Help! Need Advice

[jsites]

I've been watching my maiden mare Sophia for at least three weeks. Her due date is Friday. Her bag has been about the same for two weeks now. I can only get a drop of milk not enought to test. I checked her vulva this morning and no signs. I checked it again around 5:00 and it looked a little swollen. I had to leave for a few hours and when I got home it looked like this....

I've seen lots of swollen vulva but never one like this. There also seems to be a pocket of blood or fluid under the vulva. That worries me the most. It just doesn't look normal to me and wondered what you all thought. Maybe I'm over reacting. She does have several loose bowl movements and her bag is firmer but I only get a drop of milk. Mom was watching her while I was gone and she said she was rubbing her butt like crazy on the window sill. I'm sure the rubbing probably caused the problem but is there anything I need to do to help her. Did she hurt herself.

Thanks so much for the help.

 

[Holly at WhiteTailsMinis]

wow, I have never seen that before. I wish I had some kind of clue or advise, but I dont. I sure do hope that someone on here can help you out. Good Luck.

 

[K Sera]

Jennifer,

Only guessing but this may be the equivilant to vericose veins that a woman would have in that area caused by the pressure of the baby/foal. That is the first thing I thought of when I saw it. I could be totally wrong but under the circumstances .... sounds feasible. As was the case with the woman who suffered from that, once the baby was born, the veins went back to normal and you would never know that had even occured.

 

[wiccanz]

I have seen something similar to this, the mare concerned was approaching foaling date also, and I beleive she did it by rubbing up against a tree in her paddock, as late term mares are inclined to do, maybe due to discomfort and/or pressure.

 

[jsites]

K Sera I hope your right and it will go back to normal after the foal is born.

She hasn't rubbed anymore and is sleeping now.

Wccanz, did the swelling leave after the mare foaled or did it take longer than normal?

 

[wwminis]

I've seen this a time or two over the years and it caused from rubbing on a post or fence!

She's irratated her vulva and caused it to swell! You could give her some Banimine in a shot or paste and it will return to normal in a day or two!

Bill

 

[mizbeth]

WOW, I have not seen something like this either. Perhaps your Vet could take a look at it? Good luck though, I hope it is something simple.

Beth

 

[kaykay]

Oh I have seen that and worse LOL. Its from rubbing and sometimes it can be a splinter. We had a mare with a splinter once and we had to keep scrubbing it to get it to come out but mostly its just rubbing. If you look the next day its usually gone.

Here is one a few years ago. We cold hosed it and it was gone in a few hours. She foaled two days later

 

[jsites]

KayKay, Was it easy to see the splinters? I looked but didn't see anything. The swelling is down some this morning. I thought for sure she was going to foal last night, but nothing.

So no need to call the vet? She seems to feel okay and is no longer rubbing so I will wait. My good vet is about an hour away and will not come to my farm. I really don't want to haul her since she is so close to foaling.

 

[Sue_C.]

Holy smokes that looks painful.

I agree, perhaps a wee bit of banimine would give her some releif. Poor thing...

 

[kaykay]

Yes the mare we had it was easy to see and came right out. My vet advised us to wash and cold hose the area with antiseptic and it was gone really quickly. My mare wasnt a fan of cold hosing so I used cold water with a sponge and kept sponging the area to bring the swelling down. I bet your mare is close to foaling as when we see this its usually just a couple days before they foal.

The picture I posted is one of the worst ones but I have even more pictures of vulvas like that. It scared me bad the first time I saw it and my vet said it really wasnt a big deal and its just from rubbing. I was lucky when it happened the first time here the vet happened to be here pulling a coggins so I had him take a look. Ever since then I dont worry about it, just clean it and put cool water to bring down the swelling.

It amazes me that they will rub like that but they sure do.

Sending easy foaling thoughts to you and your mare!

Kay

 

[jsites]

Thanks so much KayKay! That makes me feal better. I've been watching her on camera but just went to check her again. Her vulva looks a little better compared to last night. She did have lots of loose stool last night but that is back to normal again too.

 

[Make A Wish Miniatures]

I had a mare look like that this year. It was from rubbing. The Vet had me give her some Banamine and treat her with antibiotics for a while. She thought the mare could have had a vaginal infection ,and if she didn't already have one that so much rubbing was going to cause her to become infected. She actualy looked much worse than your mare. The Banamine and antibiotics really helped and she foaled a really nice filly shortly after.

 

[SaddleTrail]

Dang that looks bad. Can you use "Tucks"? They are for vaginal comfort after a woman has a baby?

I use allot of things on my self that I also use on my mini and donk. The Tucks are round cloth type things that are so incredibly soothing for your girly parts!

they gave them to me after I had my babies. Get the cheap pones at Wal Mart for $3.69. Just rub gently over the swollen parts and they will help the swelling as well.

Good luck and hope you have a perfect foal!