Pregnant

[Waikato Valuta]

What would you think if you came across a mare like this:

White powder on teats
Yellow fluid coming out of teats and they were hot and swollen
Stomach cramps, volva looked swollen
She has been very hard to keep weight on
Previous owner thought she might be pregnant because of huge belly.

Well we panicked thinking a foal was on the way. We don’t know much about these sorts of things.

We called a few people and described what we saw and they said baby or colic, most probably baby.

We got the vet out and she did a rectal and no baby. so it must be spasmodic colic. she was given a few injections to stop the spasms and the teats were considered a hormonal thing and the swollen volva possibly a pain reaction to the colic.

I was wondering if horses have phantom pregnancies or if you have ever had these symptoms with colic.

It was very strange

[chev]

Colic and a huge belly makes me think worms. I'd be doing a worm count as soon as possible and treating her for that. The teats sound like mastitis but I'm sure the vet would have diagnosed that if it was the case.

I'd put money on her having a massive worm burden though - huge belly, not holding weight and colic (particularly spasmodic colic) are all priomary symptoms of serious worm burden. Hope her owner has that checked out before too much damage is done. If she's carrying enough of a burden to cause those symptoms then she's a prime candidate for internal damage - which can be irreperable.

[Waikato Valuta]

Yeah she has been wormed and teeth done since being brought and her stomach is smaller than it was.

Although it is very likely that she was never wormed before in her life. So the vet said she probably does have irreparable damage in there already and the only thing to do is manage it. and she said what we are doing is fine, only feed her more.

She already gets a 20L bucket of food once or twice a day depending on if she is being ridden and she is still skinny.

There was another concern the vet had and that was liver damage from a previous worm infestation. Can you tell me what the signs of liver damage are? Because all the other horses in this paddock are showing the same signs and we are very concerned that it might be a weed in the paddock. We had it checked last summer but there are a few different weeds in there now.

I'm moving as well as the owner of Dixie (the colic horse) but I want to find out in case the other horses are in danger. can you recommend a web site with info on poisonous plants. I was also wondering about oak trees as the paddock is totally covered in them and in autumn the horses were easting the leaves. I have heard this is not good for horses but the owner think they would not eats it is it wasn’t.

P.S what are the signs of mastitis and how do you treat it?

[chev]

Mastitis is an infection in the udder. Can't imagine it's that common in mares who are not lactating, but I'm not an expert. Signs are enlarged, hot, painful udder, discharge from the teats, temperature. Treated with anti-biotics.

Liver damage can cause problems with weight gain, also lethargy, anaemia (if I'm remembering this right...). The more the liver is damaged the more obvious the symptoms. Once it starts to fail symptoms become more obvious still - horses become unco-ordinated, staggery and so on.

Acorns are poisonous. Horses unfortunately do eat them. They also eat the leaves - lots of horses actually develop a taste for them and seek them out. They contain tannins, which are toxic to horses in large enough quantities. YO should be moving the horses from that paddock in the autumn if it can't be kept clear of leaves and acorns.

Lots of weeds are also palatable when dried - so a plant that a horse will avoid when it's growing (like ragwort) is much more dangerous when dried (like if it's pulled up and left in the paddock to die, or baled in hay) since horses will happily eat it.

[Waikato Valuta]

oh no. opps

We cant move them from that paddock becuase it's the only paddock. we have one paddock and they stay in it all year round. it's getting over populated so i'm moving.

The yard owner is motrified if anyone sugests lifing a finger to do something for the paddock.

So what sort of things does the leaves cause? i think this is very serious as one pony in particular east tons of them.

[chev]

Forgot to add symptoms of acorn poisoning include lethargy, staggering, pale membranes and in extreme cases kidney damage. Horses would have to eat an awful lot to be that bad though.

Try the NR libarary for info on poisonous plants - offhand I don't know any sites but if there's nothing in the library I'm sure a quick google would throw something up for you.