This is an archived Horseadvice.com Discussion. The parent article and menus are available on the navigation menu below:
HorseAdvice.com » Diseases of Horses » Urinary System » Excessive or Uncontrolled Urination »
  Discussion on Urinary problem in mare
Author Message

Posted on Friday, Oct 22, 1999 - 11:02 pm:

m:

My 14 yr old hackney mare cannot hold her water. Any quick movement or even just standing she leaks. Her legs are all scalded and her tail is always wet with urine. I have to wash her constantly and tie up her tail and wrap it to save it from getting in that condition. She came to me 2 years ago not being able to lift her tail up but without any leaking problem. This has only been for the past few months and it came on slowly. She can move it sideways but not up. I know some show people do "things" to their horses so I wasn't worried about it at the time. I just drive her for pleasure. My vet examined her, did urine sample,(ph 7.5 but urine cloudy and lots of crystalization in it) and put her on tribrisson for 10 days. She got about 90% better but it came back. She is now on long term tribrisson for a month at least. Vet says that she might have herpes from Rhino but I don't know her history. Said she's dying. Said she will become paralyzed from the back end forwards and then lose control of her hind legs. But her quick recovery on the 10 day course of meds gave me hope. Now vet is wondering if it might be just a stone in her bladder, or a neurological problem, or just a deep seated urinary tract infection. This is quite a different story than the "She's dying, I have NO hope for her" that I got first time around. This mare has had this problem a long time. And she trots, and canters, and bucks out in the pasture with no trouble at all. When my vet told me to drive her and I put her to my Meadowbrook cart (it's horsesized and a little big for her, as I stepped into the cart she started slowly sinking to the ground. Of course I unhooked her immediately and haven't tried that again. Vet said at that first visit I should drive her all the time until she loses her back end. THAT sounded like a neat idea. What if that happened going down a hill or something? Duh? She said that the mare doesn't have any pain, just the legs from the urine running down them but I wash and dry and slather on the Desitin daily and it keeps her comfortable. Any thoughts of this?? lilfilly

Posted on Sunday, Oct 24, 1999 - 11:17 am:

Hello Anita,
Your veterinarian believed your horse had a condition called cauda equina neuritis (see Disease: Neurological: Cauda Equina Neuritis) and it is easy to see why. The paralysis progressing from the tail head to urinary track did not look good. On the other hand horses with CEN should not respond to antibiotics. You may be right and they may not related.

I would say first is to give the antibiotics a real good chance since so much improvement was seen. Chronic cystitis may require a prolonged course as the infection has had a chance to get well established.

If they fail you need to have a thorough physical exam with a complete chemistry panel, CBD, urinalysis (wait till after the antbiotics are stopped) and ultrasound to better characterize the problem. Primary incontinence comes in two forms: the sphincter is either too loose or too tight and they are treated differently. Once a diagnosis is made treatment and prognosis can be considered.
DrO

Posted on Monday, Nov 22, 1999 - 9:58 pm:

I have run a whole month of Tribrissen on her now and she is having the same problem about not being able to hold her water. But, there is no sign or any paralysis at all. She can trot and canter and buck with no problem. A urinalysis was done before I even put her on this Tribrissen. There was a lot of "gravel" in the urine but the ph was normal. Any more ideas?

Posted on Tuesday, Nov 23, 1999 - 6:38 am:

If they fail you need to have a thorough physical exam with a complete chemistry panel, CBD, urinalysis (wait till after the antbiotics are stopped) and ultrasound to better characterize the problem. Primary incontinence comes in two forms: the sphincter is either too loose or too tight and they are treated differently. Once a diagnosis is made treatment and prognosis can be considered. DrO
Home Page | Top of Page | Join Us!
Horseadvice.com is a BBB Accredited Business. Click for the BBB Business Review of this Horse Training in Stokesdale NC