Brood mare with really swollen legs

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Wendy9464

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Hi
Help please, my friends mare has really, really, swollen legs, the vet has checked her protein levels, etc and all normal, does anybody have any experience of this type of complaint.

Mare is in terrible state, can't walk and is in lots of pain, vets are coming out daily, but she just seems to be getting worse.

All help and advice much appreciated.
 
is she heavily infoal and due to drop? somtimes when they are so heavy they tend to just stand so there legs fill. i have found a little walk out in hand helps! hope this helps
 
So sorry to read this ,what has the vet done so far. I presume she is on no hard feed ,had a bran mash with epsom salts and is on pain killers. Is she having any massage and walking in hand, is she being bandaged or in wraps, these are the things I have done when my horse suffered with swollem legs , he used to get it on some feeds.
Hope she improves
 
Hi
The mare is due to foal in 2 and a half months, she is on no hard feed and has been given pain killers by the vets, but the skin on her legs is so tight and splitting.

I just thought if anybody else's mare had experience same we could get some help and advice.

Many thanks
 
Is she stabled? Walking and cold hosing should get the swelling down. Broodmares need as much turnout as possible to keep them moving and healthy. Only time one of my mares ever had swollen legs was when she got some mud fever hiding under her feathers...
I have been following the harrowing experience of a friend's mare in the US, who went terribly lame and her legs swelled something awful. Turns out she injured herself, we now actually think she fractured her pelvis, and all the fluid dropped down into her legs. She foaled OK in the end though.
Have the vets done a full blood profile? Might also be worth doing a Coggins test.
 
Thanks for the advice, she was in the field, but was stuck in the same place and could not move, we now have her in the 24 x 12 stable, but she is in too much pain to walk.
 
Any chance of borrowing one of those equissage machines?

I don't know if you can use them on pregnant mares so would have to check first. I have a hand held one, they are meant to be for helping to disperse fluid from legs, but as I never had a problem as bad as this poor mare, so can't say if it would work.

Whereabouts are you?
 
Forgot to suggest - why don't you post this in the main bit tomorrow morning? Not everyone comes down to the veterinary bit, so try again and you might get a better response and find someone with experience of this.
 
By the sound of it you really need to get this mare moving, my mare had lymphangitis last year and the last thing she wanted to do was walk, but it is the only way to get the lymph glands moving.
 
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