Mare with constant swollen udder now expressing blood.

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bearTessy

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Hi all,

First things first, she has been seen by 3 different vets and vet is coming out again on Monday.

Tessy has had one swollen teat for about 2 years, its swollen but not sore, hot or typical mastitis looking.

Initially it would just drain clear fluid like colostrum until a month or so ago when it started to drain clotted blood.

A bit of background: Tessy's last foal was 4/ 5 years ago and she has not seen a stallion since so definitely not in foal !!

She has had the udder:
ultrasounded- all clear
General Blood tests- all clear
Liquid sample from the teat- all clear
Antibiotics for a month- no affect
regumate- no affect
Prascend ( doesn't have cushings disease but was worth a try- no affect.


As soon as i spotted the blood vet was out, he prescribed more antibiotics and the regumate.

The antibiotics have cleared the clotted blood and its not mainly clear with some blood especially first thing in the morning.

All of her stomach up to her girth swells if shes kept in,

Teat goes down with exercise but is still very large .

I have tried not milking it , this makes is 10000 X worse ....

So currently milked twice a day to releave the pressure.

I'm not really sure what to do next, the vet suggested last time about scanning her ovaries.

Clutching at straws here, but has anyone experienced anything similar ?

Also shes not overweight so not down to this.
 
I am a human doctor not a horsey one, but I would suggest either a drug to dry up milk, or surgical removal. Even if it isn't malignant or nasty I assume it's uncomfortable.
 
Sallyfinn said:
I am a human doctor not a horsey one, but I would suggest either a drug to dry up milk, or surgical removal. Even if it isn't malignant or nasty I assume it's uncomfortable.
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I shall ask the vet if they have anything which could stop her lactating. We have been advised operating would be far too risky , she would likely bleed to death or get an infection . Also once the teat is removed unless each gland is she may still produce the liquid but have no where to drain it.

It's proving to be difficult, thank you for your suggestion & taking the time to read !
 
Humans can have a tumour on the pituitary gland called a prolactinoma. It makes them produce milk when not pregnant; it is generally a benign tumour and responds well to treatment. I’ve no idea if there is an equivalent in horses but it would be worth asking the vet.
 
Farcical1 said:
Humans can have a tumour on the pituitary gland called a prolactinoma. It makes them produce milk when not pregnant; it is generally a benign tumour and responds well to treatment. I’ve no idea if there is an equivalent in horses but it would be worth asking the vet.
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Thank you ! have spent this morning flicking through articles on this, will certainly mention to the vet.
 
Sugar_and_Spice said:
Has her heart been checked? Not quite the same thing, but I knew a gelding with heart failure and his stomach/sheath used to swell sometimes.
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I don't think her heart has been checked .... I will also mention this to the vet, I think there is something quite serious going on somewhere in her body. The majority of previous treatment has focused on the udder itself, when in fact it could be something elsewhere and the udder is a side effect.

I'm trying to remain positive/ hopeful !
 
If your vet can’t sort this, then it sounds like it’s time for a referral for a second opinion. Hope you get some answers.
 
Farcical1 said:
Humans can have a tumour on the pituitary gland called a prolactinoma. It makes them produce milk when not pregnant; it is generally a benign tumour and responds well to treatment. I’ve no idea if there is an equivalent in horses but it would be worth asking the vet.
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A pituitary gland tumour won't make her lactate in just one teat
 
Has she had her ovaries scanned? I would guess that a cyst or mass on an ovary could cause abnormal hormone release and be affecting her udder?
 
As a short term measure to make her more comfortable, could you treat her like she's just had a foal taken off her to see if this dries up the milk i.e. cut back on her hard feed, give her Epsom salts in her dinner, and encourage gentle movement if you can. Hopefully your vet gets to the bottom of it soon!
 
What do you feed her? A horse I had in for schooling kept producing milk. Had to take her off alfa, soya oil, any feed that effected hormones and rich grass.
I think the other suggestions are worth a try and sounds a lot more serious than the hprse i had but maybe worth a try?
 
iknowmyvalue said:
Has she had her ovaries scanned? I would guess that a cyst or mass on an ovary could cause abnormal hormone release and be affecting her udder?
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Our new vets said this would be the next step , she's taken a turn for the worse with the teat just expressing blood and lumps of tissue now . So vet is out first thing tomorrow .
 
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JJS said:
As a short term measure to make her more comfortable, could you treat her like she's just had a foal taken off her to see if this dries up the milk i.e. cut back on her hard feed, give her Epsom salts in her dinner, and encourage gentle movement if you can. Hopefully your vet gets to the bottom of it soon!
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Hi , we have tried this before and it does not help at all , she's on Epsom salts now whilst it's producing blood and literally gets a handfull of pony nuts with her joint ado . We tried no feed only Adlib hay and putting her out on poor quality grass . No change .

Me too ! They are coming tomorrow morning so I'm hoping they have an action plan.
 
dominobrown said:
What do you feed her? A horse I had in for schooling kept producing milk. Had to take her off alfa, soya oil, any feed that effected hormones and rich grass.
I think the other suggestions are worth a try and sounds a lot more serious than the hprse i had but maybe worth a try?
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Hi , she's fed a handful of pony nuts with her joint aid , we've tried removing all hard feed previously and it has no effect . Again grass quality isn't superb here , she's out most days with adlib hay .

It's something quite serious I think and there's some niggling doubt in my mind that she's going to come out of it in one piece !!
 
I hope you find a solution. my fear would be that there is something sinister going on somewhere, I really hope I am proved wrong and everything is ok
 
bearTessy said:
Hi , she's fed a handful of pony nuts with her joint aid , we've tried removing all hard feed previously and it has no effect . Again grass quality isn't superb here , she's out most days with adlib hay .

It's something quite serious I think and there's some niggling doubt in my mind that she's going to come out of it in one piece !!
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Sounds if you have tried all the obvious routes. I think its quite rare, especially in this country but you may be going down the route of, or horse equivlant, a hysterectomy? I googled it and there are cases of it being done in horses. You really need a vet who is going to look into why its happening. The tummy swelling to girth etc is really strange too. Please keep us updated as it sounds really unusual. Best of luck and it may be worth referring to a vet school or specialist.
 
NZJenny said:
Nothing constructive to add, other than all the best and jingles for a positive outcome. Please let us know.
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This, fingers tightly crossed for you - your little mare was (and is!) a real HHO favourite so I am sorry to hear she's not well. Hoping for good news, poor mare, sounds very unpleasant.
 
claret09 said:
I hope you find a solution. my fear would be that there is something sinister going on somewhere, I really hope I am proved wrong and everything is ok
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Me too, I am well prepared for it being something sinister, it's not normal at all.

I think previous vets have focused too much on the teat and not thought it's probably a side effect of something else in the body going wrong.

We are prepared for the worst case scenario .

Thanks
 
dominobrown said:
Sounds if you have tried all the obvious routes. I think its quite rare, especially in this country but you may be going down the route of, or horse equivlant, a hysterectomy? I googled it and there are cases of it being done in horses. You really need a vet who is going to look into why its happening. The tummy swelling to girth etc is really strange too. Please keep us updated as it sounds really unusual. Best of luck and it may be worth referring to a vet school or specialist.
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It's frustrating as it does feel like we have tried to eliminate so many factors, and it still persists.

We did discuss this with previous vets who advised it's extremely dangerous there is a high risk of infection or the mare bleeding to death due to the blood supply in this area.

I think the swelling is fluid settling in the lowest point , but it's never been checked what this fluid is.

Thank you, unfortunately no insurance companies will touch her now after the amount of previous treatment she has received so I am paying for it all. We've just moved into our first house so it's not the best timing but would live in a tent if it meant getting her better. We have a brilliant vets nearby (Oakham vets) so they might be our next cry for help !
 
honestly at this point I would just ask for a referral. Your vets don't know what it is and have eliminated the more obvious. I am a little surprised that they haven't been in touch with someone with more experience in this area if they are out of ideas themselves.
 
Update -

Vet ultra sounded her ovaries and womb which were perfectly normal . Took bloods for a full test . He also scanned her udder which was full to the brim with fluids , tissue around it looked normal .

Vet suspects cancer or a vital organ failing so bloods will be back by Monday showing this . If they come back clear he will refer her to Newmarket .

The issue being no one will insure her and I don't know how much I can afford treatment wise . I feel a bit like I'm signing her death certificate .

Feeling pretty rubbish at the moment and had a good cry at poor Tessy .

Quality of life is the most important thing here and I wouldn't force her to stay longer than she needs to for my own happiness. At 15 she's had a hard life , but I know and take comfort in the fact the last 5 years of her life have been filled with love and good times .
 
So sorry to hear that, but at least you are getting some answers.
You will no doubt make the right choice when the time comes. Be kind to yourself and give your lovely Horse lots of hugs.
 
Aww hugs, yes quality of life has to be the most important thing and she has definitely had a fabulous time with you, it's also really hard when you don't even have a diagnosis so you cannot decide whether treatment is possible, how likely it is to work, or affordable but you are definitely doing the best you can. x.
 
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