HELP!!! My 13-15 yr old QH mare has been dribbling urine alot w/ in the past year. She flags her tail when she does it, but she still gets urine in it. I bobbed the hair to the bone.She has urine scald on her rear legs. I clean them and apply a salve to them. She was flushed at the vet and there appered to be some reddish almost blood colored stuff in her urine.I cannot use my regular vet b/c he doesn't go that deep into horses and being in a small town does't give too much to choose from. I am using a vet, who i really don't care for too much. He first said she had Cushings, then possibly cancer, now this. This time he said to sell her for dog food. She is a great horse and doesn't appear to be in any pain,but she does pull in her rear end when i wash her with water. When the water touches her vagina the kind of pulls her rear in under her. She has never been an easy keeper, but she seems to gain weight now then lose weight. She keeps a shiny healthy coat with healthy hooves. If any one can help with tips on how tomake her gain weight supplements, advice on CEN, or if you think this could be a possible bladder stone or infection, anything to give me hope of saving my baby. PLEASE PLEASE help me and my horse!!!

Does she have any parallisis(sp)in her tail or hind quarters? That seems to be one of the symptoms as well as bladder control. It says nothing about blood in the urine though, I find that odd. Has your vet checked her for bladder infection? CEN affects the nervous system. I would look for another vet if he not pursueing all the avenues. He should check for bladder infection and kidney stones. If it is only a bladder infection (which would explain the blood) it can be treated easily with antibiodics. I help with my neighbors Paso Finos, and fortunately we have not ran into any problems like this. Here is a link to more information on the CEN: www.eqwise.org/reference/grant...
Please let us know how things work out.
Definitly don't listen to him about making her into dog food. The one horse I help with is 22 and still going strong! She is too young to give up on! GOOD LUCK

Tahnk you soooo much!! Its great to know i'm not the only one who has hope. She doesn't have any parallisis at all. The vet seems to think bladder infections are very rare and she more than likely doesn't have one. He hasn't tested her urine that I am aware of for anything. He hasn't even mentioned stones. I found the symptoms of them earlier while looking for info on CEN. I could never hive up on my horse, i've had her for six years. She never had any issues until we bred her with someone's stallion, but she didn't catch. After we got her back she lost alot of weight. I told the vet, but I think it went in one ear and out the other. I am searching for another vet near me and hopefully he can actually help. Thanks for the wab addy i'm going to it right now!!! Thanks again!!! I'll keep you updated.
AA

It definitly is really starting to sound like a bladder or kidney infection! Whether it is common or not isn't the issue, it can happen. In humans sex is a big culperate of bladder and kidney infections, so the fact these symptoms started after having her breed, to me is a big clue. I would ask the vet how much cranberry juice you could give the horse, if over a matter of a couple days there is any improvement he should put her on an antibiotic. You should also ask for some bute or other pain reliever her. I would think the pain is why she isn't holding the urine. I myself when I get a bladder infection wnat to push almost constant, its just natural if you are having pain there. I personally think you will see improvement. Please do let me know how things are going!

I also wanted to say that I would apply Scarlet Oil to the urine burn. I would then put vasoline on the affected area to help keep the urine from penetrating to the raw areas. I also read that this can also be a sign of sexually transmitted herpes (in horses). I was also wondering if it was a natural breeding? If so, were both the mare and stallion "prept" before breeding?

I can't help but get the feeling this vet is just wanting money because everytime i speak with him he wants more tests. I see no point in tests if he isn't going to follow up or even listen to me. I did; however manage to get a bacteria-ology it shows that she has E.coli and Strep. which were both assoc. with Acute cystitis. I'm going to run my idea by another vet, even though he isn't certified for large animals and see what he thinks. Maybe he knows of a vet that could treat her.
Thank you so much!!! I will be sure to use Vasoline. Where can I find scarlet oil?

Yes the horses were naturally bred. The man who owned the stallion suggested we leave the mare there for about 3 weeks. So we did when we got her back she was skin and bones!! She had a terriblly dull coat. She looked horrible. I regret ever breeding her! I'm not sure what the man did with her and the stallion, but he sure didn't do something.

Thank you again!!! You don't know how happy it makes me to know that this may be something curable. -AA

Scarlet Oil comes in a pump spray bottle now, it is for lacerations and cuts in horses. I get mine from Tractor Supply, they sell animal feeds and animal products. Anywhere they care horse supplies should have it. If you ask for it, they should be able to find it on there shelves. I think in Tractor Supply it is with the wormers and such. Ecoli is something they get from unclean breeding, this guy had no clue what he was doing. Both the mare and stallion have to cleaned before the breeding occurs. The stallions sheath and penis MUST be cleaned and mare must also have her vagina cleaned. They should be breed under suppervision as well. Stallions are very rough when breeding and could severally injure the mare, thus causing CEN (worst case cenerio). It does sound as though she has a bladder infection (cystitis). This is also caused by unclean breeding conditions. I wish you the best of luck, and let me know how things are going!

Forgot to mention as well. You could try wrapping her tail with vet wrap, this should help with the urine distribution. Put it on like you would as if she was about to have a baby.

thank u!! I'm going to get some today! I'll let u know how she starts to look!! O by the way do you know any thing i can add to her food to make her gain weight and keep it on?? Thank you

We feed very high quality fresh hay twice daily with a scoup of 50% sweet mix 50% grain in the morning and at night also. The horses I help with look very healthy due to our feeding schedule. Probably the only way she will start to gain is once the problem has been solved. If she isn't eating this amount now twice a day, you will want to up it gradually so she doesn't colic. If this would happen she would start to thrash while rolling and would end up with twisted gut, which I'm sure you know is fatal. Hope this helps, keep me posted!

I would suggest putting corn oil on her feed. Start with a small amount and work it up to a cup a day. it is high in calories. also beet pulp will put weight on her. you can buy a bag at the feed store and mix it with her regular grain. I sounds to me as if your mare picked up an infection from the stallion. I would check around the stallion area and see if other people have had a problem. Antibodics will clear it up. either putting directly into the uterus or fed by mouth.

Thanks we're feeding her a 14% sweet feed w/ Source I have been using vasaline on her legs the scald is really clearing up. She is putting on weight but i'm pretty sure she'll lose it again if i'm not careful w/ her. I've been walking her around her pen so she dosen't loose all muscle mass. I don't think my feed store sells beet pulp but i'll see if they can order it. I have used calf mana before and metamucil w/ her and she did well I think I might try those again. I'm contancting vets to see what they have to say. Thanks for all of you're help.
I'll keep you informed. Ashley