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  Discussion on Using banked colostrum
Author Message
Member:
Deggert

Posted on Tuesday, May 25, 2004 - 12:59 pm:

Hello Dr. O
I was able to get some banked colostrum from the breeding farm I use but I have a few questions. The colostrum is one year old, the foal was born dead or died soon after delivery as he never took a breath. He was in good shape. I spoke with the manager and their vet and the mare was fine, she was vaccinated for everything including WNV so if fits my needs. This mare lives on the ranch so they know her history and all her foals have been fine. The delivery was normal also. The farm banked quite a bit from this mare and I got about 12 ounces. My mare is due any day, she has increasingly severe vaccine reactions so she has never had WNV and only received EWT 30 days ago.
I posted on her problems with vaccines and the decision was to not give her WNV and she cannot take FD Pneumobort. Besides, I read all good foaling kits include banked colostrum. What do you think about its quality knowing the history?
Thanks for any thoughts
Moderator:
DrO

Posted on Wednesday, May 26, 2004 - 8:25 am:

I think the quality is completely unknown Debbie.
DrO
Member:
Deggert

Posted on Wednesday, May 26, 2004 - 1:41 pm:

Dr O
Would you have any concerns in using it? It was suggested I let the foal nurse from the mare first them give 3-4 ounces at a time in the first
12 hours. If I need the vet in the first 12 hours I may just have them tube Her (hoping her)
Also, any comments on the foal predictor test using Ca milk concentrations? It is kind of exciting - she is at 4 squares and moving into the 5th and final square of color change.
Moderator:
DrO

Posted on Thursday, May 27, 2004 - 6:00 am:

If there are no abnormalities with the birth I would not find an indication for its use. If the mare has no milk I would consider its use but 12 ozs is probably not enough and still would have the foal transfused with a commercial IgG product. We have information on the test kit at » Equine Reproduction » Breeding and Foaling »
Normal Birth (Parturition).
DrO
Member:
Deggert

Posted on Wednesday, Jun 2, 2004 - 2:21 pm:

Thanks Dr. O. I just returned to my computer after a few days. Mare foaled, no complications. We did give him the banked plus the mares, primarily because the banked had WNV antibodies.(At least the mare it was from had been vaccinated.) My mare is so reactive to vaccines so she only received EWT. I will vaccinate her now that she is not in foal/ Baby passed his IGG test very well. Unfortunately, I was going to post this morning that my mare is having complications from a sore foot over the last 8 weeks. She has a healing crack around the frog that my farrier supported with a shoe called the Tennis shoe (alum core with plastic tread in a egg bar design). Long story short, When the baby arrived, in her efforst to stay no further than 12 inches from him at all times, she beat her good foot up trying to keep up with him. in a 24 by 15 foaling stall. In hindsight, I realize she has been compensating for quite a while. 3 days post foaling I realized she was using the bad foot and the good foot was very sore. X rays show 3 degrees rotation in the cracked foot and 5 degrees in the
right, which was her good foot. She is so sore though, that the vet thinks she may have an abscess and that possibly the rotation has occured more slowly, she has been ouchy but with the cracked foot I am afraid it muddied the waters in terms of seeing it for possible chronic laminitis. Dr. O, when the vet blocked her inside quarter she got a quite a bit of relief which he says he usually doesn't see with laminitis pain, but he does with abscess pain and antiinflammatories aren't reducing her pain a whole lot. Bute, banamine and ketofen, give her only mild pain relief. She has the blue foam on right now, which also did not give he much relief, but she is moving around from her feeder to the water and eating (not her usual ravenous self) Vet is coming back today to check her and see again if he can find an abscess. Hoof testers yesterday revealed some toe pain and on the inside quarter, that quarter blocked out pretty well as I said and she was a happy camper for about an hour. At this point she is sometimes weight bearing on the 5 degree foot and sometimes she is holding it forward. I will keep posting on our results, if you have any thoughts I would appreciate it. I hope we can make her comfortable and that her rotation does not continue. She can be a pasture ornament, its ok with me. She is 17 and this is only her second foal and she is quite the producer.
thanks ahead for anyone's experience with this.
Moderator:
DrO

Posted on Thursday, Jun 3, 2004 - 8:55 am:

Hello Debbie,
I have information on the diagnosis and treatment of abscesses at » Equine Diseases » Lameness » Diseases of the Hoof » Hoof Abscesses, Bruises, and Gravels.
DrO
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