Pregnant Mare with ventral edema

[Anonymous]

We have a 10 year old QH mare that is due to foal May 10th, She has bagged up already and within the last few days developed ventral edema on both sides. She is breed pretty well, so this is her 5th foal in a row, that I know of and we plan to breed her back. She is vey well cared for and has been well cared for for the last 4 yrs that I have known this mare, we just bought her a few months ago. A breeder told me not to worry about the edema, but I have read that it may be a problem with circulation. Any thoughts would be welcome, is it a problem or not?

Thanks,
Alan

 

[CattleAnnie]

This can occur because a pregnant mare is not getting high enough nutritonal content in her feed to meet the demands of pregnancy. Apparantly increasing the nutrients may help offset the symptoms.
Hope everything goes well with your mare.
Take care.

 

[Running Arrow Bill]

Might be a feed, hay problem. Did she get into any noxious weeds? Call your equine vet. Cheaper than serious problem developing.

 

[Anonymous]

Thank you for your replies, this mare is very well cared for a has been for several years. She is and has been on good Orchard grass and Profile Mare and Foal supplement (16% protien) and a multi Vit and Mineral additive. She has a 24' x12' stall and is turned out in a 60' x 150' indoor arena for about 10 hours a day. Just wanted to update some more details, her feed has always been top quality, I'm wondering if it is due to her dropping 5 foals in five years (maybe more)? I should say that she is a huge mare. She is 15.3 and at this point I would guess 1300 to 1400 pounds, just weighed a 15.1 filly at 1085 lbs, agian wondering if the edema is a circulation problem. Thank you again for you post.

Alan