Filly-Bubble Butt??? Concern?

[AngC]

We were putting our girls up for the night when I noticed something I'd never seen before. (Bear in mind, we only have 2 girls and 1 boy.) It wasn't her "butt" but out of her "female opening", there was a bubble about 1-inch in diameter. It was out there for a few minutes and then went away. Baby (the filly) is just over 2 years old. Is this perhaps her hymen?

I will call the vet in the morning, but I have not yet set my truck up with trailer hitch/brakes for our new trailer, so would have to get the husband off the job to take Baby in. ..or get an on-site vet visit which is a smidge pricey.

Can someone please shed some light on whether this is something I should worry about?

Thank you.

 

[AngC]

I guess it was too late when I posted this (...to expect a reply.)

I'm rather freaked out. I really hope I'm not making a mistake by not taking her in tonight. sigh.

 

[Ryan Johnson]

Hi

What sort of a bubble was it ? Did it return back inside the vulva ?

If you are concerned then I would recommend getting your vet and if she is in any discomfort sooner rather than later .

I have to ask , your boy , would he be a geding ? If not could she possibly be in foal ?

Hope all is ok with her , please keep us posted

 

[Riverrose28]

You say you have 2 females and 1 male is the male a stallion? If so your filly may be bred and the bubble is possably a foal trying to be born. At this time it is well after your first posting so I hope all is well. Good luck as I don't know what else this bubble could be.

 

[AngC]

The bubble looked like some sort of membrane material. She was standing in the pasture, and the bubble appeared for a couple seconds so I didn't get a good look. It looked sort of like she had some bubble gum in there and was blowing a bubble. As soon as I lifted her tail, the bubble went back inside her. She pulled her tail out of my hand and then since she knew it was time to go in she galloped off to the barn. She appeared/s in no discomfort. I've been checking her--the area looks fine to my uneducated eye.

I only mentioned how many horses we have to indicate that we don't have a huge herd, so I have no idea whether this is a common. Yes the male is a stallion and also her sire. I doubt she's pregnant. He doesn't show that type of interest in her; but, they have NEVER been together. The two females' fence adjoins his, but I really doubt he could do the deed through the fence. (It's wooden, plank fencing with 2x6 boards; about 9 inches between boards. We strung electric wire at the center of the 9-inch spaces. We bought the largest capacity fence charger we could find, and I water the ground rod when it's dry. That wire packs a punch. If he could somehow mount the board fence, his member would get a big zinger-zap on the wire. I really doubt he would do that.)

I'm waiting for the vet to call back. So we'll see...

 

[Reignmaker Miniatures]

It does sound unusual to me, I would have done as you have and called the vet in. Please let us know what the vet tells you.

 

[Ashley]

Possibly pushing her insides out?

 

[Ryan Johnson]

A fence between a stallion and a mare really means nothing (and I mean that nicely ) When there is a will there is certainly a way.

Interested to hear what you vet says

 

[AngC]

Well, the good news is we don't have an emergency on our hands, right now, anyway.

I found a picture on the internet similar to our problem: http://www.horseadvice.com/horse/messages/4/319242.html

Baby's bubble wasn't as large, and it wasn't as red in color. I found it interesting at this link that the DVM mentions possible trauma from scratching against a tree, which is exactly what Baby does.

The vet said it was a "vaginal prolapse." ...apparently somewhat unusual in a young, never-been-bred horse. His advice was to keep an eye on her. It may not happen again. However, if it comes out and stays out, he said not to mess around and have her seen quickly. I asked what type of time-frame; he said with a large horse less than 24 hours, but with a mini sooner because things can get serious faster. So I feel pretty safe for now since the vet hospital has 24 hour emergency service. (My husband's been driving my truck to work and leaving his--with the legal hitch--so I could get her there in an hour or so. It's really stupid of me to have a nice new trailer and no way to pull it myself.)

He also said that if the bubble continues to appear and retract that he could do something called a Caslick procedure, where they apply a few stitches to tighten things up but still allow her to urinate. He said since she won't fit in their stocks, so he could either come out here and do the procedure or I could take her to the hospital. I don't know how serious a procedure this is; I found some gruesome photos on the internet. Not to sound heartless, if the Caslicks is necessary, my inclination is to dump her off there and let them deal with it; they know what they're doing. Does anyone have any experience? ...as in what kind of follow-up care? ...bleeding, infection risk, etc?

Either way, for my own peace of mind, I'm going to keep an eye on her for a couple days and then have her seen by the vet. I don't want to have to worry every day, that some morning I'll go out there and find her uterus dragging on the ground.

Ryan: Regarding the fence. You know... I've found that having horses involves way too many decisions; I hate making decisions. What if I'm wrong? Before we put up the electric wire, I thought about putting in a second wooden fence to make a buffer zone. But that would cost a chunk and not do too much for our property value. I could separate him further, but I really don't want to isolate him that much. Am I taking too much of a risk here? I hope not.

 

[amysue]

A casslicks operation is not a big deal. I know it sounds painful, but a good vet will take care to minimize her discomfort. They will give her a sedative then several numbing injections in her vulva ( my vet sprays a lidocaine product on first before injections to help) then small incisions are made on each side of the vulva and a short portion of the lips are stitched together so they will heal, thus shortening her opening. A waterproof aluminum wound spray is ideal for afterwards to protect the incisions and a four day course of penicillin as a preventitive is recommended. Many times a broodmare will have a temporary casslicks done with stitches only and no incisions to prevent bacterial infection during pregnancy. Sutures are removed prior to foaling. Perhaps you could ask your vet to just do sutures and see if that does the trick. It is very important to make sure your stud cannot penetrate her with a casslicks as severe tissue trauma can result. Horses can very easily breed thru fences. A double fence may be necesary. I have had several ottb mares need casslicks to correct urine pooling, prolapse and wind sucking problems and every mare recovered nicely. If the vet comes out to do it (less stressful for mare) hang a gate on a barn wall so you can close her inbetween in and the wall and stack hay bales up at the back so she cannot kick the vet its a quick procedure and took less than a half hour for my mares. I think it cost me around $60 not including the farm call. Good luck

 

[Ryan Johnson]

A good Electric tape has worked for me in the past. Understand tho, in doing these things it can be quite costly. Im in Australia so these prices may mean nothing too you. From memory I think it cost me around $100 to do the first minis paddock, which is quite a decent size and houses 3 minis. That consisted of the electric tape , and the temp electric fence posts. you can also use the fence nodules, which I have done for my Thoroughbreds.

My fences are hooked up to the mains electricity, so they learn very quickly after touching it once.

I live quite close to surburbia , so having the fences electrified is also a good reassurance for me that they are extra protected

 

[AngC]

Thank you so much, AmySue. Some good ideas there--plus thank you for the overview. I don’t think I’ll wedge Baby in with hay bales because her eat-o-meter does not have an “off” function; she’d probably rip through a 100 lb bale before the vet ever got started. …maybe some straw bales? She doesn’t kick. We’ve had the vet in for teeth; I just hold her around her neck while they put her little head in this Hannibal Lecter contraption. Once the sedative kicks in, she just stands there. Thank you also for the comment regarding stress on the animal. I had thought about that, because the last time we hauled Baby out of here the other two went nuts. So that made me think and I dug back through the old receipts. An on-site visit only adds a 100. But if you take an animal in, they charge you for a “haul-in” fee of 40. If you factor in fuel costs, traffic hassles, horse stress, and general discomfort, I don’t think I’ll ever take anybody to the vet hospital again, unless it’s really needed, just to save 60 bucks

This conversation has made me rethink fencing. After the husband told me Nicky couldn’t do the deed through the wooden fence, I asked other people I trust (‘cause who on earth listens to their husband) and the last vet said it looked o.k. I ‘m pretty sure I asked the farrier too. And, yes, Ryan, I know fencing is expensive. Thinking about our fences gives me a huge headache. The first year we were here I bought a power washer for the husband and a bunch of paint. We spent hours on that stupid fence. The following spring most of the paint peeled off. So then I got us a post hole digger, which is languishing out there. That’s as far as I’ve gotten with the fence (other than remedial repairs.) However, today, I went out and counted all the sections. Not counting gates, there’s roughly 2500 linear feet. We’re going to have to do something, but I don’t quite know what.

I don’t think Nicky could do electric tape either. For the interior fences, we use t-posts and wire. I’ve tried hanging fluorescent pink, fluorescent green, fluorescent orange and also white ties on the wire every foot or so. Nicky just doesn’t see it. I gave him two chances; the second time he barged through the wire he got a cut on the side of his nose. That could have been his eye hit with that wire and then he’d be even blinder than he already is. Anyway, sorry if I deviated. Thank you all for the responses.

 

[Ryan Johnson]

I'm sure if you type in the search engine on here " fencing ideas " or something similar you might find a solution that may help .

Best of luck

 

[amysue]

Could you post a picture of your fence? That might help us draft ideas on how to keep everyone where they belong

 

[tagalong]

Are you sure that she wasn't just "winking"? That would be perfectly normal… and you said it looked pink...

Other pics… http://unicorn.wereanimal.net/Kondor/Animals/Horse/Photo/Mare/V-Z/wink1.jpg

http://unicorn.wereanimal.net/Kondor/Animals/Horse/Photo/Mare/V-Z/wink2a.jpg

 

[AngC]

[SIZE=medium]No Tagalong, it wasn’t the winkies. (I didn’t know other people call it that; thought we made up that term.) I sure thank you for the photo though, because seeing your “normal” may indicate we have something abnormal going on.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=medium]I finally saw the bubble again early this evening… I was giving Baby a little loving, and she backed her hind end up so I could give her scrubbies on her backside. (geez, I don’t’ even know the polite terminology here) but as I petted her, she relaxed her tail, and inside her “slit” I could see the bubble inside her. It did not protrude, but I could see it in there; there was a small drop of cream-colored fluid at the base of her “opening.” I still just kind of wonder if that bubble might be her hymen. And perhaps it needs to be popped? I’m just going to have to trust the vet; I sure feel more comfortable when I’m informed in advance so I can have some input when the vet says what to do. (I really liked the last vet, but she moved to the east coast.) This guy seems really nice. I just don’t want to start stitching up Baby’s body parts if it’s not needed. And want to be able to ask the right questions before I blindly bless off on something.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=medium]AmySue… Regarding our fencing (which has kind of wandered off topic) I still really can’t see Nicky doing “it” through/around/under/over the fence. I was trying to post a photo but I can’t figure out how. I tried. I guess I need to host the photo elsewhere. I have a website at which to do that, but I'm not set up to do that right now. Thanks, though.[/SIZE]

 

[rabbitsfizz]

A stallion can and will do the deed through the fence (round, through, under, you name it) also NONE of my stallions are particularly noisy and I have not seen one of them breed a mare this year (I have three stallions at the moment) yet all the mares are, at the moment , in foal. So, his not showing interest will mean nothing at all, it merely means that, like a lot of entires, he prefers to breed at night. I would never, ever, run a stallion next door to mares with a single fence line. \sorry. What you are seeing, I am pretty sure, is a polyp. A lot of mares seem to get them just inside the vulva and although alarming they do not seem to do any harm so long as the do not get bigger. One of my mares had one for six years, got pregnant and gave birth around it happily, and then it just disappeared!

I doubt it is the hymen, that is very unlikely.

 

[Minimor]

Stallions can and do breed through fences. The fence AngC is describing though should prevent that....the hot wire she describes would certainly keep any of my guys from breeding a mare throught the spaces between the planks.

 

[AngC]

Trying to see if I can get a photo of our crummy fence up. Not sure I have the permissions set correctly on my end.

http://horseyhouse.com/F016.JPG

If this is viewable, I'm 5-5, and Nicky is about 31 or 32 inches at the withers; (to give you an idea of scale.) I just don't think he could hike his fat bottom up high enough to jump the fence.

The planks on the fence are 6 inches with 9 inches in the gaps or spaces. The fence section in the photo is on the driveway, so there's no electric wire. The fence looks the same on the short section where his area adjoins the girls'. ...except we strung electric wire in the "gaps" between the boards. That means, Nicky would have to mount the wooden fence somehow, and then stick his business through a 4.5 inch gap without toasting his business on the electric wire. Could he do that? I don't know. He hasn't for 2 years now but that means nothing.

I'm not sleeping too soundly at night now.

 

[amysue]

Very pretty horse! If that were my fence and I did not have a separate paddock away from mares to house my stallion, I would nail the mesh garden fence with small squares (they are very tiny at the bottom and gradually get wider as the fence gets higher) to the fence boards starting from the bottom up. That way he cannot get his front legs through and get himself in position to breed your mares. You could also hang electric fence insulators and run a hot wire (least expensive option) inbetween every space in the fence boards. If he is a mild mannored stallion, electric fence may work, I have one hot-head that would probably grin and bare it and go thru the electric wireIin a mare was on the other side. If you have time to sit and just observe, just sit out there one day (preferably during your mare's cycle) and watch to see what he does. See just how brave he is and you will get a better idea as to how likeky it is for him to get through your fence. I have also seen people use smaller boards inbetween the bigger boards or lattice, but these options are very pricy and some stallions can and will, fit through the smallest space. Good luck.