# Mare with UTI/ yeast infection?



## AnalisaParalyzer (Apr 25, 2012)

NOT MY MARE.

A friend of mine has a 12yr old OTTB, who has a problem with reoccurring UTIs. Shes had the vet out, this will be the third time. he gives her the antibiotics, and calls it a day. We were wondering if there was anything holistic or just supplementary to prevent/sooth her issues? Vet says bute does nothing for UTI pain (i'll believe him), we were thinking garlic, werent sure if horses could eat cranberry, (or just the juice, or tabs). i'm really just at a loss and dont want the poor baby to be so uncomfortable, and her poor owner is out of ideas.


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## wetrain17 (May 25, 2011)

I dont have an answer for your question, but I just wanted to say I feel incredibly sorry for this mare (from a woman's point of view)


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## AnalisaParalyzer (Apr 25, 2012)

i know  shes so grumpy, and we when we put her out she just kind of ambles around. not a happy horsie at all.


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## Lins (Nov 8, 2011)

I have no idea, but from personal experience, UTIs are the absolute worse. If they don't get treated, they will turn into an infected bladder, and then blood infection. It can damage the kidneys as well. Maybe ask a few different vets, I'm sure there's a solution.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## AnalisaParalyzer (Apr 25, 2012)

we've heard yogurt applied directly to the vagina would work, but i don't see how that could help? what about immunity boosters?


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## DancingArabian (Jul 15, 2011)

If you google "treating UTI with yogurt" you'll find more on it. I think it's more meant to be eaten though.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## AnalisaParalyzer (Apr 25, 2012)

so, back to can horses eat cranberry? or yogurt?


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## natisha (Jan 11, 2011)

Is there a gelding possibly 'cleaning his sheath' in her.
Does her vulva gape open?


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## verona1016 (Jul 3, 2011)

Perhaps she would benefit from a Caslick's procedure?


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## AnalisaParalyzer (Apr 25, 2012)

She doesnt have access to any geldings, shes stalled between two mares, and turned out with mine and two other mares, and we havent had any break outs since the hurricane. 

she does seem to have had an injury, the top of her vulva is crooked and a little misshapen, as if shes been kicked there or something, but its a very old injury. so she may benefit from that procedure, i'll see if i cant get a picture of it tonight for your consideration. 

we're starting her on a garlic regiment, and possibly onion powder too. we're going to try the yogurt once a day for a week, the plain probiotic kind. we're still debating on cranberry tabs. i heard vitamin c helps a lot for people, does anybody know its effects on horses?


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## wyominggrandma (Nov 4, 2009)

How about a new vet who will do something more for the mare. If the vet is just a "give antibiotics" and calls it a day" then its time to look for a vet that cares enough to find out what is going on and fix it.
I would not suggest to start giving the mare treatment found on the internet, like onions and garlic, until you know exactly what is wrong. Onions given to animals can cause anemia. 
Is the mare running a temp? Discharge? 
If this is reoccuring, then most likely it is not getting completely healed, the antibiotics are not working and it is a a chronic issue. 
Get a new vet that will do something and don't try to cure a horse with onions, garlic and whatever else you read about.


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## AnalisaParalyzer (Apr 25, 2012)

my horse is on garlic to help with flies, so i know garlic wont hurt, but if it may help, we're gonna give it a shot. we called out another vet, who wont be able to make it til monday, but suggested keeping her comfortable, cleaning the area well, and giving her some kind of immunity booster, along with the garlic. 

there is discharge, whitish, mucousy, not chunky or anything but obviously not normal. No she is not in season. would wrapping her tail help keep it cleaner?


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## Cherie (Dec 16, 2010)

Get a good breeding Vet to look at her. UTI are very rare and present with really serious symptoms like very high temps, very high white count (as per CBC) and very abnormal blood chemistrys.

Uterine infections that cause a discharge are much more common. They can include complications like 'urine pooling' in the forward vaginal cavity, 'wind-sucking', fecal contamination and a really nasty back end and tail.

If her vulva does not close well, she should have a Caslick's surgery. Since she is an OTTB, she probably has had one before and has scar tissue there already.

She should have a complete repro exam WHILE SHE IS IN HEAT. Urine pooling and other problems are much more readily seen when a mare is in full heat. A uterine culture is only accurate when a mare is in heat. Antibiotics must be infused directly into a mare's uterus. Antibiotic shots are completely ineffective. After a mare has been infused with antibiotics is the time that they should be sutured. Then, they cannot keep getting themselves infected.


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## AnalisaParalyzer (Apr 25, 2012)

thank you cherie, shes been getting the shots, but nothign directly to the source. it is a discharge situation, she doesnt have a fever, but shes very uncomfortable. I'll mention the infused antibiotics to the new vet we're trying. Shes been dealing with this chronically for the past four-five months, off an on. so far shes been just the best little trooper about it all.


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## AnalisaParalyzer (Apr 25, 2012)

Heres a photo of it before we cleaned it. it gets this way in about four hours, and its constant. i believe its being caused from her poopies not being hard enough, and shes getting dribbles in her coochie. i suggested Vaseline over it to try to help keep the poopies out. shes started on the garlic, and the vet should be out around five thirty.


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## Cherie (Dec 16, 2010)

I appears that her rectum is recessed farther in than her vulva. This can be caused by age, being thin, being low-backed, having several foals, and other reasons. It also appears that she has been sutured in the past. Most race mares are sutured on the track.

EVERY horse that has a rectum that is recessed and a vulva the 'tilts' inward at the top of it SHOULD be sutured.

Suturing a mare like this without doing a uterine culture while she is in heat, only closes a uterine infection up in the mare. At the very least (if you elect to not go through the expense of a culture), the Vet should infuse the mare's uterus with a good broad spectrum antibiotic that specifically targets E-Coli and other Gram Negative Rods BEFORE suturing her.

We use Furacin Solution mixed with 250cc of Saline to infuse mares that are not going to be used for breeding later on. We always culture every mare that is going to be bred later on. 

She should be a lot more comfortable after suturing her and if she has weight issue, suturing should help that, too. The discharge should clean up immediately if she is infused before suturing. The fecal contamination should also stop immediately.


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## 6W Ranch (Aug 23, 2012)

We had an old brood mare that would get issues like this when she got thin from being turned out. As soon as we got her back up on feed and got weight on her, the discharge, and other issues went away. She was 20 yrs old.

However, as far as UTI issues, google D-Mannose. I highly recommend it. It's worth the money. Often times, antibiotics will clear away the infection, but the infected lining doesn't fully slough the bacteria, and therefore the infection returns, hence the name recurrent UTI. This happens a lot in humans as well. D-mannose eliminates the problem. It's perfectly safe for horses. How d-mannose cured my UTI's

Scroll down, and this link mentions use in animals. I believe it's more effective and safer than antibiotics.


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## countrylove (Oct 18, 2012)

The caslicks procedure causes more harm than good. I highly advice you to seek other options before you sew her up... JMO

I have seen multiple mares with this procedure done and one in particular that colicked every time she went into heat. Had to have it reversed, not a cheap vet bill either...


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## Cherie (Dec 16, 2010)

I have NEVER known a PROPERLY done Casliks to injure a mare or cause colic. I have personally done hundreds of them and seen many more than that done. I have bred, by AI, hundreds mares (back when I was breeding 100 to 200 mares a year) without even opening them up. I've never seen a problem. I have just seen countless problems in mares that needed to be sutured.

I have used D-Mannose but not with great success. [I have a box of it sitting in my Vet cupboard.] It is basically a sugar-type of compound similar to glucose, I believe. I have known it to work on an occasional Pseudomonas but most mares built with a rectum like the one pictured have simple E-Coli or Enterobacter infections from fecal contamination. They are also frequently pooling urine. Much more rare (thankfully) are gram negative rod infections caused by Pseudomonas and Klebsiella bacterial. These are really serious and pathogenic. They can also infect a stallion if one is bred. 

Suturing is not a difficult surgery and usually not very expensive. (The culture and antibiotic infusions cost a lot more than the Casliks.) Opening a mare up only requires a scalpel or a sharp pocket knife. It is just like we do with a sutured mare before she foals. After catching the mare and putting her in the stocks, it takes about 5 seconds to open one up.


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## 6W Ranch (Aug 23, 2012)

If you are not having success with D-Mannose, you're not likely using enough. It takes quite a bit to coat and flush the bladder lining of a horse. It will successfully flush away the bacteria. I know from first hand experience it works well on humans. Also, it must be given several times a day, for about a week. How much did you give, and for how long? It takes about a week, and up to a jar for a human, depending on the severity. It's not cheap, but it gets rid of recurrent UTI, and breaks the pattern of antibiotics every couple months. I imagine a single box wouldn't go far.


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## Cherie (Dec 16, 2010)

This mare does not have a UTI. She has a uteruine infection and they treat much more differently than a UTI. Everything I have been posting about is about Uterine -- not UTI infections.

As I said in my very first post, UTIs are very rare in mares. Urine pooling, fecal contamination, chronic infections and suturing are all connected to uterine infections. 

The only time a mare's uterus can be flushed is when you infuse enough fluids laced with whatever you are using to treat the infection that you actually get part of it back out. Older mares and those with poor vulva conformation often times are also low backed and have quite a bit of age on them. This allows the mare's uterus to rest lower than the her vulva and lets it collect fluid in the uterus and the vaginal cavity. When you put a gloved hand and arm in a mare like this, you invariably reach in and down. I have literally 'scooped' several handfuls of urine and fluid out of the front part of a mare's vaginal cavity and uterus when they are conformed like this. Part of this condition is what contributes to the mare's rectum being pulled forward to exacerbate the entire situation. The end result is a chronically infected reproductive system (Not urinary tract at all) and a constant nasty discharge from the vulva from fluids over-flowing the uterus and vagina.

When we have treated mares like this, we have often used Oxytocin following infusing them. This causes the uterus to contract helping expel the fluid and urine. 

I hope this clears up ay misunderstanding.


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## CattieD (Nov 6, 2012)

I know this sounds odd but i was at a stud farm the other day and the breeder mentioned that some one he knew had a mare that would get infected and they washed the inside of her vulva out with warm soapy water. He also mentioned of someone who used kero to wash the inside. Not sure if this is any good for them but i suggest researching it, some of the old wives tales do work well.


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## Cherie (Dec 16, 2010)

The infection, as evidenced from pathogenic bacteria being grown from biopsies and culture swabs, is located some 16 to 20 inches into the mare's reproductive system from her vulva. 

Most of these chronic infections are in old mares that pool urine and/or get fecal contamination from an old, worn out vulva. Traditionally, most of these old mares have either had several foals and/or have dropped in their backs from age and years of riding which has contributed to their uterus being located lower than their vulva and much lower than it was at one time.

Also, traditionally, most of these mares have been sent to a sale or a 'trader' that comes through and offers slaughter prices for them. At some point, their value hits a point where the money needed to keep them breeding or comfortable enough to continue riding hits a point where it is not worth what is costs to keep them either breedable or rideable. They are then sold or put down.

Now, as commercial breeders unload these older problem mares, individuals have stepped up and tried to 'rescue' them. So, many of the older mares with chronic uterine infections are absolutely miserable, get thinner and thinner, and live that way for years rather than being dumped on the market or put down. It is just as unfair to a good old mare to keep her around this way as it is to keep one around that is 3-legged lame. Same difference to me.

Anyone that owns one of these old miserable wrecks just needs to set a dollar amount and a point at which they give up trying to save one of these mares. If they insist on trying to keep one comfortable as long as they can, then they need to haul her to the nearest LARGE breeding farm with a GOOD resident reproduction Vet or to a Vet School that teaches advanced reproduction techniques to graduate students. These severe problems do not respond to back-yard home do-it-yourself techniques. If they can be corrected at all, you are looking at $1500.00 to $2500.00 at the very least and you still have an old mare and a temporary fix. 

A chronically infected old mare is MISERABLE. That is why they get thin and keep going downhill.

This is not a very cheery post, but it is the hard reality and truth about older mares.


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## AnalisaParalyzer (Apr 25, 2012)

it is sad. The owner is currently trying to figure out how to come up with the money for the procedures, as this vet requires the money up front, wheres the vet we've had gives us a bit of a break. Its not looking very good though  the mare in question is 15 yrs, is a bit of a hard keeper, and has had 4 foals. Shes the perfect candidate for these infections, and yes, she is miserable. in this situation, what should i tell the owner? She loves her mare, and wont want her to suffer, but shes also relatively young, and may take it all the wrong way. do i tell her its best to let her go? (this is infection #4, and its costing her about 250 each vet visit)


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## Cherie (Dec 16, 2010)

If the owner does anything less than the complete, comprehensive treatment of all of her problems, she is just going to be reinfected the next time she comes into heat. It is an endless cycle on a mare like this. Their conformation causes more of this endless cycle -- over and over and over.

The owner either needs to spend the $1500.00 to $2500.00 at a University or big breeding farm with a resident Vet specialist or put her down. Even if she spends the all of this money, there is no guarantee that the mare will still not find a way to reinfect herself. That would all depend on how bad she pools urine when she is in heat and how serious her infective bacteria are. If she has a Pseudomonas or Klebsiella I would say she needed to be put down ASAP. These are very pathogenic and very difficult (and expensive) to kill. 

The other thing that might help 'a little' if all other things are corrected, would be the daily use of Rugumate to keep her out of heat once she has been cleaned up. This is not cheap and women cannot handle it AT ALL. It is a daily oral dose, is messy and oily and very difficult to keep off of your hands and clothes. [Been there - done that.]

The other thing that must be considered is just how miserable this poor mare is. This is not a bit different than having one hobble around 3-legged lame or worse because one person does not want to let them go. Most people would have put her down before now, but everyone is entitled to spend their money any way they wish -- even if it is prolonging the inevitable. 

JMHO -- She is entitled to hers.


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## AnalisaParalyzer (Apr 25, 2012)

i agree with you. i mean, i personally love this mare shes big, with springy dressage movements and shes a lovermooshysnugglebug. Shes not off her feed, or behaving very differently. just really bummed out and kinda listless. shes not happy.  i am going to talk to my friend about letting her go, even though she wont like it at all.


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## 6W Ranch (Aug 23, 2012)

At some point, like Cherie said, what's best for the mare needs to be considered. As I mentioned, we had an old broodmare, the horse in my profile pic is her son. First she was not such an easy keeper, so when she'd get poor, we'd pull her out of the back pasture, and bring her to the barn with the saddle horses so we could fatten her up. She had these symptoms, but for a while they resolved with added weight. We didn't get into any costly procedures as she was old, and my husband will not prolong the suffering of one, even though she had been a very good producer for us. Once she started going to pieces, we did what was best. 
I'm sure it's painful for her, and hopefully they will do what's best.


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## AnalisaParalyzer (Apr 25, 2012)

This is the mare in question, from a couple of months ago. shes lost some weight, and we've been calling round the states vet schools to see if maybe we can find something where she can be donated, treated and hopefully rehomed. just wanted to share her a little. Her name is Momma.


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## RachelS (Apr 13, 2015)

*Equine Uterine Infections & D-mannose*

There were older posts on here discussing using D-mannose for treating Equine Uterine Infections. D-mannose can be used to assist in treating equine uterine infections. The D-mannose attracts the bacteria causing the infection to the D-mannose molecules and it binds to them instead of the uterine lining. As a result, the D-mannose bound bacteria can then be flushed out of the uterus using a salt solution. This information is based on a study completed by Dr.Sheryl King from the Southern Illinois University on the effects of using specific sugars to prevent bacteria from adhering to the uterine lining. A great article in Equine Science Update explains the study in further detail: Mannose may be useful for treating uterine infections. There’s an outfit out of Canada that you can buy D-mannose powder directly from if anyone requires it. Their website is www.d-mannose.com


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