House of Stewart
New User
My mare has suddenly developed these symptoms.
Three months pregnant, rapid loss in weight and puffy face. Not worms, teeth or strangles. Any differentials?
- Thread starter House of Stewart
- Start date
Tiddlypom
Carries on creakily
What does your vet say?
Goldenstar
Well-Known Member
With my horse moderate slow weight loss then a swollen face where symptoms of a catastrophic cancer.
Honestly you need to asking a vet not the internet
Honestly you need to asking a vet not the internet
LadyGascoyne
Still Fig-uring it out...
I'm assuming a vet must be involved in order to have ruled out strangles.
There really isn't enough information in your post but here are some questions which would provide more to go on:
Is your horse in the UK?
How long has the horse had the symptoms? When did the weight loss start? How rapid has it been? When did the swelling start?
Where is the horse puffy? Is it under the jaw like grass glands? At the lymph nodes? Or swelling above the eyes? Or something else?
How old is the horse? How long have you had the horse? Has the horse traveled anywhere?
Does the horse have a temperature?
Have you run bloods for infection markers?
Have you tested kidney function?
There really isn't enough information in your post but here are some questions which would provide more to go on:
Is your horse in the UK?
How long has the horse had the symptoms? When did the weight loss start? How rapid has it been? When did the swelling start?
Where is the horse puffy? Is it under the jaw like grass glands? At the lymph nodes? Or swelling above the eyes? Or something else?
How old is the horse? How long have you had the horse? Has the horse traveled anywhere?
Does the horse have a temperature?
Have you run bloods for infection markers?
Have you tested kidney function?
Amy May In A Manger
Well-Known Member
Ditto this.
House of Stewart
New User
The Vet took bloods and they have come back unremarkable.
The horse is in the UK at stud. She is 18 years old and three months pregnant with her first foal.
I can't ask the vet as I don't know who they are so can only find anything out via the stud manager who doesn't communicate much.
This has happened very recently and came on quickly. It's her whole face apparently.
The horse is in the UK at stud. She is 18 years old and three months pregnant with her first foal.
I can't ask the vet as I don't know who they are so can only find anything out via the stud manager who doesn't communicate much.
This has happened very recently and came on quickly. It's her whole face apparently.
Amy May In A Manger
Well-Known Member
So, you get the vet details from the stud manager and ring them.
MidChristmasCrisis
Well-Known Member
To be honest it won’t mean anything good and the causes are myriad but a good well managed stud ought to have more of a handle on the situation. Ring the vet, check the keeping conditions at the stud, feed etc. Eighteen is quite old for a maiden mare and the additional stress on the mares metabolism might highlight existing underlying issues ( for instance compromised liver function due to ragwort ingestion over decades).
Gloi
Too little time, too much to read.
Also, do a Cushings test and make sure her teeth are up to date in case the weight loss is due to moving from grass to hay in winter.
LadyGascoyne
Still Fig-uring it out...
Ok, so it's likely that the vet will be very careful about transmissible diseases like EHV etc if the horse is at a stud. I'd expect them to be testing for everything like that, and asking for copies of results.
If you haven't spoken to the vet then you're only relying on the yard manager for information so I'd get hold of the vet asap and speak directly.
When did you see your horse last? The weightloss symptom would raise a concern to me if I hadn't seen the horse recently because it's only the yard owners word that the weightloss is sudden. Slower weightloss and sudden weightloss can be very different issues.
I'd probably speak to the vet on the phone, write everything down, then organise to get the vet, you and the horse in the same place and get everyone on the same page.
If my yard owner wasn't communicating properly and the vet wasn't forthcoming then I'd get an independent vet to clear the horse to travel, pick the horse up and move it.
Last edited:
House of Stewart
New User
Thanks all. Obviously I have asked for the vet's details but nothing so far. I haven't seen her since April as she is far away from me.
I was just wondering if anyone else had experienced this before with a mare in foal.
I was just wondering if anyone else had experienced this before with a mare in foal.
Amy May In A Manger
Well-Known Member
I'm sorry, but I'd be on the phone until I could speak to someone. It's completely out of order.
ihatework
Well-Known Member
No I haven’t and I hope you get to the bottom of it.
I think you should hop in the car and go for a road trip. You would like to think you would get a professional service if using a commercial stud, but unfortunately it’s not always the way. You need eyes on your horse and evidence of vet intervention (I’m surprised you arent getting vet invoices direct tbh)
HaffiesRock
Well-Known Member
Have you seen your horse in person? I’d be over there asap and on the phone to the vet
HopOnTrot
Well-Known Member
In an 18 year old maiden mare I’d be very wary. What testing was done on the bloods?
MidChristmasCrisis
Well-Known Member
It sounds odd to me to have an older mare away at a stud unseen since April and being told now that she is 3 months in foal with issues. I am a cynic due to experience and I would be visiting to ascertain if mare is still in their care, still alive even.