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Discussion on Foal unable to rise since birth, now a week old!
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Member:
Lanna1
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Posted on Tuesday, Jun 8, 2004 - 5:35 pm:
Hi DrO,
A mare that I sold last fall was bred for an end of May foal this year. I consequently found out that the person who I sold her to last year did not take proper care of her & she was malnourished.
I've since been in touch with the new owners who have been exhaustingly trying to save her filly. She foaled a big filly last week who has been unable to rise, apparent weekness in the front limbs.
They've been milking the mare & feeding the foal every couple of hours since birth. They've also been helping the foal to rise & holding her up to help "strengthen" the limbs.
Their Vet is suggesting it may have been caused from the mare's malnutrition.
What are your thoughts on this?
I can't find any articles on malnourished pregnant mares and the consequences of the same. I've never dealt with anything like this before either as my horses are usually a little fat and are always well fed.
The new owner is exhausted and at wits end & is looking for any information, suggestions, advice, etc, etc, etc...
Please help,
Lanna in BC
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Member:
Warwick
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Posted on Tuesday, Jun 8, 2004 - 6:17 pm:
Lanna, two years ago my neighbour's mare had a colt that was also unable to rise due to the mare being malnourished during pregnancy. The foal was extremely weak and had to be bottle fed around the clock for the first week of his life. At approximately the 7 day mark (if my memory is right) he managed to rise on his own for the first time and subsequently got stronger and stronger and was nursing on his own within a day or two after that. Up until that time, we (the incredibly irresponsible owner, another woman and myself) shared the job of milking out the mare and bottle feeding. Each day I would lift him onto his feet and support him in addition to massaging his limbs (his circulation was very poor at birth).
It was a miracle that this particular little guy survived as the owner was completely irresponsible not only throughout the poor mare's pregnancy but also following the birth. The poor little thing was foaled outside in a driving rain and left on the wet ground for 3 hours until I arrived home from work, carried him into their barn and yelled at her to call the vet. She claims she was too scared to touch him and her husband couldn't lift him due to a bad back! Even after the vet came and tubed milk into the poor little critter, he wasn't out of the woods. I checked on him the next morning before I went to work and he was very close to death at that point as the owner hadn't done anything to feed him through the night or keep him warm. I had to throw rocks at her beDrOom window to wake her up and get the vet back out! It was just horrendous. Owners like that make me want to go out and grab a gun!
Handfeeding is very labour intensive and exhausting if you are the only one doing it. Hopefully your friend can ask some others to share the workload. In my neighbour's case, I would take the evening shift as soon as I got home from work. We also kept a log of feeding times and quantities swallowed to ensure that things were progressing in the right direction. I know every case is different but if the filly has no neurological damage and can control her limbs, she should eventually get up on her own.
I wish her all the best.
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Moderator:
DrO
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Posted on Wednesday, Jun 9, 2004 - 6:37 am:
Lanna, taking care of a weak newborn that needs around the clock care is a exhausting job.
From here I cannot judge if this diagnosis is all that is going on and the fact that she can lactate adequately makes me wonder. The problem with this diagnosis is that there is no test for it and it might prevent one from pursuing further diagnosis and missing other treatable diseases of newborns.
If they are correct and this guys weakness stems from nutritional issues then good nursing care should give him his best hope, see the article Equine Diseases » Foal Diseases » Maladjustment SynDrOme for a description of this. If they feel there is something else also wrong, see the list of possiblilities on the foal disease page, they have to determine what that is and perhaps a second opinion from another vet will put this issue to rest.
DrO
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Member:
Lanna1
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Posted on Wednesday, Jun 9, 2004 - 3:07 pm:
Thanks Sue & DrO,
I emailed her more information this morning only to find out they had the filly put down last night. She took a turn for the worst, there was urine coming from her umbilical & her knees were filling with fluid. They made the decision to euthanise.
This poor lady is devistated as am I - this could have been prevented & it makes me physically sick to know that my horses were'nt properly cared for after they left my property last fall!
I sold this lady 3 of my horses & have since been told that all three were in grave condition this spring! Thankfully, two of them have since been sold and I'm in regular contact with the new owners - they sound like terrific homes.
I worry about the 2 year old who is still in her care, but my last report said that she's been taken to a friends acreage and is now on grass, I'm praying she sells before summer's end!
Thanks for your advice and information, we can always learn something from these experiences - if there's any good that comes of something so tragic!
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Member:
Warwick
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Posted on Wednesday, Jun 9, 2004 - 3:43 pm:
Very sad, Lanna, and I feel for your friend who worked so hard to save her. Losing little ones is very difficult. I went through this over the past weekend.
On Friday morning at 5:30, I helped my vet deliver a friend's filly that was 3 weeks early, breech and red bag delivery. The filly survived the delivery and was shippped off right away to the intensive care unit of the local clinic. Unfortunately she had neurological damage and was septic and had to be euthanized the next day. To top it off the poor mare (who I co-own) hemorrhaged to the point where they didn't think they could save her. She survived but is still in a bad way. This came completely out of the blue as gestation was progressing normally with absolutely no signs of complications. The whole thing was horrific and devastating.
I feel very badly for your friend.
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Moderator:
DrO
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Posted on Thursday, Jun 10, 2004 - 7:36 am:
My condolences Lanna.
DrO
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Member:
Mrose
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Posted on Thursday, Jun 10, 2004 - 11:16 pm:
I'm so sorry. It's so heartbreaking to loose a foal, especially after so much effort has been invested. I hope for the best with your other former horses.
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