"RUSTY" COLORED MILK???????

[ccshetlands]

I need some help. It is 12:30 am here....I just got in from the barn--checked in on my mares.

I have a mare that is due 4/8 (shetland and they do tend to go earlier than "big" horses). 4/8 is her 330 due date. She did foal at 357 days in 2006.
She did not do this last year, I watched her like a hawk, and know she didnt....
I just got some "rusty" colored milk out of one teat. It seems like a little blood mixed with the yellowish/gold that they usually have before they have milk. But it is not RED, but a rusty color. It is only in the one teat, and that side is not hot, or any bigger than the other side that I get normal looking stuff out of....
HAS ANYONE HEARD OF THIS? It is all that color, not like a swirl of it, it comes out that color and looks mixed in, not just a little bit of it.

Her bag is not big, just a normal udder that still has a ways to go.
Anyone out there heard of this? If so, what is it and what should I do???

[askjeevies]

Does she seem exceptionally distended. A blood show in milk is often indicitive of a ruptured or rupturing prepubic tendon

[ccshetlands]

No, she is not overly huge, not as big as she was last year for sure, just normal. I was told that it is a blood vessel that has ruptured and that it will clear up on its own.....
I will keep a close watch on her. She is an 8 year old mare and in great shape---I have seen a picture of a prepubic tendon ruptured and that is horrible!!! Gosh, hope to heck that isnt it! I will get a 2nd opinion if it does not clear up soon.
Thanks for the info...didnt know that blood in milk was a symptom of prepubic tendon rupture!!! I learn something every day!!