Bladder stones/repro infections in horses?

[Jenni]

My friend has a mare who is kind of a PITA at times. She's done saddle fit, chiro, dental, hock injections, etc. and the mare still hasn't performed like she should. Last summer another friend was watching the horse and said she would have her checked for a low grade uterine/vaginal infection. The horse is a 12 year old mare who had a foal several years ago and is a little bit "shelfy" in her conformation back there. This 2nd friend is a breeder and has been in the horse business nearly 40 years. I had never thought about this as a cause but kind of filed it away.

I will be hauling this mare to a vet for hock injections and teeth the beginning of next month. My friend remembered the possible infection issue and asked about testing. She called the vet and explained the problem and asked about cost. She said the vet said he would be more concerned about bladder stones and suggested an ultrasound. He didn't seem to put much stock in the infection idea (friend said he treated her like she was dumb). The US is an extra $100.

I was looking for signs/symptoms for bladder stones online and couldn't really find anything except difficulty urinating and blood in the urine. The horses behavior includes generally looking po'd when ridden at speed and asked to turn barrels, tail swishing, and occasional bucking. She has seemed to regress in her training, she was running patterns well a couple years ago and then last year was almost like she'd never been run before. When she urinates she always stretches out like a gelding and grunts but the pee looks normal colored - at least I never noticed it looking odd. I had also thought of other female issues associated with her cycle but her behaviors don't follow a pattern like you would expect if it was that - although maybe a ovarian cyst or something would be long term?

Like I said we've done all the usual chiro, etc, to get answers but nothing seems to help too much. She has a chiro adjustment and we think that's it - but her behavior doesn't change. The horse is pastured 24/7 with very little grain during the riding season. In the winter she gets pretty much free choice grass mix hay and no grain.

Any experience of signs or symptoms that could be more definite? Other ideas? Just trying to help her with the decision on where to spend her money. The horse is starting to become a bottomless pit for her pocketbook and being in college she really can't afford to throw money away on more slim possibilities.

[pamz]

Well, a couple thoughts crossed my mind. First, your friend, being a breeder, is going to look for repro related issues first. It's natural because these are things that are always foremost in a breeder's mind. The bad repro conformation is definitely a predisposing factor for infection, but it might not necessarily be the first place to look.

Being that the mare has had problems for so long, I would think you would see other symptoms (vaginal discharge, frequent urination) by now, not just behavioral problems. Yes, a low grade infection is possible, but low grade infections are usually symptom free and are only discovered when a mare has trouble conceiving or during ultrasound to determine optimum breeding times.

I have a tendency to agree with the vet, especially give that you say she does seem to have painful urination. I would definitely ask him about the possibility of a simple bladder infection rather than stones. Perhaps a simple course of antibiotics might be in order, then an ultrasound if there is no improvement.

As far as the cost of an ultrasound, the vet is going to have to do one to determine a uterine infection anyways, so I would let him look for what he thinks is the most likely cause of her troubles.

MTA: Another thing to keep in mind is that this could be totally unrelated to any type of pain or infection. What else does your friend do with her mare? Is it possible she is just plain sour? Maybe some time off from running barrels would help. Take some trail rides, get her out of the ring. It might go a long way towards improving her attitude.

[Jenni]

I did not get the full story of what the vet said but your post makes sense to me.

I'm pretty confident that it isn't a sourness issue. Most of her riding is out of the ring on trails. The horse still happily walks into the arena at competitions and did have some decent runs last year. However -now that you mention it- I think last year was the first year that she did not have an arena to practice in at all so maybe the problem lies in not enough time in the arena. The only time they actually ran patterns was in the arena at competitions. It could be that this horse (or my friend) needs to see a pattern a few times a week and they were just out of sync when it came time to run. She also didn't get to as many competitions last year as she has in the past.

[Marci]

Yeah if the vet can't find anything it does sound like she plain doesn't like what she is doing for a living. Bored silly comes to mind.
Ahh haa, you posted at the same time. Perhaps it is a case of what the heck? Oh yeah I think I remember this. Hey thats a much easier fix than the I don't wanna anymore.

[pamz]

You could be on the right track. Usually when there are behavioral issues with a seasoned horse, it's a good idea to look at what has changed. Maybe you've found the answer.

[Jenni]

She's never been a completely consistent horse but last year was definitely a lot worse than in the past. It may be that she never will be the type of horse that will run the same pattern every time without argument. She does have kind of a hard-headed, dominant personality - and so does her owner.

[Kit]

Lucky me, I've had experience with bladder stones in a mare.



Murphy was only 4 when hers was found and removed, but I have no idea how long it had been forming.

She had been sick as a 2 yr old with a high fever, and I think that is when it started forming. Her protein levels were all out of whack and she became anemic, etc.

When I started her under saddle as a 3 yr old I had a LOT of trouble getting her to lope. I had started her mother, a full sister and a 1/2 sister, all were VERY easy. So I figured something wasn't right. Then I noticed after exercise she would pee and it would have some blood in it.
I talked to my vet about it. He has been seeing several horses with the same thing, and after testing many of those and finding nothing, he thought we could just wait and see what happens.

I had a chiro look at her, and he did something that she HATED and wouldn't allow him to touch her again.
A few months after talking to my vet, she flipped out when I was riding and dumped me..HARD. I took her to another vet/chiro and talked to him.
He suggested having my regular vet check her for crystal in her urine.
Had my vet out again, he pulled blood and was going to pull a urine sample. He got the cath. in and it was hitting on something. He palpped her and felt the stone which he said felt about the size of a golf ball.
Next thing I know, he was on the phone to the horsepital setting up an appt. THEN asked me if I could take her down the next day for surgery.
She went down for surgery and they were able to remove the stone intact.
Even after her surgery it took quite a while before she would willingly lope, I'm sure she was waiting for the pain to come back.

It's certainally possible that this mare has stones and it's something I'd have checked out. If nothing else then to rule them out.

hmm, I really should keep this in a folder so when someone asked about it again, I don't have to retype the whole thing.

[steph]

Interesting reading about your mare, Kit.

I don't have experience with the bladder stones/infections, but do with ovarian cysts/cancer.

My friends mare had ovarian cysts. Her behavior gradually changed--but she became rank--even on the ground. And eventually developed stallion like behavior. Before that she was sour under saddle, reluctant where she had been willing and just not nice as she typically was.

I agree with the ultrasound as a staring point. Best of luck to the mare, hope it's nothing--but hope they get answers too.

[Trailpal]

Kit - maybe put it in the the "useful stuff" section?