Mare with Mastitis

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nagsinrags

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Hi all
I was wondering if someone could give me a bit of help, we have seperated our mare and foal a few days ago, the mare has since developed Mastitis. I have been stripping the mare of milk to ease the swelling and discomfort, what are people opinions of this, I have read that castor oil can help ease and epsom salts will dry the milk, does anyone have any experience & know of any treatment for this.
 
Hi,

I rescued a 19 year old retired Shire broodmare 13 years ago. She came to me with a large, solid udder, which was very disconcerting. The vet gave her a very thorough examination and said that the mare had had mastitis that was untreated and/or unrecognised years before and that I should keep an eye on it. She wasn't in any discomfort and was, otherwise, healthy, if quite a bit underweight.

16 months later, and in the picture of health, she was acting a bit clingy when I noticed her udder had ballooned and was extremely red. The vet came out and put her on antibiotics and pain relief. I was warned that it could become systemic and cause laminitis. She was seen by the vet daily for 10 days, when the worst happened...laminitis. Unfortunately, I had to have her pts because she could barely walk.

My vets told me that mastitis in horses is not common. The fact that you have just recognised it in your mare, and she hasn't been left unattended, bodes well for you and her. Get the vet involved ASAP. Good luck.
 
Thanks for all your help, the foal is just around 8 months, she didnt suckle all the time but every now and again, I have moved the mother in a totally different field she was fine the day we put her in (saturday) it was Sunday when her teats increased. I have been stripping the milk twice a day for the past few days and they appear to be going down. I think I will just call out local vet to be on the safe side as google can be quite misleading.
 
My understanding is that by 'milking' the mare, you are encouraging the milk, therefore increasing the likelihood of mastitis.

Definately a vet job though.
 
i am new to forums etc so I have posted my question in breeding too.
Thanks for all your help I am going to call our local vets
 
Don`t strip the milk out,just relieve the pressure,and nature will take it`s course over a week`s period.Unless the udder is HOT,looks shiney it is not mastitus,she would also have a temperature.The milk left may go curdley ,white and thick..as long as it is white not yellow/pus /blood stained things are ok.It is just a case of her adjusting to non demand.
 
I would tend to keep her stabled, on dry hay rather than haylage, this will discourage milk production, I am a bit ambivalent about milking out or not, certainly don't milk more frequently than you have to.
 
i am still going to speak to the vet as some people are saying strip others are saying dont, I wondered if the area was swollen because there was a milk build up because the foal wasnt suckling although when she was it was on an irregular basis.

It was just a shock to see her teats were normal before I moved her, just hope it will go down?
 
shes not on any hay or haylege just been moved to another field with lush pasture. Someone also suggested uddermint, I wondered if anyone had tried it?
 
Thanks amymay, she is currently out in a paddock next to others I was thinking about putting her in the same field to keep her moving around, I was always told that when a horse is stabled for long periods of time they get prone to swelling, I did read the article from link you sent earlier this morning, I am still going to nip to the vets later just for peace of mind
 
nagsinrags said:
shes not on any hay or haylege just been moved to another field with lush pasture. Someone also suggested uddermint, I wondered if anyone had tried it?
Click to expand...

I realise you are getting many and diverse opinions, but I would be careful about putting your mare on lush pasture. You don't want to do anything to stimulate lactation. I know the foal suckling would be the main stimulant, but hay in a small, possibly starvation paddock might be in order right now. Does your mare have a fever?
 
nagsinrags said:
i am still going to speak to the vet as some people are saying strip others are saying dont, I wondered if the area was swollen because there was a milk build up because the foal wasnt suckling although when she was it was on an irregular basis.

It was just a shock to see her teats were normal before I moved her, just hope it will go down?
Click to expand...

My vet said not to touch the udder at all as it only encourages more milk. My mare was a rescue case and I had removed the foal early as she was as thin as a toast rack and had a temperature. The antibiotics were for a week and had to be injected (which I hate doing). Plenty of movement is good too.
 
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