Placentitis
Placentitis refers to inflammation and infection of the mare's placenta.
Placentitis occurs most commonly in middle aged mares that have produced a number of foals but can also occur in young mares and in maiden foaling mares .The condition interrupts the blood supply to the developing foetus and can result in the delivery of under-developed, premature and septic foals or in the worst case, abortion of the foal.
Mares suffering from placentitis may show a range of signs including a cloudy white to yellow or brown discharge from the vulva and milk dripping or running from the teats. Mares that show these external signs already have significant damage to the placenta and to the foal they are carrying. They can be treated with appropriate antibiotics, anti-inflammatory drugs and progestagens to help maintain the pregnancy however, the foal is usually born premature, under-developed, and often septic. Some mare suffering from placentitis show no external signs and simply deliver a premature or dead foal.
Mares that have suffered from placentitis during one pregnancy are at a significantly higher risk of the condition occurring again in subsequent pregnancies. Any mare that has aborted a foal or has produced a premature, dysmature or septic foal from a previous pregnancy should be considered to be high risk for placentitis in future pregnancies.
High risk mares can be managed with advanced ultrasound scanning and targeted treatment programs. These mares are usually examined first at 120-150 days of gestation and then re-examined on a monthly or fortnightly basis as required, throughout the pregnancy. Individual treatment programs are tailored and modified according to the results of ultrasonography and the mare's response to the treatment, in much the same way as human mothers and babies are managed.
As more research is conducted and more information comes to light via advanced ultrasound scanning techniques, it is now clearly understood that a certain proportion of mares suffer from a condition known as placentitis.