Foaling injuries and pneumometra (wind sucking)
Keywords: pneumometra, wind-sucking, equine,injury, infertilityInjuries from foaling or other causes may result in mild to severe distortion of the vulvar lips after healing. The result is essentially the same as if a mare had congenitally poor conformation i.e. affected mares becomes "wind suckers” and pneumometra develops.
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The cause of the injury in the mare at upper left was never determined but it was not due to foaling. This contributed to wind sucking. In the image below that, mild distortion of the left vulva lip was indeed a result of foaling. Surprisingly however, this did not appear to cause wind sucking. When Caslick’s operations are not reversed prior to foaling, similar injuries can occur.
When pneumometra occurs, it is occasionally visible using transrectal ultrasonography. For example, in images A and B, (a separate case from the mares pictured at left) bubbles of air can be seen as highly echogenic structures in uterine cross-sections. This can cause long term infertility as discussed elsewhere in LORI.
