Self Diagnosis...Don't Go There

So here’s something weird that I’m dealing with regarding my darling mare, Tickles. The lesson contained herein: Do not self-diagnose horse. Even with phone consultation with the vet, he can only go on what you tell him, which as I’ve learned can be correct and yet, oh so wrong.

Let me explain. I was positive that I was spotting all the signs of the dreaded disease Laminitis or Founder in my mare, and when I described her symptoms and condition over the phone to my vet, he agreed it sounded suspiciously like it and told me what to do. However, I had missed one important clue that I didn’t notice until after two days and one special delivery of low calorie grass hay.

I was fly spraying her before our daily walk (I’d been hand-walking her up and down the driveway so as to not inflame her sore feet) and as I went to spray under her belly I noticed her utter swollen and dripping milk. Of course I know from all the broodmares around here that despite spring being long gone, this had to mean the birth of a foal was imminent. I called my trusty vet again and based on this new tid bit he agreed it was likely and said that it would also explain the hefty weight, sore feet, and change of attitude she’s had… However, he recommended that we bring her in to palpitate her to be sure. A second vet I called concurred that she must be a late pregnancy.

So we hauled her in and guess what? No baby. In fact it took about ten minutes for our vet to diagnose what I had been fretting over and trying to research for days. She is having a false pregnancy, which is rare for horses, but leave it to Tickles. She’s six and her biological clock has gone into overdrive. Her instincts are telling her body that by her age she just has to reproduce, and so every function her body has to create a baby is doing its job. Of course, without the stallion’s contribution, it’s all for nothing. She just thinks and feels absolutely pregnant.

So I can do little but let it run its course, she’s still on a diet so that I’ll hopefully never have to go through the Founder scare again. I’m supposed to really ride and exercise her to get her out of the broodmare mindframe. But the main thing I’ve learned is that self-diagnoses is flawed at best, even with horse care books and the Internet. False pregnancy is so rare, my vet hadn’t seen a case other than in cows for years. I would never have thought of it, and would probably have started round-the-clock foal watch that may have lasted until Christmas.

Now I won’t be hauling to the vet every time my horse sneezes. My husband would likely divorce me when he saw those bills, but next time I relay symptoms to the vet, I will list the facts, I will not color those facts with my own diagnoses, I will not jump to worst-case scenario conclusions unless the vet -unpromted by me- jumps there first.

On the other hand, I really love my horses, so maybe I can overreact a little. You know, I thought just I saw Tuff swat at something with his tail. I bet he was stung by a bee, I better check my book…