mix a day. Eating the last of the hay from last year. 1st cutting grass/alfalfa mix, really more grass than alfalfa. Can't come up for a reason for her to founder. 

Talked to my vet again. Started her on banamine. Next morning she looked bright and happy. Left her on the baamine for a few days until the heat was gone. She never stood like a foundered horse, so it must have been very light. 

Stopped the sulfa tabs after 2 weeks, under almost back to normal. Yesterday morning was her last dose. Went out to feed tonight and her udder is swollen again. She had mud on her side like she had been laying down. She ate her handful of grain and turned her nose up at the hay. 

Went back down and checked her out again. Still not at the hay. Looking her over the back leg, same side as the swollen udder is now swollen, all the way up and down. Just gave her a dose of sulfa tabs and will get the vet out tomorrow. Anyone have any thoughts before that?? Getting down to the low 20âs tonight, no way I can hose that leg down. 

Thanks.


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## offthegrid (Aug 11, 2009)

Is she running a temperature?

I believe it can be a symptom of Cushings Disease, which could also explain some of the other symptoms -- heat in front feet (laminitis) -- and the time of year is right for it to be an issue when it has not previously been one.


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## Irish Pixie (May 14, 2002)

I agree with what offthegrid said, Cushings is definitely a possibility.

What did your Vet say today?


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## littlebitfarm (Mar 21, 2005)

I found her flat down in the mud this morning. She had apparently laid the wrong way in the barn and worked her way outside and couldn't get up from the 2" of mud. Checked her temperature to see if we even had a chance at that point. 100.9Âº, so I knew she still had some fight in her. 

Tried rolling her over but she was too big for me to do it alone. Called in reinforcements and got her rolled over and she stood. Walked her into a stall. Threw a blanket on her. Started bedding the stall with straw and she started eating the straw. So brought her some hay. Scrapped the mud off her. 

Extremely wobbly on the back end. She probably stood for 45 minutes while I worked around her. Left a small pile of manure and emptied her bladder. Ran to the house for some towels and she was laying down but still eating when I came back. 

Vet and I discussed what we thought was going on. Vet did a rectal palpation to check lymph nodes. Was a very large lymph node in there, probably causing the leg swelling. Hit her with a couple dig doses of antibiotics. 

Discussed our options. Going into winter is way different than going into spring or summer. If we can't get that swelling down quickly, so the mare can move about, I'll probably have to put her down. There are no heated stalls here and everything is on my shoulders. I don't want her going down and freezing to death.

Cushings wasn't even discussed. Need to get through the next day and see where we are.


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## Irish Pixie (May 14, 2002)

littlebitfarm said:


> I found her flat down in the mud this morning. She had apparently laid the wrong way in the barn and worked her way outside and couldn't get up from the 2" of mud. Checked her temperature to see if we even had a chance at that point. 100.9Âº, so I knew she still had some fight in her.
> 
> Tried rolling her over but she was too big for me to do it alone. Called in reinforcements and got her rolled over and she stood. Walked her into a stall. Threw a blanket on her. Started bedding the stall with straw and she started eating the straw. So brought her some hay. Scrapped the mud off her.
> 
> ...


Wow, that was fast. Scary as the devil too. I wonder if it's long term lyme disease? That can cause some of the symptoms.

I'm so sorry you and your mare are going through this.


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## littlebitfarm (Mar 21, 2005)

Just ran home and checked on her lunch. She was still laying down. Had managed to get the blanket off. She didn't seem cold but after she stood for me she was shaking. Went back to eating hay. She hadn't touched the water I left for her so I offered her some. She might have drank 2 cups. I suspect colic will take all decisions out of this unless she decides to do a bunch of drinking before I get home at 3.


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## littlebitfarm (Mar 21, 2005)

Irish Pixie said:


> Wow, that was fast. Scary as the devil too. I wonder if it's long term lyme disease? That can cause some of the symptoms.
> 
> I'm so sorry you and your mare are going through this.


Thanks


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## offthegrid (Aug 11, 2009)

Ooh,  good luck. Keep an eye on her temperature.
Are her feet still warm? Wondering if she's laying down because her feet hurt to stand?


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## wr (Aug 10, 2003)

Is there any chance she has epm? I know very little about it but we did have a member deal with it at one time and some of the symptoms kinda fit, if I remember correctly.


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## aoconnor1 (Jun 19, 2014)

I was going to mention colic. I had a small mare that was very wobbly, ate fine but didn't want her hay or water, then switched and wanted water but not feed. She wound up being in a bad colic...


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## harvestmoon1964 (Apr 24, 2014)

aoconnor1 said:


> I was going to mention colic. I had a small mare that was very wobbly, ate fine but didn't want her hay or water, then switched and wanted water but not feed. She wound up being in a bad colic...


If she was eating fine, what wasn't she doing with her hay? Don't they normally "eat" it?

Sounds like more than colic to me. Check out the symptoms of Pigeon Fever in horses. The infection can localize in the sheath and udder and it causes weakness, lethargy and loss of appetite.


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## littlebitfarm (Mar 21, 2005)

She was eating fine until last night. The vet just left. We put her down. Vet really felt there was more going on than we knew. Leg and half the udder was hugely swollen yet she had no temperature. That leg wouldn't bend so getting up and down was really tough. 

She only drank a couple cups of water all day but really chowed down on the hay, so colic would have been the next battle. If it was 70Â° out, I might have given her more time but I had no way to safely keep her warm and I wasn't going to let her die in the cold. 

I'm at peace with my decision.


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## Irish Pixie (May 14, 2002)

I'm sorry for your loss.


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## harvestmoon1964 (Apr 24, 2014)

I'm so sorry.


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## wr (Aug 10, 2003)

I'm very sorry.


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## GrannyCarol (Mar 23, 2005)

I'm so very sorry, its a hard decision to make and I'm sure you did what was right for you and your mare.


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## Teej (Jan 14, 2012)

My condolences on the loss of your mare.


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## Molly Mckee (Jul 8, 2006)

I'm so sorry.


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## SFM in KY (May 11, 2002)

So sorry for your loss. Sometimes the last kind thing you can do for them is to make sure they are no longer suffering.


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## aoconnor1 (Jun 19, 2014)

harvestmoon1964 said:


> If she was eating fine, what wasn't she doing with her hay? Don't they normally "eat" it?
> 
> Sounds like more than colic to me. Check out the symptoms of Pigeon Fever in horses. The infection can localize in the sheath and udder and it causes weakness, lethargy and loss of appetite.


No, she would eat her small portion of feed but wouldn't touch her hay, then the next hour she would only want hay but no feed. Understand, she is an ancient mare with Cushings, and was showing signs of EPM. I was attempting to narrow her issue down to one thing, so was trying a few different things before a vet run. The wobbly legs, laying back down immediately after getting her up, eating one and then another feed, had me wondering enough to haul her to my vet. Thankfully they called it as I did and it was an impaction colic. Tubed and oiled her, the next day she had 11 piles of poop in her stall and was right as rain. Can't say enough for getting a vet in on the front end of a problem rather than the back side of one that has been going on for several days. In my case it meant my mare being alive or not.


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## aoconnor1 (Jun 19, 2014)

littlebitfarm said:


> She was eating fine until last night. The vet just left. We put her down. Vet really felt there was more going on than we knew. Leg and half the udder was hugely swollen yet she had no temperature. That leg wouldn't bend so getting up and down was really tough.
> 
> She only drank a couple cups of water all day but really chowed down on the hay, so colic would have been the next battle. If it was 70Â° out, I might have given her more time but I had no way to safely keep her warm and I wasn't going to let her die in the cold.
> 
> I'm at peace with my decision.


I'm so very sorry.


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## dizzy (Jun 25, 2013)

So sorry. That's never an easy decision to make.


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## CountryMom22 (Nov 27, 2014)

So sorry about your mare.


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## brody (Feb 19, 2009)

I'm so sorry


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