Uterine tear without a corresponding placental lesion in a mare

A 3-cm full-thickness tear near the tip of the previously gravid uterine horn of a 12-year-old Thoroughbred mare was diagnosed at surgery. The mare had delivered a foal with veterinary assistance 2 days prior to surgery. The mare subsequently developed muscle tremors, anorexia, and signs of depression. Physical examination revealed pyrexia, extended capillary refill time, muscle fasciculations, and fewer-than-normal borborygmi. Abnormalities of the uterus or vagina were not detected by palpation per rectum or per vagina. The chorioallantois underlying the area of the tear was intact. We propose that the uterine tear was caused by pressure created by the foal's stifle against the maternal pelvis or by blunt forces caused by the foal's foot, sufficient to tear the uterus, but not the chorioallantois.