dead foal.

joosie

joosie

lifelong sufferer of restless brain syndrome
Oct 28, 2004
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The first of this year's 3 expected foals was born this morning and has just passed away at 6 hours old :(

Mum had a very bad colic yesterday, we found her in the field at 10am doing some hardcore thrashing and she was pouring with sweat, had bitten her tongue and cut her lip open and was very distressed. She was tubed etc and on a drip for most of the afternoon. Luckily she picked up and was over it by the end of the day. We did regular checks through the night, mum was fine physically and very settled, much relief all round. Filly was born just after 6.30am, no complications but was very weak, and by 8am was still not strong enough to get up. Boss was bottle-feeding her but she wasn't sucking very well. She was on a drip all morning but never picked up and she slipped away at lunchtime :(

I guess the mare's colic was a factor but who knows what else may have been wrong with the filly. I have never seen a dead foal before. I feel a bit sick tbh. She is tiny, absolutely tiny but perfectly formed. Mum is standing over her with a blank expression and hasn't moved a muscle.

Mare isn't one boss's horses either, she's a grass livery. Owner is very upset about the foal and boss is blaming herself.
 
Oh heck what an awful situation. Nobody's fault though, it sounds like everybody did everything they could help but still things don't work out as planned - but that doesn't make it any easier. I hope the mare recovers from her colic & loss okay and that the boss doesn't continue to blame herself.

How very sad.
 
Oh how tragic! :( I hope they give the mare time to come to terms with her loss before they remove her baby....
 
It's very sad, you are all geared up to a happy event and it ends in a dead foal. But that is the reality of putting a mare in foal. You have live foals you also have dead ones.

As you may know we have colicy foal ATM. IT is a huge worry.
 
one of the ones we rescued foaled prematurely and the baby died - so sad, rescued from the meat man but baby lost its happy new life.

when i see little fleurette, and she was born with no one to watch out for her, i am so grateful she seems fit and well - could have found a dead mare and foal but we were lucky.
 
The owner came by this afternoon to see the foal and kept saying how she doesn't blame anybody, she has bred on-and-off for about 15 years and has lost a foal before so she's being very level about it. I think my boss is feeling a bit better about that now, though of course there will be those little "what ifs" niggling away for some time. She and her OH (vet) were both there when the poor thing slipped away and felt very very helpless knowing there was nothing else they could do.

The foal isn't going anywhere for now, I will always remember Frances' heartwrenching pictures of Vitamin trying to come to terms with her loss, I have shared them with my boss & mum is being left alone to do as she wants. Next door to the stable is a long grassy strip leading between two hedges to the field gate, we have rigged up a pen outside the stable door so she can go in and out as she pleases. So far she hasn't left the foal's side other than to drink or nibble her hay but the option is there.

Pif & Paf have the stable next door and are giving her much-needed company and blowing at her through the gaps in the wood. They usually ignore her, I'm convinced that they know.
 
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so sad :(

we had a foal death this week too. Mare was due in 6 weeks. Aborted him early, he was still born. He didnt have any eyes :( Vet came out as owner worried about the mare's condition as unsure if she had passed the afterbirth, they found that the mare had a uterus infection, which would have caused the early birth and it being still born. The mare was destraught about the foal, as were the herd. The mare kept pawing and pawing it. very sad.
 
juliecwuk said:
so sad :(

we had a foal death this week too. Mare was due in 6 weeks. Aborted him early, he was still born. He didnt have any eyes :( Vet came out as owner worried about the mare's condition as unsure if she had passed the afterbirth, they found that the mare had a uterus infection, which would have caused the early birth and it being still born. The mare was destraught about the foal, as were the herd. The mare kept pawing and pawing it. very sad.
Click to expand...

Lady where my mare foaled and is living had similar. Main reason my mare is there was for the two girls and foalies to be company for each other as we both only had one due. She had placentitis so badly the whole placenta disintegrated.
Stud where my mare's hubby stands have managed to save one in a similar situation - mare ran milk early (sign of placentitis) but they were on the ball and she was whacked on antibiotics until she foaled a healthy colt.
 
I feel for you guys and the owners. Its awful.
We lost two foals last year. One at delivery, he was just to big for his Mum to deliver. She is 36in and the stallion the same height. Sadly he did her internal damage on the way out and she will never breed again.
My second mare produced the cutest little chap. He was lovely. Sadly 5 days later my husband watching him lie down. Something didnt feel right so hubby went over to see what was doing. Lucky Dip was gone. Ressusitation didnt work. He was post mortemed and my lovely vet found a hole in his heart the size of a finger nail. Poor chap.
His Mum is expecting and due in June, so cross your fingers for her please.
 
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