I already have the vet coming out tomorrow for an U/S but I am curious if anyone can answer this question for me while I wait. Yesterday I noticed my mare has clear fluid “streaming” out of her teets when i squeezed on them-I noticed this while giving her a scratch in her favorite place! I am surprised at the amount of fluid that seemed to want to keep streaming out! Will broodmares, that have skipped a breeding season, still bag up?
Ya, when I got her she had been open for two years. That seems like it should have been long enough to dry up, right? But she has always had a solid set of *udders (don know if that’s the word for it). I just assumed it was from being a broodmare
I purchased one of my mares about 10 years ago as a coming 3yo from her breeder. She was most certainly a maiden. She has always had extremely large teats and you have always been able to express a steady stream of fluid from her udders. She has since had a foal and a year off but you can still express fluid from her udders. Hope this helps 
My mare had never done this till last year and I basically geeked out (I’ve had her for 6-7 years?) One of the main things that was brought up was that it could be her diet and that soy (she was getting none) or clover could be culprit. My vet thought it was interesting but with no tumors etc not much to be concerned about.
I have a maiden mare coming 7. No plans right now to breed. She has this. Sometimes it is better some times it is worse with big udders. Year round I can squirt stuff out if I choose. But I do not. There is a long very informative thread on this in the health section.
Clover. That is the reason. My mare is on a total soy free diet. On soy she had bigger udders. Might be one of the reasons. ??
Calling vet, waste of time imo. But if you want to have a vet out, go for it. If the fluid is dark, white, yellow, maybe a worry. Clear, nope.
My 22 year old maiden has always had large teats, or at least she has since I met her at age 12. She will periodically “bag up”. The fluid is usually clear, sometimes a little red, sometimes white. It goes away on its own and has only once really bothered her; that also went away on its own. I attribute this more to ventral edema than anything reproduction-related. Her teats are on her bottom aspect, so when she has extra fluid circulating, gravity pulls it down into her teats. She will sometimes have attendant swelling in her hind legs and/or belly.
One previous owner wrote to me that the horse was lactating when they bought her; I take that with a grain of salt. She was covered as a 4 year old but didn’t catch. It’s possible that she was successfully bred and foaled out in her polo life, but it would be hard to fit in her timeline. Plus, she was a good polo pony, and if she were able to carry a foal, I’d have expected someone to keep her as a broodmare.
Several vets (at least 5) have weighed in on this phenomenon. Between them, and my own judgment, this is my theory: The skin on her teats, like that on her hind legs, is just kind of stretched out and not particularly elastic anymore. One vet metaphorically compared it to an old bike tire. My horse has a long history of cellulitis. Whether the cellulitis episodes are the cause or a symptom, I don’t know, but it seems to me that she’s just chronically inflamed or kind of…leaky. I keep her in an in-and-out stall with a big run, so I don’t see as much in her legs as I used to.
I wouldn’t worry about it, but having read what I just wrote, you probably aren’t surprised to hear that.
Getting our mare soy free all but eliminated same issue.
The only time my mare dries up is about 2-3 months into pregnancy. Then she bags up normally, has milk. Foal weans. She keeps producing cloudy thin liquid . IIt’s salty, like pre- milk. She has huge teats because the liquid is always there. It leaks our once in a while, but she stays thesame size. She gets mistaken for a ggelding. NNothing the vet can do.
Hmmmm, I’ll look into the soy thing! As far as the vet coming out, he was already scheduled for an ultra sound b/c I am breeding her this spring, so it wasn’t a call just for this. It was just something I noticed and thought I would tack on to the barn call. thanks for the response! My other mare is not ‘leaking’ so I’m not convinced its a soy issue yet, but I’ll check the feed bag anyway!
Yup, looks like there s soy in her pelleted feed, it’s the fourth and fifth ingredient. Any reasons why I shouldn’t feed soy products? Just curious as to people’s opinions and reasoning on soy. I’ll ask the vet as well, I’m just looking to get some experienced breeders opinions
Easiest and most informative info you should do a search on this forum. Lots of info.
My mare never has been bred, never had a foal, never had any swelling anywhere since I have had her since she was 1.5 years old, and is coming 7. The 20 plus yr old companion mare has little girl udders, like raisins. Mine has udders at times that look like she had a “teat job”. You know, like the women in CA have. Plastic b@@bs.
