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Discussion on Foal umbilical
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Member:
ttownzen
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Posted on Friday, Mar 14, 2008 - 11:08 pm:
I’m having a little panic attack tonight because my 5 week old filly had some bright red blood on the tissue around her umbilical. I’ve been watching it pretty closely because it seemed thicker than normal from the start. I treated with iodine for her first three days, and everything has been dry and odor free since. The stump just seemed a little thick. I already posted about her ALD, and possible mild flexor contracture. I have a call in to the vet for an emergency appointment, but until I hear from him, I’m very anxious to hear if anyone has had an issue like this. She is very active, eating well, growing like crazy. We have had a diarrhea problem that started around the time of her foal heat and didn’t go away until a few days ago. It ranged from cow pie consistency to watery and back to cow pie again. I didn’t panic as she was chewing on everything including the paint on the barn and the moss on the oak trees. She was never lethargic and had no loss of appetite. There is no weeping from the stump, and it is not tender. The amount of blood could be equated to that of a pin hole so very minimal. I treated it with iodine tonight when I saw the blood, but now I won’t be able to see if there is additional blood. It was not very much, so here’s my question. At five weeks, the umbilical should be getting ready to fall off. Could it be that it itches and she might have picked at it? I have read all of the articles on sepsis, and infections. At what age is a foal no longer at risk for these types of umbilical problems?
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Moderator:
DrO
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Posted on Saturday, Mar 15, 2008 - 10:36 pm:
Terri,
when you ask "could it be" it is rare that such questions can be answered "no", so it is also rare you can get any useful information from such a question. For instance, "could aliens have come down during the night and painted a bit of red blood on the end of the cord?" Well yes that MIGHT have happened but it seems quite unlikely. And there is no age at which you could say "you do not have to worry" about infection of any body part. Infection can happen anywhere, anytime. This may all seem a bit odd but I am trying to get you out of the habit of such "thought experiments" that lead nowhere and instead consider the facts that are in front of you. It will help prevent the panic attacks and help you make better decisions.
We have an article with information on umbilical cord problems: does your foal fit the profile of any of the problems? If armed with this information you believe there may be something wrong you should contact your vet to have him out to examine the foal. It could be he is fine, but I will not know that until I examine him. By the way, does he have a fever is an important question when considering significant infection?
DrO
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Member:
ttownzen
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Posted on Sunday, Mar 16, 2008 - 10:44 am:
No fever, doesn't fit any profile. Only found one article where the foal had no fever or symptoms. Vet couldn't make it out until Thursday to evaluate the legs and he will do a complete evaluation then. For the time being, unless she becomes symptomatic I'll just hang tight. Sorry to ask such dumb questions. I'll try not to be so ambiguous if I post a question in the future.
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Member:
ekaufman
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Posted on Sunday, Mar 16, 2008 - 3:32 pm:
Hi Terri,
If she doesn't fit any of the profiles, take a look at her environment for potential irritants. The umbilical stump protrudes (sorry, duh) and seems to be somewhat prone to getting rubbed by rough bedding etc.. I had a colt once that I was certain had a hernia, except we could not find the hole. It turned out that the little snot was jumping on the other horses so hard and so often that he irritated it. I have often seen minor irritations from lying down in sand etc..
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Moderator:
DrO
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Posted on Sunday, Mar 16, 2008 - 8:25 pm:
Terri, always consider health is not a static event so if the unbilicus is really a bit large, keep your eye on it and the temperature of the foal until the vet looks at it, just to be sure. What was the foal's temp by the way?
DrO
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Member:
ttownzen
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Posted on Sunday, Mar 16, 2008 - 10:32 pm:
Interesting Elizabeth, she rears up on the mare all of the time trying to get her to run around with her. I wonder...Bedding is 4-6 inches of pine shavings so it's pretty cush, and she seems to always go inside to rest. I haven't seen any more blood, and I am watching it very closely. Temp is 100.5, and has only spiked to 101 at one point a few days ago. It was the hottest day so far this year and she was running and playing alot so when it was back down in the eve I felt it wasn't something to be concerned about. This is a pic of it last week before I saw the blood. It's dry, but big around at the base. It seems to be shriveling more in the last couple of days, but I had expected it to start shrinking sooner.
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