Mare acting very strange (sorry long post)

Escada2004

Escada2004

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I have a mare who is in foal and Saturday the people who run my yard went to bring her in from the field and she was acting really odd, had her head low to the ground, wouldnt let them near her, her eyes were wide and she looked scared, also her front leg was shaking. They called the vet (i was away competing with my other horse) Vet got there and they caught her with some feed, my vet put his hands on her and she nearly fell to the floor. He felt her all over and found nothing obvious, calmed her down and led her back to the stable. When she got back she was much brighter and better. She still wasnt right later on and was also pouring the floor. He said to put her hay in a net to keep her head up. On the late night check she hadnt eaten any hay and still had her head low so some was put on the floor and a bucket of water (we have drinkers). Next day she was much brighter but still not right, i got home that lunch time to find she hadnt touched her hay again and was scraping her front foot on the ground. I hand walked her for 10 mins and she all of a sudden was fine, went in her stable and ate a whole haynet! Same thing Monday but no scraping, just the head low sometimes (was eating fine) but was hand walked three times throughout the day and each time was better afterwards. Vet come and took bloods and did show that she has had some sort of infection which has practically passed now. She has got better each day, so last night i put her in the field for 10 mins and she was fine, i stayed with her to keep an eye. She is 100% ok now when in the stable so this morn she was put in the field just for an hour, when they went to catch her she did the same, head down, looking petrified and not wanting to be caught. Once caught she would stand in her stable with her head down but as soon as she was given a haynet, lifts her head and is totally fine again. she was perfect all day so when i got there after work i put her out for an hour. She did exactly the same again with the head down when i went to catch her etc! After 10 mins in her stable and giving her a haynet she was back to normal again! She is going to the toilet fine, not colicy r anything like that.

We are all stumped and so is my vet! She is a very very sensitive mare and quirky, ive owned her over 4 years and never seen anything like this with her. She has also had a foal before i bought her (she is only 9 now) so that shouldnt be the cause. She is only 77 days gone and has been 100% fine and if anything a lot calmer! All i could think was it was hormonal (she is a very hormonal mare) or maybe inner ear related?? Its very very odd.

Has anyone experienced anything similar or have any ideas as she cant be locked up, its not fair on her, especially as she is in foal!
 
My horse fell on his neck in the field and couldn't raise his head.

If she is unable to raise her head then it certainly sounds like a neck issue to me but I am assuming your vet has rules this out. If she isn't eating and scraping her foot on the floor I would have thought this would indicate pain, maybe the walking out in hand releases something in the neck which eases the pain. It doesn't appear from reading your post that she is on any painkillers, which would suggest to me that her response is pain related, particuarly in relation to the 'staring scared eye' look in the field which might occur when her neck freezes up, maybe when she starts to raise her head when she sees you approach and then it gets to the point of the range of movement where it is really painful and can't raise it anymore. For those of us that have cricked our necks, we know how painful that can feel.

I wonder if its worth considering getting the vet to refer her to an equine hospital which has a powerful xray machine so that xrays can be taken of her neck to rule out any cracked vetebrae?

The blood test results might just be a coincidence and not related to the problem with her raising her head. A
By forcing her (and I really don't mean this in a nasty way) to raise her head by giving her a net may release the tension in the neck like the walking does.

I am not a vet, and all this is speculation but it sounds very much how my horse was when he damaged his neck vetebrae. I had to feed him off the floor for a few days, he was also put on a short course of finadyne at the time for pain and to reduce the inflammation.

If you think I am on the right lines with this, I would ask your vet (after xrays have been taken) whether it would be beneficial for a physio to carry out treatment.
 
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Thanks applecart. Initially we did think she had hurt her neck, however because she is 100% fine whilst in the stable we have 'sort of' ruled it out (not completely). We have to be very careful what she is given drug wise due to her being in foal, although she will obviously come first if she does need treating. My vet is extremely good and experienced (pure sport horse vet, competes and breeds himself) and has gone all over her and cant get any sort of reaction in neck/back/shoulder etc. I have a very good vet physio who works closely with him which is my next option once ive spoken to him again today. She has improved a lot, like i say its just when she goes in the field now and puts her head down for a period of time that she does sort of lock or is frightened to lift her head until you say its ok. Hate seeing her like this and would hate to think she is suffering to :(
 
Escada2004 said:
Thanks applecart. Initially we did think she had hurt her neck, however because she is 100% fine whilst in the stable we have 'sort of' ruled it out (not completely). We have to be very careful what she is given drug wise due to her being in foal, although she will obviously come first if she does need treating. My vet is extremely good and experienced (pure sport horse vet, competes and breeds himself) and has gone all over her and cant get any sort of reaction in neck/back/shoulder etc. I have a very good vet physio who works closely with him which is my next option once ive spoken to him again today. She has improved a lot, like i say its just when she goes in the field now and puts her head down for a period of time that she does sort of lock or is frightened to lift her head until you say its ok. Hate seeing her like this and would hate to think she is suffering to :(
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How strange. I hope you manage to get it sorted out, I would be interested to hear how she gets on, do keep us all updated. Good luck x
 
Thank you, just spoke to my vet and he has suggested my back lady look at her, preying its something straight forward (never usually the case with my horses). Will keep you posted x
 
Out of interest has your vet scanned her to make sure that she is still in foal? The only thing I can think of is that maybe she is absorbing or something else that could be causing a hormonal imbalance.
 
from what I understand you are saying when she is kept in a stable, eating hay she is fine. When put in the field for any period of time she gets bad. If so my first thought would be what is she picking up in the field. Petrified for a highly strung horse is probably just pain. What about sycamore? any trees near you? What else could she be getting at in the field? Acorns? It could be something on the vegetation at this particular time which in a couple of weeks will have disappeared.

Providing the physio checks her out OK I would put her in a small section in the middle of the field and electric fence a pen for her and give hay on the ground. If she is OK then a bigger pen and less hay until it becomes obvious what could be happening.

The other alternative, provided she will leave you alone in the field, is to put her out and wander around sitting and watching precisely what she eats and what she does. Possibly video it if something happens?
 
That did cross my mind madlady, however my vet has never seen a mare act like this who is absorbing, he said he has no concerns about the foal at the moment. He knows my mare really well and that obviously helps him rule certain things out.

paddy555 - great minds think alike, sycamore seeds etc crossed my mind when it first happened but no trace of any or acorns or anything else, this week we have put her in a small paddock and also sat and monitored her and nothing obvious, its literally like when her head is down for a period of time she panics when lifting it. I will keep her in now until my back lady comes on monday, at least she will be happy and pain free, we will keep handwalking her so that she gets out a bit
 
Probably unlikely but It came into my head so I'm going to mention it. If she was a coo I would be wondering about sub clinical magnesium deficiency. It wouldn't totally fit but nervy behaviour is definitely a symptom and she could be on the cusp so when turned out she has more to worry about and the symptoms are more obvious. I had a cow which was deficient after an accident when she got her horn trapped under a shed and she couldn't get up. She remained nervy all summer and I assumed she was scared of me because of being trapped. She then obviously got more deficient and I realised that's what it was and she returned to normal.

Like I said probably not likely but just with her being in foal thought I would mention it.
 
Have you tried her in a different field?

If it's not injury and you say she looks scared hen maybe she is?
If she is sensitive then something could be scaring her, even a sound.

I hope you find the cause and she gets back to normal soon.


After reading your other responses, it's seems like it her neck or back.

Having it down for a while then lifting it up could agrevate it.
 
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FfionWinnie - thanks for the thought, she is on added magnesium anyway as even though in foal she is on it as a calmer as she has a tendency to be a bit too excitable in the field still! She is still getting used to not having any work.

twiggy2 - heart rate all fine, we are def pointing to neck/shoulder injury or nerve pain and my vet authorised for the Chiro to come out so she will be here soon and hopefully have some answers
 
Well my Chiro confirmed that she has either fractured her withers or damaged the ligaments - waiting for a call from my vet as where we go next as cant x-ray because of the foal
 
Surely that wouldn't stop xraying the withers? - you aren't going to get much radiation near the foetus?
 
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