placentitis in mare & bagging up 2 months early. Your experiences?

[blueribbonpanel]

Bad news, 2 months early and a big milk bag. Vet coming tomorow to ultrasound, etc. Valuable foal inside this mare! Is there a forum out there somewhere that discusses just breeding and problems associated with it. Never had this before, although I’ve had 2 premies many years ago, both 6 weeks early, and both made it without a lot of addl expense, (couldn’t stand for a day or so, couldn’t nurse either for that amount of time) but they didn’t turn out all that great.

I need all the help I can get. I already got conflicting opinions from 2 different vets on what to treat with…!

[Home_Again_Farm]

You could be facing either placentitis or a twin pregnancy. Good that the vet is coming to US. That may show a thickened placenta. That is usually treated with smz, Regumate and Banamine or pentoxyfiline.

There are lots of thread on here that will be useful. Let us know how the US looks.

[Sonesta]

Home Again Farm gave you the two most likely things that are going on. Let us know. We will pray for the ultrasound to show placentitis

[khall]

My last two foals mare’s were diagnosed with placentitis. Treated with banamine, SMZs, pentoxyfyline daily, weekly USs. both mares foaled healthy full term foals. there is an increase in risk of red bag so be there for foaling. Neither of mine red bagged but placentas were not in good shape.

[blueribbonpanel]

The vet did an ultrasouind and did not see a thickened placenta. He said she looked good. I should give double!!! regumate (20 cc’s, how expensive is THAT), smz’s and the pentoxyfyline which is $39 for l00 pills from Walmart. Supposed to give l0 pills twice a day, so that comes out to almost $4/day for just that drug.
This is going to be fun! NOT! Vet didn’t mention anything about twins. I’m going to call the vet back and ask about that. Still looking for anyone to share ANY information about this premature bagging up. So pipe in anyone!!!

[quicksilverponies]

My guess would also be placentitis even without seeing a thickened placenta. I would do exactly what your vet is recommending. If this is a valuable foal, the expense should be well worth it. I have had a couple of older mares bag up early and when treated as described they carried to term. As someone else mentioned, there is a higher risk of red bag delivery so be sure to be present at foaling.

[Underthebridge]

Did you check the milk/fluid, is it clear?
My maiden bagged early last year, ultrasound showed no problems, I had to quit the regumate and only did one round of antibiotics,
she showed no signs of impending birth so I missed it, but everything went just fine,
I sincerely hope you just have a ““special”” mare like I do. It is truly exhausting

[Home_Again_Farm]

Did you vet do a trans-abdominal ultrasound? That is the usual method of measuring placental thickness. He is prescribing the standard treatment for placentitis.

Believe me, the cost of treatment is much less expensive than caring for a premature foal or compensating for the loss of a foal, if there was much expense at all in establishing the pregnancy.

Best of luck. Hoping the meds work and she hold off until the foal is ready to arrive.

[password]

We had a mare that bagged up early and dripped milk in spite of vet saying that there was no thickened placenta. They thought it might just be hormones awry but she did deliver a weak foal that recovered quickly. Placenta looked normal.

Foal had to have colostrum since she had obviously lost hers and also plasma. Be sure to perform the IgG test after the plasma and not take it for granted that it worked to bring the low numbers up. Sometimes these stressed foals can take more than one dose of plasma.

Same mare also dripped milk for two months the next year before having a perfectly normal foal, also with a normal placenta. It was given colostrum with normal IgG numbers and plasma to supplement.

Neither of the previous foals arrived early, which often happens with placentitis.

This year’s ultrasound showed thickening, so now she’s on the regular protocol for placentitis with fingers crossed. Hope that helps!

[PiedmontSporthorses]

[QUOTE=blueribbonpanel;7401981]
Bad news, 2 months early and a big milk bag. Vet coming tomorow to ultrasound, etc. Valuable foal inside this mare! Is there a forum out there somewhere that discusses just breeding and problems associated with it. Never had this before, although I’ve had 2 premies many years ago, both 6 weeks early, and both made it without a lot of addl expense, (couldn’t stand for a day or so, couldn’t nurse either for that amount of time) but they didn’t turn out all that great.

I need all the help I can get. I already got conflicting opinions from 2 different vets on what to treat with…![/QUOTE]

Forgive me if I missed this… you mentioned “two months early…” …Two months from when? 340? How many days is your mare currently?

I ask because I routinely have a mare who gets a large bag around 280/290 days and foals at 320. The foals are always fully developed and do great. The vet believes she is just a “fast cooker.”

So if you believe she is bagging up 2 months early from 340, that puts her right around 280 days, which is where my mare always is.

Despite knowing this about my mare, I always have the vet out who does an ultrasound and we have done preventative meds for placentitis as well, just to be sure. But I think after this happening now for three consecutive foals… I might reconsider.

[Indy-lou]

I know from experience how completely nerve-wracking this is. Wishing you and your mare all the luck in the World. I too have posted here in search of answers when this happened with one of my mares, searching for anything positive to relieve my angst, and while many have had positive experiences, it is really hard to predict how any one situation like this will turn out. Basically, you decide with your vet whether to treat or not. If you decide to treat, then stick with it and try not to second guess yourself, your vet, and anything you read here. There are positive outcomes, and I hope yours will be one of them. Best wishes!

[password]

Piedmont Sporthorses brought up a good point regarding her bag. I assumed that she was dripping milk, but if she just has a big bag, that could very easily be nothing. We often have mares that bag up 4-5 weeks before foaling and a 315 foaling date is normal for them. This early foaling seems to run in certain family lines.

Also, maiden mares may seem especially “pouchy” around the bag quite early too.

[Hilltopfarmva]

My first placentitis was with my first WB foal. Got great advice from folks on here, she was 2 1/2 months from foaling, went on banamine, SMZ’s, Pentoxifylline and 20 cc’s of Regumate, ultrasounded weekly and the area that started to detach never got any bigger. She went full term with no complications. Her placenta was a bit on the thin side, no holes and nothing retained. Filly is coming 3 and is fine. Spend the money on the meds if the foal is worth saving, even if the vet did not see a thickened placenta. Sounds like something is up.

[back_in_the_saddle]

This is where you need to know your mare. Mine started bagging up at 285 which was not normal for her. Normal for her was to deliver exactly one year after conception. I also had a red bag delivery and a foal with a slight case of dummy foal syndrome.

[QUOTE=PiedmontSporthorses;7405245]
Forgive me if I missed this… you mentioned “two months early…” …Two months from when? 340? How many days is your mare currently?

I ask because I routinely have a mare who gets a large bag around 280/290 days and foals at 320. The foals are always fully developed and do great. The vet believes she is just a “fast cooker.”

So if you believe she is bagging up 2 months early from 340, that puts her right around 280 days, which is where my mare always is.

Despite knowing this about my mare, I always have the vet out who does an ultrasound and we have done preventative meds for placentitis as well, just to be sure. But I think after this happening now for three consecutive foals… I might reconsider. :)[/QUOTE]

[blueribbonpanel]

I was so encouraged by everyone’s posts on here, but my mare did abort at day 285 and of course foal did not make it. She is/WAS an ET mare and I have no previous history on her. My local vet did ultrasound her and did not find a thickened placenta or anything out of the ordinary. On vets recommendation, she was treated with SMZ and pentoxifylline twice a day, and double dose of regumate once a day. What a heartbreak! I am hoping the “ET farm” won’t want her back because of this, and I can find her a home here somewhere. She is cute, sound and seems very quiet. Not sure if she’s broke but I think she is. The contract says I have to pay them $l000 if I want to buy her, but she can’t be worth that now since she aborted 2 months early.

[Old_Mac_Donald]

I put up a thread last year with a similar situation - only I didn’t know the mare was in foal to begin with! She dropped a healthy filly five weeks after officially confirming that whoops! she’s pregnant, and oh no! she’s about to abort due to placentitis. We used Sulprim powder, bute, and 2 x four-week-acting injections of progesterone ($80 as opposed to a $400+++ course of Regumate).

Mare dropped a BIG healthy filly who will be five months old soon! I really need to update my thread with pictures

http://www.chronofhorse.com/forum/showthread.php?413280-Possibly-unexpectedly-pregnant-Its-a-FILLY-and-a-Happy-Ending

Now, I’m NOT one who goes on about herbal remedies… however. I put both my mares on Turmeric powder around the time I found out that Mama was pregnant; the pregnant mare and the mare with skin issues. I also gave Mama twice daily over-the-tongue squirts with ionic silver - which I had used successfully on a horse with an antibiotic resistant bug. I had nothing to lose in either situation and both were resolved successfully. Certainly the ABs that the preg mare was on most likely did the trick - but the other mare was NOT on anything. Whether the turmeric and / or silver contributed to the successful birth of a healthy foal, and the healing of my other mare, I do not know. I still have all my horses on turmeric - and so far, none of the summer-related issues (rain scald, mud fever etc) have appeared… touch wood.

Hope this helps and good luck to you and your mare!

[Laurierace]

I am sorry for your loss. Many mares get placentitis and go on to carry healthy foals afterwards. Often a caslicks is enough to prevent it a second time.

[password]

So sorry for your loss.

[Old_Mac_Donald]

Oh gosh OP I’m so sorry! I used the Quick Reply option, not seeing your last post… =(