Burst uterine arteries post foaling?

[TrueColours]

I have a client that wants to breed her mare to my stallion and she sent this to me this afternoon. This was the history on the mare from her previous owner that had bred her and it sounds like this happened as a maiden mare and she was never bred back again after that:

She was easy to breed, did not need regumate, she was stitched, but who knows today as its been a long time since she was bred. When foaling her 1st foal, she had a bad bleeder on the side of her uterus, that is why we did not breed her back.
There has been a few years since that happened, talk to your Vet.
Let him know what happened see what he or she says. She cycled monthly when she started to cycle easy to tell, especially she was a maiden at the time.


I am reading this that she did burst a uterine artery foaling out her first foal - thats about the only thing I can think that a "bad bleeder on the side of her uterus" could possibly mean!

Thank God I have never had to deal with this before with any of my mares.

Can they recover fully from this and safely be bred once again or should this mare never be bred ever again? Are there any tests that can be run to determine if the uterine arteries can withstand foaling once again?

Are there degrees of uterine bleeds and perhaps she was a "1" out of "10"?

Does a uterine bleed ALWAYS mean that an artery burst or could it mean something totally different?

I have emailed the previous owner as well and asked her to please elaborate a bit more as we are all in the dark here on this mare

Thanks everyone and I will advise as well once we hear back from her

[Hillside H Ranch]

I am wondering if she means a hematoma, or something like that in the uterus, or perhaps the broad ligament? True uterine artery ruptures almost always (but not 100% of the time) result in death. It could have been a smaller bleed into the broad ligament, however, as sometimes if the bleed is within the broad ligament the bleeding will come under control. Some research does suggest that there is an increased likelihood of a recurrence of rupture in subsequent pregnancies. Other researchers feel that affected mares, once any resulting hematoma has regressed usually deliver foals without a recurrence. Unfortunately, there aren't any tests that can be used to find out whether her arteries are "strong enough" to withstand foaling.

[TrueColours]

True uterine artery ruptures almost always (but not 100% of the time) result in death.

That was my understanding as well Hillside, so I was/am rather puzzled if thats what happened, how this mare is still alive to tell the tale ... but I couldnt think of what else it might be instead ...

[Draygonfyne]

I lost my mare to a ruptured artery in the broad ligament. When we did the necropsy it appeared that it had happened at some point before foaling, however with the bulk/pressure of the foal in her uterus it managed to clot after some significant bleeding. She had a red bag delivery...saved the foal...but lost the mare within 24 hours when the clot gave out.

[lilypondlane]

I lost my maiden mare due to a ruptured uterine artery -- red bag delivery and lost the foal, too. My mare was hospitalized several hours after the foaling and initially was given a very hopeful prognosis. It was 12 years ago and I was brand new to breeding, so I'm not sure about this, but I remember the vets saying that because of the location of the rupture (inside the uterus maybe?), she would totally recover and would be discharged in 48 hours. Unfortunately, on her second day at the hospital, she developed an E-coli infection and after a three week roller coaster ride, ultimately had to be euthanized.

[TrueColours]

Well - this was the former owner's response - doesnt exactly help at all:

Yes, it was very bad touch and go for quite awhile,but that was many years ago good luck


Still hasnt told me if it was the uterine artery or a hematoma as has been suggested or a rupture of the broad ligament

I think also this mare did have another foal with another owner who had no idea of her past history. We are only finding out about this bleeding issue with her first foal because I asked her current owner (who is new to breeding) to find out how the mare was to cover, did she foal out easily, did she need anything like Regumate, etc, etc and then we got hit with this out of left field ... :(

So I cannot even see a vet offering any opinions on this one either and it almost sounds like Russian Roulette if she chooses to breed this mare. She might be okay for 1 or 2 or 4 more foals or this next one might kill her. Or she may be fine forevermore as well - maybe???

Also - how would a vet determine if it was a "bad bleed on the uterus"? Can they do that out in the field or would she have needed to go in to a clinic and have U/S's done to see where the problem was?

I just wish the past owner was a bit more forthcoming with her info. Its like pulling teeth to get even small snippets of information from her ...

[Hunters Peak]

Uterine bleeds, very scary. I have had two experiences with them. One was a broad ligament bleed, that led the mare to founder two days post foaling. We saved both the mare and foal, we were very lucky. Vets recommended giving the mare at least a year off, and then re evaluate her for breeding. We sent her to New Bolton Center, who cleared her for breeding after a thorough exam. She is due in a couple of weeks, so I'll let you know how it goes. Jingles would be great.:)

The other one was a ruptured uterine artery, foal was a red bag and born dead, we resusitated him. and got him back. The mare died shortly there after. There was no hope of saving her. She was a younger mare, this was only her third foal. All previous foalings had been simple and uncomplicated.

One of the great thoroughbred broodmares in history Personal Ensign had a uterine bleed. She almost died, was given a year off and had three or four successful foalings after that.

[TrueColours]

Hunters Peak ... thats right ... I remember you going through this last year and the mare was lost ...

There is 100% no doubt that neither I nor her current owner will breed her if it puts her life at risk in any way, but the conflicting stories that are coming out now are incredible!

The current owner spoke to the owner of the dam of this mare a while back and was told:

Also, I was speaking to the owner of the dam of my mare at the farm I got her from and she initially told me that the mare cannot be bred ever. Then she came back and said she had further info to say that the mare
could be bred?

I think we both hope at this stage that someone comes clean and tells us exactly what did happen with this mare so everyone knows what needs to be done with her. She has her vet coming out next week to give her the once over but I am just not sure what he will be able to tell??? We have also asked for the name of the attending vet when she did have her foaling issues so that either she or I or her vet can call and talk to him and find out exactly what happened with her

VERY strange. Almost like something is being deliberately withheld on this mare ... :(

[TrueColours]

okay - just spoke to the previous owner ... and was told:

It was not a major rupture but more of a small leak and she felt that yes - it wasnt an artery but perhaps in the broad ligament instead but wasnt 100% certain

It was on the left side and a large blood bubble (hematoma??) formed and it dissipated slowly over the course of several weeks

She was bred at 3 and foaled as a 4 year old and that is the only foal that the previous owner is aware of that she had

So - the current owner is going to ask her vet when he comes to do a thorough examination of her and pay particular attention to the left side of her uterus on the ultrasound. And will ask him if it was possible that the foal kicked in utero and possibly ruptured a blood vessel or the ligament itself and the damage wasnt related to the actual act of foaling at all? I have no idea if that is even possible ... And ask what the prognosis is for her being safely bred once, twice, 10 times more?

The previous owner didnt give me the impression that it would be criminal for us to even consider breeding her. She just said with 70+ mares on the farm, they couldnt afford the risk that a potential high risk mare presented

So - this is sounding more and more hopeful all the time and we will know more once the vet looks at her next week as well

[didgery]

We had a mare with a ruptured uterine artery at the time of foaling in 1992. It was horrible, the most traumatizing equine health issue I have ever dealt with in my life, and the mare bled to death several hours after foaling, despite a blood transfusion and our vet's other valiant attempts to save her or get her stable enough to transport. Her colt spent a couple of weeks in the ICU and was eventually handed over to a darling nurse mare.

[FalseImpression]

I lost my mare to a ruptured artery in the broad ligament. When we did the necropsy it appeared that it had happened at some point before foaling, however with the bulk/pressure of the foal in her uterus it managed to clot after some significant bleeding. She had a red bag delivery...saved the foal...but lost the mare within 24 hours when the clot gave out.

I remember this... this was Sherman's mom, correct? How is he doing these days? At the time, I was so hooked on the story of the two orphans... it seemed such a novelty, but have read a few similar stories since.

[patch work farm]

This is extremely interesting to me to know that there are different types of uterine artery ruptures. I had a 12 year old mare drop dead at my feet within 20 minutes of my vet palpating her, it was horrendous to say the least! I only knew of the burst artery as she was insured and had to have a necropsy done. A friend of mine was convinced that my vet caused it by palpating her, I don't think so since he said, "the foal is fine and VERY active" so my thought was that the foal kicked it and caused the rupture, now I wonder if it was a weakness that had been there for a while.

After thinking back on it, maybe she had previously had problems (she aborted a foal the year before-3 months early) and the day she died she was acting weird (it was EXACTLY a year to the day from when she had aborted the foal), had my vet out to check her since she was just not herself-then she dropped at our feet. To this day, it is still the worst experience and I think it was because it was so sudden, if I have to make a decision at least I can think about it and make a choice, this was done and there was no choice about it.

Good luck with whatever you decide, I think I would opt not to breed her, sounds like the previous owner might have had ignorance on their side?

[classicsporthorses]

My nearly 7 year old stallion was orphaned at 10 hours old b/c of a uterine artery rupture. I watched her take her last breaths in front of me. She had a text book perfect foaling.

A couple of years ago we had a mare in for foaling, who foaled out in the field, at night, in the rain and had a bleed. Oh the blood. I called the owner and then the vet. She was okay. I was covered in it as was the foal, I had to carry the foal to the barn. So scary for me having lost a mare in similar circumstances.

[TrueColours]

As an update, the vet that attended the foaling several years ago has a reasonable recollection of what happened. When the current vet examines the mare next week, he has been told what to look for, in what area, the full history on the mare plus he can now converse with vet #1 as well if need be

So - it has been agreed that what they say goes. There is no 2nd guessing them at all

The scary thing is that this mare came to her current owner with NO history and NO warnings at all. She is a nicely bred, nicely put together mare that anyone would be happy to have and to breed.

Thank God I asked her to get some history on the mare from the original owners re: breeding and foaling behaviours otherwise she would have been cultured, maybe biopsied, we would have covered her, gotten her in foal and NO ONE would have known there might be problems with this mare upon foaling

So - if she does still opt to go ahead with it, she would also be sent to the vet's farm to foal out there as well. Just in case ...

{{{HUGS}}} to all who have lost mares in the past. I couldnt even imagine going through something so horrific ... :(

[Draygonfyne]

I remember this... this was Sherman's mom, correct? How is he doing these days? At the time, I was so hooked on the story of the two orphans... it seemed such a novelty, but have read a few similar stories since.

Yup....that was my Sherman. He's doing very well....LOVES to jump. I'm hoping to go visit him and get some pictures this year. :)

My heart goes out to everyone that has also had to deal with this....it's been years and I can still remember that morning in every horrible detail and am reduced to tears. It's not something I could ever take the risk on again myself if there was any question about the mare.

[Slewdledo]

We had one of these several years ago. Gave her the following year off and she has had two foals since with no trouble at all.

[equusaround]

If this mare would be potentially at risk for foaling, if you believe her genetic material is worth preserving, why not do an embryo transfer. The success rate has gotten pretty good and cost is coming down.

This way you get the foal and save the mare. Plus you could potentially super-ovulate her and get multiple embryos or do several cycles.

I did an embryo transfer last year from my best mare so I could start breeding her early this year and still have a foal in July 2009. Everything went text book.

Good luck.

[amdfarm]

I've lost a mare and foal from a ruptured uterine artery, as well. It was awful. Super mare, not maiden. That would have been my young (at the time) stallion's second foal. I miss my red headed OTTB. She was a saint.

Good luck w/ whatever you and the owner decide. I wouldn't wish that on my worst enemy.

[TrueColours]

equusaround - its a TB mare. ET breedings not allowed ...

As mentioned in some of my posts above, everyone (including the attending vet) is certain that it was NOT a burst uterine artery or as most have mentioned, she would not have lived through it, so perhaps a small leak in the broad ligament?? Or a uterine hematoma??? Or???

We are really hoping this week's U/S and examination will tell the tale and let us know if there is anything visible that tells us this mare should not be bred again