Early this week the girls at the barn noticed Tanner seemed to be swollen around his jawline. We began checking all the horses. Cass was swollen behind the jaw but also in her mammary glands. Oh, no! Not mastitis again?! We got on the phone to the vet and after describing things – no fever, swollen on one side not both, clear discharge – she decided we caught it early and there was no need for a barn call. I had some antibiotics left over from our last go around so we began those. Luckily she remembered how she and I do medicine and she took them like a champ. Having them hidden in applesauce is the key.

Doc Roberts said Tanner’s swollen glands are most likely a reaction to allergies. A lot of crap is flying around right now and she’s seeing a lot of horses with the same thing. He gets to rest from training for a few days and we’re watching him closely. Sam and Becca are both fine.

Here’s a photo from last year when Cass had badly infected mammary glands…

She was very sick and it was even hard for her to walk because she was so swollen between her legs. You can see from her face here how she felt…

She’s not anywhere near this bad now – thank goodness! In fact, her swelling is just about gone. Now why does this keep happening to her? Because of her years as a baby making machine she has built up scar tissue in her mammary glands (boobies). She also always has a slight amount of fluid in them. This is prime real estate for bacteria to flourish. She has an itchy stomach in the summertime. Cass will lay on the ground and scratch herself – thus giving the bacteria the opportunity to hop on board. Sigh.