Regumate and Abotion

[bridlebit]

I have a 10 yr old mini mare that aborted today at 7 months pregnant. She has been on Regumate since she aborted last year at 9 months pregnant. Had her ultrasounded and vet could not find any problems before she was bred this year. Has anyone else had a mare abort while taking Regumate? Also noticed very twisted cord in both abortions. She will not be rebred again. Too heartbreaking.

 

[disneyhorse]

Regumate only helps in certain situations... Sorry you're having trouble... Some mares are difficult if not impossible to breed or carry to term.... I hope someone can offer you help but there is not an exact science to breeding.

 

[Margo_C-T]

I am not a vet, but would guess that the problem both times *could have* been the twisted umbilical, and not related to the use of Regumate. I did use it several times, never had a mare abort while on it. In my cases, we started the Regumate at @ 30 days along, used it at recommended daily dosage, same time each day, until @ one month before calculated due date, then SLOWLY reduced dosage daily until totally 'weaned' off at @ 2 weeks prior to calculated due date. Worked for me, but I have seen various recommendations since regarding how long to keep giving it, so you may find that those can vary.

Margo

 

[HGFarm]

Regumate is for a hormone imbalance.... if the mare has other problems other than that that she will not carry a foal, it is not a 'cure all' and will not stop her from aborting. Have you done a culture and other tests to see what is going on? Sometimes they can also have a low grade infection that doesnt even show in a culture but that a flush and antibiotics will fix. Could be a thyroid imbalance... there are so many different things........ I am so sorry that you lost another foal from her.

 

[drmatthewtaylor]

Mares can abort on Regumate, especially if the original problem wasn't progesterone deficiency in the first place. At 7 months gestation progesterone shouldn't be deficient as it is then produced by the fetus itself through the fetal membranes.

To diagnose the cause of an abortion the fetus along with all fetal membranes should be sent to a referral lab for testing. After getting those results the mare may need tests including uterine cytology, culture, and biopsy. A full reproductive exam should be performed also, including an exam of the cervix.

I'm sorry you've had this sad experience twice. I hope others can learn from your experience and understand that the appropriate tests might have saved you from significant grief as well as saving you money by not 'supplementing' needlessly.

Dr. Taylor

 

[targetsmom]

Lab results won't always give you an answer either, so don't feel bad if you didn't send samples to a lab. We had one mare with a late term abortion at the hospital (breech presentation and we would almost certainly have lost the mare if we hadn't gotten her there) so they tested everything and had no answer. They were quite sure (as I am) that it was herpes and warned us to keep her away from our other pregnant mare, which was impossible. Then we lost our other foal at full term that year which can also result from herpes. But the tests on the aborted foal could not confirm it. We sent another stillborn foal (full tern again) to a different lab another year and they couldn't find anything either, although again we were pretty sure it was herpes (aka Rhino). We did use Regumate on the first mare for two more pregnancies and she delivered two spectacular foals. We are also doing the Pneumabort shots religiously at 5, 7, and 9 months.

 

[drmatthewtaylor]

Lab results won't always give you an answer either, so don't feel bad if you didn't send samples to a lab.

You have a false impression of 'lab tests' and thus your implied recommendation is also misleading.

Yes, full necropsies with appropriate lab tests on aborted fetuses only yield results about 30% of the time. That is a frustratingly low rate.

But, many times the fetus and fetal membranes are not collected quickly enough or they are prepared incorrectly for the lab, thus yielding lower results. Also, more tests can be run on the mare and other horses on the farm.

I appreciate running tests can be expensive. But, making decisions based on bad or no information can be even more expensive. Understand, when any medical professional is put in a position to have to 'guess' as to a diagnosis then what we will all do is play the odds. Yes, Rhino does cause a large number of abortions, but it certainly doesn't cause all the ones where a diagnosis isn't easily elicited. I will refer you to Kentucky's Mare Reproductive Loss Syndrome of 2001/2002 when Rhino was implicated for a long time.

Dr. Taylor

 

[bridlebit]

I would like to thank everyone for their response. In talking with my vet and a very knowlegdeable friend we have determined that my mare produces way too much amniotic fluid which is a condition called hydrops amnion. This is a rare condition and usually causes abortion between four to eight months of gestation. At 7 months pregnant, she looked like she was full term. She had a tremendous amount of water and was way to big for the size of the fetus. The twisted cord was probably due to the fact that the fetus had way to much room to swim around and therefore was way to active and twisted the cord. According to my vet, I should be grateful that she aborted since this condition is deadly to the mare. This is identical to what she did last year when she aborted. Lots of water and was way to big body wise for that stage in her pregnancy. She will never be bred again. Every website that I have looked at regarding this condition states that this would warrant terminating the pregnancy. I will not put her through this and it is not fair to the fetus either. Raising equine is a learning experience daily.

 

[HGFarm]

Thank you so much for the follow up. I am glad you got some type of answer. I have never heard of this so absolutely a learning experience!

 

[Marty]

Sending condolences for your terrible loss. And hugs(((((( )))))

 

[Hosscrazy]

I'm so sorry for your loss, and the best advice I can give (to anyone) is to speak with your own vet, which you mentioned above that you did. Again, I'm so sorry for your loss.

Liz N.