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Discussion on Foal dies | |
Author | Message |
Member: Chellis6 |
Posted on Wednesday, Apr 12, 2006 - 8:58 am: My friend breed her arabian mare. She had her foal last week. During foaling there was blood and a few hours later the foal was born. Had to help. When the foal was born it was blue and not breathing after awhile it started to breath. Then it took three hours to get it up. It did not want to feed. We tried and tried then finial it took a drink. Then it went down again and could not get up again. Helped it this went on for the whole night. The next morning it stopped breathing again and passed on. Anyone have any ideas. Vet took the foal to see. Nothing yet |
Member: Mrose |
Posted on Wednesday, Apr 12, 2006 - 11:02 am: What a terrible experience. Are you saying the mare was trying to foal for several hours? Did the mare's water break normally? Was the foal in the birth sack when it was born?After half an hour, if a mare hasn't foaled, there is usually some problem. After being born, if a foal isn't up and nursing within half an hour, it is usually indicative of a problem. It sounds like the vet should have been called about half an hour after the mare started foaling. While normally the foaling process is easy and goes without problems, and most foals are born healthy, when there is a problem it is imperative to act quickly, and if you are inexperience, get immediate vet help. IMO There are just too many possibilities, with the information you have given, to say just what was wrong. If your friend wants to breed her mare again, she should first do some reading. There are some wonderful, informative books on breeding and foaling, and good articles on the internet,including those on HorseAdvice. |
Moderator: DrO |
Posted on Wednesday, Apr 12, 2006 - 11:23 am: The early bleeding suggests but is not proof of a Red Bag delivery. See Equine Diseases » Reproductive Diseases » Birthing Problems » Placenta Previa or Red Bag for more on this.DrO |
Member: Chellis6 |
Posted on Wednesday, Apr 12, 2006 - 7:29 pm: My friend has been breeding arabians for several years . As I said the as she was breaking her fluid there was blood in it. And after she laboring strong for 45 min they called the vet. The vet said he was unable to get there at the moment He would call in the am. The vet is over a hour away. The foal was in birth sac. After breaking the sac the foal was blue already . They have oxygen on hand and where giving it the oxygen. After a few min it began to breath on its own. But did not want to get up. they tried milking mom and giving it some milk. during this time. They did get it up and suck just alittle. But again it went down and after awhile just did not want to get up. After 24 hours it just stopped breathing again and that was it. They tryed again with oxygen and nothing. Hope this helps more. They never saw this before with any other foals. Only problem in the last five years was mom rejecting foals. This is a maiden mare also. |
Member: Mrose |
Posted on Wednesday, Apr 12, 2006 - 10:26 pm: Do you know if they are having (or did have) the vet do a necropsy on the foal? That might tell them the cause. And did the vet get a chance to examine the placenta/birth sac? That could also help solve the mystery. Has he examined the mare? Did you read the article Dr. O. mentioned re: Red Bag delivery? Did that fit? Was the foal full term? Is there any chance the mare could have a uterine disease, or other disease or condition that could have been passed on to the foal? Was there a chance of a genetic condition that could have been passed on to the foal?Unfortunately, there are quite a few things that could be the cause of the foal dying. All you and your friends can do is to try and learn what happened and try to prevent it in the future. If you find out what the cause was, please let us know so we can also learn. |
Moderator: DrO |
Posted on Thursday, Apr 13, 2006 - 8:56 am: Not really anything more to add amanda. It is not surprising the foal would be lost after such a prolonged delivery (for more on this see Equine Reproduction » Pregnancy, Foaling, & Neonatal Care » Normal Birth) the question is why did it take the foal so long to get out.DrO |