Mare with inflamed uterus

[PaintNminis]

I have this mare (GORGEOUS btw)

and I have wanted a Foal out of her since Forever (She will 8 in June)

Well we got a Uterin Biopsy Done

and a Culture

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Biopsy Results

Chance of Conceiving and completing Gestation: 1B

Remarks from the Biopsy:

This Mare has a hint of a Surface irritation that is of questionable clinical Significance. Glands are normal enough to carry a foal to term

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Culture Results

Not Good!

She has:

Staphylococcus Haemolyticus

Streptococcus Pyopgenes

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

So what should I do is there any hope if we get her Flushed?

Should I give up on her? Sale her? then by another mare HELP!

 

[albahurst]

What is your vet's suggestion? Would antibiotics help?

Peggy

 

[PaintNminis]

Well he said antibiotics might help

but he also said she could be very hard to get in foal

 

[Lucky-C-Acres-Minis]

I seriously doubt you'll be able to get her to conceive and carry a foal with an already inflamed uterus.. Your best bet is to get her on antibiotics and get her flushed out and the inflammation under control..

 

[Nathan Luszcz]

Biopsy scales vary from 1a, 1b, 2a, 2b, 3a, 3b. Anything lower than 2a usually means big trouble, but a 1b is nothing terrible! Any broodmare will have damage to the uterine lining after a half dozen foals. I wouldn't worry at all... just beat that infection and you're good to go! I don't remember the exact numbers, but I think a 1a score means you have a 60-80% chance of pregnancy, 1b is 50-70%ish...

 

[WLS]

I would put the mare on oral antibiotics and also have her flushed with antibiotics, my vet uses a treatment of three flushing in three days in a row. I had a friends mare here for breeding with a similar problem, even the vet said her chances of conceiving would be low..............but she DID !! Don't give up hope. The breedings season is still early. Best of Luck. Wendy

 

[PaintNminis]

Thanks Everyone

Maybe I will ask for the Set of 3 Flushes & the oral antibiotics

btw

here is a Pic of my "Problem" mare

it's not the Best

 

[Windhaven]

Also since she is a problem mare. It might be suggested to have her flushed (I think it is within 6-8 hrs) after the last breeding. They then give the mare oxytocin(sp) so she cleans out before the fertile egg has time to make it's way down the tube into the uterus and attach to the uterus wall.

I have had a couple of problems mares and this is one procedure that was suggested to help get her in foal. I consulted equine fertility specialist about these problems.

Your vet should be able to tell you more about this procedure. It has been a long time since I had to deal with this.

Also, there is a flushing treatment, where the vet sews in a cathiter to her urterus and you flush her daily for five days and then remove the cathiter(sp). I have done this a couple of times also.

Your mare is very pretty and I can see why you want a foal out of her. Good luck.

 

[Nathan Luszcz]

Eep! Hold up people!

First, oral antibiotics will not help an uterine infection.

Second, notice in the original post the technition who read the slide made a comment "of little to no clinical significance". That means while there is inflamation, there is no indication this is a problem.

Third, don't start second guessing your vet! They went to vet school to learn how to deal with issues like this, don't start backseat diagnosing! You aren't here to direct the vet to do specific treatments, that's the vets job to research and perscribe.

The first thing you need to do is trust your vet and wait for the final results to come it. RARELY does a vet do a culture but not a sensitivity. Once he finds out which antibiotic kills this paticular infection and how suseptible they are to the treatment, he may do just a simple infusion of antibiotics. Or he might flush, depending on how bad of an infection it is.

Giving a mare a shot of oxytocin an hour or two after breeding sometimes is just as effective as a flush, if not more. Flushing, especially in a mare who can't be palpated (since many vets don't like doing it), has a good chance of leaving fluid behind, and the whole point of the excercise is to remove fluid.

Leaving a catheter in a mare is a terrible thing to do, asking for trouble. First off its an open route for bacteria to get directly into the uterous. Secondly its so easy to remove and put in a catheter its not worth the trouble. Lastly, what happens if/when the mare snags it and pulls it out? Ouch!

The vet will most likely do an infusion, which is basically AI without the semen. They just insert concentrated antibiotics, then give oxytocin in a few hours if they feel its necessary. Maybe he'll do it several days in a row. Hopefully that's all that's needed. Ignore the biopsy, that's a GOOD result, not a bad one. You WANT a 1a or 1b biopsy score.

 

[PaintNminis]

Thanks Everyone

btw I am not 2nd guessing my vet

(He and his Wife are AWESOME!)

I am just making sure I know all the options before I call my vet again...

He said it was up to me on whatever we decide to do with her.

So I just wanted some outside opionions to help me make a Better Decission

I Really Appreciate Everyones Time and knowledge more then you know.

So THANKS again!

PS He made us a Mini Ultrasound so that isn't a Problem

 

[albahurst]

Good luck with your decisions!

I really do appreciate your posting this question and for the responses. My mare is having culture and biopsy done today and I feel I am a bit more educated on this topic now.

Hope all works out fine for your mare

Peggy

 

[joylee123]

[SIZE=12pt]Nathan,[/SIZE]

A question if you please

My mare had a red bag and a true breech presentaion last Thursday night. The attending vet is rather young and I was a mess, so when she finally got the foal out, she didn't notice that the placenta and anmion sac had already cleared. I was holding a towel over my mares eyes and trying to make sure she didn't get up, so wasn't on that end. After she got the foal out, she gave my mare a shot of oxytocin(sp) as she hadn't noticed the placenta. Precious seems fine at this point, actually seemed pretty good from the get-go. I've had her on tucaprim for 7 days, last day was today.

My question is, with all the arms (mine and the vets) and the lube ect... I had asked the older vet about doing a saline infusion on her foal heat to make sure she didn't have any infection or bacteria. He said he didn't think it was nessescary ( no temp, eating well ect..) that with the placenta passing intact when the foal was pulled that she should be good to go.

What do you think? ( I'm not breeding her till the end of may or so) He said we'll know if there's a problem if she doesn't settle (don't really like taking that approach

)

He's suppose to be the reproductive vet at the clinic now but......

Whatcha think?

Thanks,

Joy

 

[Nathan Luszcz]

I don't think its a big deal... problem is, whatever damage was done by the dystocia has been combatted as well as possible by what you and the vet have already done. Anything more that she herself can't fix really isn't fixable. I think the vet is right as far as just waiting for her to tell you if there is a problem. Since its already 7 days post-foaling, the chances of having retained placenta (due to a piece being left behind in the obviously violent removal) are nil. Any lube/bacteria/etc left in there actually won't cause a problem, believe it or not. NEVER culture a mare on a foal heat... you won't like what you see! Everything that can make its way into her body will grow... and none of it will affect her fertility! Mares are amazing creatures. Definately give her some time off to fix herself up, but other than that and what you've already done, you've covered most of the bases!

 

[HGFarm]

I know vets who ALWAYS infuse after having to invade a mare to help with a birth, remove a dead foal or whatever. Everytime you reach in there, you can drag germs, dirt or debri in with your hand/arm even though gloves are used, etc... When something like that occurs, and they are having to mess around in and out of a mare many many times, you are increasing the risk of a low grade infection or something else with every time you go in.

Both of these things listed are noted to be very resistant to antibiotics.

Good luck, hopefully your vet can get rid of these 'cooties' and get her breedable.

 

[joylee123]

I don't think its a big deal... problem is, whatever damage was done by the dystocia has been combatted as well as possible by what you and the vet have already done. Anything more that she herself can't fix really isn't fixable. I think the vet is right as far as just waiting for her to tell you if there is a problem. Since its already 7 days post-foaling, the chances of having retained placenta (due to a piece being left behind in the obviously violent removal) are nil. Any lube/bacteria/etc left in there actually won't cause a problem, believe it or not. NEVER culture a mare on a foal heat... you won't like what you see! Everything that can make its way into her body will grow... and none of it will affect her fertility! Mares are amazing creatures. Definately give her some time off to fix herself up, but other than that and what you've already done, you've covered most of the bases!

[SIZE=12pt]Thanks

[/SIZE]

Joy