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Discussion on Abnormal vaginal discharge in mare
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Member:
tmb2006
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Posted on Wednesday, Jun 25, 2008 - 9:17 pm:
Dear Dr. O.
I have a question regarding my 10 year old mare's heat cycle. She is my first experience with owning a mare, so I am not as familiar with what is considered "normal" in an estrous cycle. I keep track of her cycle and she seems regular, ex: displaying signs of heat (tail flagging, vulvar winking, urinating) every 21 days like clockwork. She's in heat for an average of 7 days, but she is very intense. She'll "display" for any gelding nearby or any mare, for that matter.
My concern: she often has a dark brown-colored, bloody discharge staining down her legs, butt cheeks, etc. Urine stain, I can understand, but is this color and blood normal? It is seen either before or during a heat cycle.
Thank you!
Theresa Burke
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Moderator:
DrO
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Posted on Thursday, Jun 26, 2008 - 4:35 pm:
Hello Theresa,
No, blood in either the urine or from the reproductive tract would not be normal. But I cannot account for it unless it is just concentrated urine which sometimes can turn reddish when exposed to the sun.
DrO
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Member:
tmb2006
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Posted on Thursday, Jun 26, 2008 - 11:15 pm:
Thank you, Dr. O for your reply. Here's some more information about my mare's situation:
I took my mare to Ohio State for an examination and this is what we know so far:
transrectal ultrasound of her uterus, ovaries, etc looked normal. Vaginal speculum exam visually was normal. A uterine culture was performed and the results are still pending. A urine sample was collected via catheterization and was grossly normal, but a urinalysis is pending. A CBC and Profile are also pending.
While no "bad news" was reported about my mare, the OSU doctor still wasn't able to uncover the source of the bleeding. The next step is to perform an endoscopy of her uterus (while she's in estrus) to get a real,true view of her uterus. What do you think so far? Any ideas about the source of my mare's blood-tinged brown discharge?
I appreciate any thoughts or ideas.
Sincerely,
Theresa Burke
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Member:
scooter
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Posted on Friday, Jun 27, 2008 - 8:27 am:
Hi Theresa, My mare usually has a "light tea" colored staining on her legs when in heat and sometimes when not. It looks like blood and tea mixed together kind of. I think that is "normal" have seen it often, especially on the white socks...seems more noticeable.
Does your mare have bright red blood or is it brownish colored stuff?
Good to have her checked out. Hope everything is fine.
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Moderator:
DrO
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Posted on Friday, Jun 27, 2008 - 8:47 am:
Excerpted from above: "I cannot account for it unless it is just concentrated urine which sometimes can turn reddish when exposed to the sun". Theresa is there proof this is blood?
DrO
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Member:
cspanhel
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Posted on Monday, Jun 30, 2008 - 9:59 am:
I've experienced similar discharge with one of my mares--brownish that 'could' be blood. In one instance, I'm pretty sure it was actually blood (it smelled like blood/rusty), and the mare aborted a 5.5 month fetus after I noticed the 'blood'. Other times, I think it is just the urine as it lacks the rusty smell--yes, I do smell my mare's urine. :-)
But, Dr. O, is there a test we can do at home to determine if discharges like these really do contain blood?
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Moderator:
DrO
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Posted on Tuesday, Jul 1, 2008 - 6:50 am:
Cynthia, I cannot think of a simple dependable test done at home that would distinguish similar colored fluids or stains.
DrO
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