This message is from: Jean Ernest <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> I looked through the archives and found a couple of posts about Uterine artery hemorrhage and death of mare:
Julie Will posted on Sun, 15 Apr 2001: "Our first foal arrived on April 6th, a beautiful RED DUN colt, sired by Flxtren, out of our 20 year old Braggen mare. It was a normal birth, around midnight, and at last check at 3 am, mare and foal were doing fine...eating, nursing, cleaned, etc. Imagine our shock at the 6 am check to find Braggen quite dead, and the little guy nursing on her now cool udder! She apparently had a uterine artery bleed. I immediately got on the phone to all the horse people and vets in the area, and within in a couple of hours had located a Quarter Horse mare at Cornell vet school who had lost her month old foal to injury the night before. She was still in the vet hospital, waiting for the owners to pick her up, so we loaded up our little guy and by 10 am had him nursing the mare. However, she was not thrilled about the turn of events, and required a mild sedation and a twitch to keep her standing quietly. We left the colt and mare in a divided stall with vet students managing the feedings every hour, around the clock. (This was on Saturday) By Monday, the mare was still not happy, but had progressed to accepting the nursing as long as someone was feeding her carrots and keeping her hindquarter backed into a wall. We decided to buy the mare and try our luck at home, since we couldn't leave the colt there for months! (Fortunately the mare's owner had not had her long, and was not attached, plus was in need of cash for the huge Cornell vet bill on the foal that had died.) Well, to make a long story short, FINALLY, after 7 days at home with supervised nursing around the clock, the mare has accepted her foster son, and today they are at liberty together in our arena. We are immeasurably relieved and thrilled that little Red (OH Wynn) will have a chance to grow up normally." ********** And Gayle Ware posted on 4/21/00 " I had an older QH mare that died several years ago, 18 hours after she foaled. She died from a ruptured artery, slowly bled to death internally. It ballooned between the tissues until it finally burst. Had had the vet in attendance and he wasn't even aware of what was happening either. I just knew 'something' wasn't right. We struggled through the first day and night with that little orphan to feed him every hour. Finally linked up with a fellow QH breeder who had had a mare foal the same night and the mare's foal died! What a coincidence! We took the foal to the mare, rubbed him with rags soaked in her fluids from when she foaled. We also sprayed him with hairspray. I had heard that would mask unfamiliar smells for the mare. She accepted him after a short while." ******* And advice From vet. Steve White on raising an orphan foal on Fri, 21 Apr 2000: "The best thing to do when raising an orphan foal is to get it to drink the milk from a bucket as soon as possible. They take to this surprisingly well and I have had many that preferred the bucket to the bottle. This accomplishes a couple of things. First of all, it eliminates the man power needed. No more sleepless nights or missed work days going to the barn to bottle feed. Secondly, it allows the foal to nurse more naturally. It can go and take a sip when it feels like it, just as it would do if nursing the mare. Hang a shallow pail (1-2 gallon) in the stall and fill it with your milk replacer. Empty the bucket and clean it with hot soapy water every 12 hours to prevent spoilage and bacterial contamination. Maybe more frequently in warmer weather. Do not hang a water bucket in the stall until a couple of weeks later. It will get plenty of fluid from the milk, and you don't want it filling up on water instead of milk. At first, take the bucket up to the foal and dip its nose in it a few times. It will quickly learn what to do. Follow the mixing directions on the replacer strictly. Too rich and you get diarrhea. To watery and you don't get the proper nutrition. Also, orphans are notorious for becoming spoiled. They think they are people instead of horses. So be firm, even though I know that is hard sometimes. No biting or rearing allowed! Good Luck Steve White, DVM *********** Lots more info in the archives. Go to http://www.escribe.com/pets/fjordhorse/ User name: fjordhorse password: fjords_rule Search for "orphan foal" I hope this helps someone! Jean in sunny Fairbanks Alaska where "break-up" is progressing nicely
