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  Discussion on Newborn Foal Fine Now...but scarey incident
Author Message
Member:
judyhens

Posted on Thursday, May 10, 2012 - 4:29 pm:

One of our experienced mares in her late teens gave birth to a colt last night at ~9 PM. The muzzle/head was under the front legs at initial presentation. I moved it on top of the front legs (only because that was what I was used to - not sure it would have been a problem) and the birth proceeded normally. From breaking of water to delivery probably took less than 10+ minutes. The mare stayed down for maybe 30 minutes. The colt struggled to get up like any normal foal, then went down on his side and was totally still, even when the mare got up and licked him. I could not rouse him at all and, while Walter called the vet and I called for extra "hands", we lifted the colt up. He was completely limp, head and legs just hung. It was like he completely "checked out". His gums were a normal pink and he was breathing fine. We stimulated him by vigorously rubbing him and he finally "woke up" so to speak - his muscle tone returned and he lifted his head. His sucking reflex was great and, with help, he balanced himself and searched for food. He was nickering, nursing on his own, and popping up and down within the hour and passed meconium normally. He is keeping his dam drained. She continues to make him move around the stall, but he is moving like any other 18 hour old baby and is reacting normally to all new experiences. Out of probably 100 foal births, we have only seen this "unresponsive" episode on one other occasion. That baby was fine too. Our vet didn't end up coming out last night because everything resolved rapidly. Any ideas on what could cause this? Is hypoglycemia a possibility? Or just heavy, heavy sleep? Any feedback would be appreciated. Just sort of a worrisome thing to have occurred!
Member:
mrose

Posted on Thursday, May 10, 2012 - 10:46 pm:

Wow Judy. Thankfully, I've never had an incident like this. Scary! Was the foal in the other incident ok with no other problems?

Different subject, but how is the beautiful Barbara? I have been to Scottsdale twice for shows since you first posted about het but both times was busy from early to late in the evening. I still want to meet her. Just fell in love from her pics. Hope she s well.
Member:
judyhens

Posted on Thursday, May 10, 2012 - 11:15 pm:

Hi Sara! Yes, the other foal was fine, too. It's been years since that one happened, but I think the foal was several hours or maybe a day old when it occurred. Different breed entirely. It occurred to us that it might be good to know better what to do should this ever happen again. The baby continues to be fine. He has had a halter on, is friendly, has a bit of an attitude, but is playful and a great eater. So far, appears normal in every way.

Barbara is fine! Thanks for asking! She is being ridden again and seems to have no residual problems. Wonderful attitude and loves to be with the people at Camelot. Chris taught her daughter, Arcelia, to bring a coke on command. You might enjoy this short video on a fund-raiser that Arcelia starred at! :-).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=04W9w19SCis

She is now 10 months old. Too cute! You really must stop by and visit the next time you are in Scottsdale! They would love to have you.
Blessings,
Judy
Member:
canter

Posted on Friday, May 11, 2012 - 11:52 am:

Hi Judy,
Glad the newborn is fine after the scary incident. I'll be interested in DrO's response.

And VERY glad to hear that Barbara is doing so well! Fabulous news!
Member:
lsweeney

Posted on Friday, May 11, 2012 - 6:40 pm:

What about exhaustion from the birth?
Member:
judyhens

Posted on Friday, May 11, 2012 - 6:42 pm:

Thanks Fran, yes Barbara's recovery is just short of miraculous. They were estimating a year of recovery. Everything just gradually resolved and we are seeing no residual. I saw a Yahoo report of a little puppy with cactus needles in his nose from the same area. Those pesky plants are dangerous!
Member:
judyhens

Posted on Friday, May 11, 2012 - 6:50 pm:

Laurie that crossed my mind. Wonder if a foal could go into such a deep deep sleep immediately after delivery that he would appear unresponsive. This occurred after he unsuccessfully tried to get up within a few minutes of birth. We got the dam up after about 30 minutes and she immediately went to him and started licking him. That was when we were acutely aware that something wasn't right. There was absolutely no movement or response on his part. Maybe exhausted from the birth and exhausted from the effort of trying to get up prior to his dam getting up. He continues to thrive and seems normal in all respects. Guess they just like to keep us on our toes!
Member:
judyhens

Posted on Sunday, May 13, 2012 - 9:31 pm:

Baby Update: Continues to do extremely well. The unresponsive event was so unsettling that I seem to need repeated reassurance that everything is ok. Tonight I thought he seemed too friendly and laid back. Can you believe? Anyway, my honey put them in the big arena and the rascal was running and jumping and galloping all over the place like a little wild man. I went in to take pictures and couldn't. The colt was all over me - grooming, wanting love, trying to kiss me. Really loves humans. Anyway, I think he is ok. Dr. O., do you know of any reason for a sudden episode of total unresponsiveness/ limpness that resolved with vigorous stimulation? Hopefully this will never ever happen again!
Member:
juliem

Posted on Sunday, May 13, 2012 - 10:41 pm:

Well Judy, I don't think this applies, but the only time I've seen something similar was with an older foal--probably a week old. He was being handled and they had a rope low around his neck. He was struggling and suddenly just passed out. Went limp, collapsed and was unresponsive. What had happened was the rope had temporarily cut off the blood supply by the pressure on his jugular vein. He came right back once the pressure was released, with no apparent after affects. Very unsettling as you know!
Moderator:
DrO

Posted on Tuesday, May 15, 2012 - 10:03 pm:

Hello Judy,
This "behavior" is in itself not unusual for newborns. After all the first exposure to the world outside of the uterus can be quite overwhelming A set of vital signs to go along with the behavior would be important in establishing whether this may be due to some pathological process. The pink gums and normal respiration suggest that indeed this was a bit of a moment of being overwhelmed and needing a bit of reset before proceeding.
DrO
Member:
judyhens

Posted on Wednesday, May 16, 2012 - 3:07 pm:

Thanks! That makes me feel a lot better!
Blessings,
Judy
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