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| FACEBOOK POST REMINDS US ALL TO KEEP THIS IN MIND DURING FOALING SEASON THIS YEAR .....>>>>
Long post, but please read if you are breeding. Daiquiri had a foal during the night Tuesday unattended. (unplanned pregnancy – naughty stallion). We found her around 5AM Wednesday. She was running around acting seemingly normal. When we picked her up, watery diarrhea gushed out. When I went back to check on her, she was continuing to have diarrhea, almost constant hiccups, sneezing and coughing. Had yet to see her nurse. Tried to get her nurse, but she wouldn’t. I milked the mare and tried to force feed. She didn’t want to swallow. Kept force feeding every hour. Gave her Bio-sponge and kaopectate. She continued to get weaker and didn’t want to nurse. Her mom was kinda ignoring her. She collapsed Tuesday afternoon and was shaking and having the hiccups. Karo syrup got her back up. Seemed much better. Wednesday she was more active in the morning but couldn’t nurse and watery diarrhea continued. She collapsed again that afternoon and was almost unresponsive. Once again Karo syrup got her back. Called the equine vet. If the baby made it through the night, she would come this morning. I thought we would have to euthanize her. She said that she may be a partial dummy foal. I had been so focused on the diarrhea and respiratory signs that I hadn’t really considered that. After I got off the phone, I remembered a post by Julie Good (I think) about the Madigan Foal Squeeze technique for dummy foals. Found the post. We got a rope, took the laptop into the stall, and did it. When the rope was removed, she got up from her trance, stretched, and went over to her mother (who had stood totally still for the 20 minute procedure. As soon as the baby got up, the mother went back to eating her hay just like Dr. Madigan said she would do) to get a drink. No hiccups, sneezing, or coughing since. It was truly a miracle. I’ve never seen anything like it. Spoke to the vet this morning and she said she didn’t even think to mention the technique. So this cat veterinarian saved the day. We are not out of the woods yet. We can’t be sure she got the colostrum. I milked the mare and force fed numerous times during the critical period, but I am not sure how much she actually swallowed. So please save this link, maybe even put it with your foaling supplies so you don’t forget about it like I and my equine veterinarian did. I will do this now with any foal that is not nursing within the first few hours. It will do no harm. Big thanks to Yvette Mooney and Michael Mooney-Wells who are always willing to help and support my crazy ideas.
The link has 3 videos and a pdf file.
You may know the term "dummy foal" but have you heard of a Madigan Foal Squeeze? Dr. John Madigan theorized that by artificially recreating the foal being squeezed through the birth canal, the foal starts suckling as normal and the 'dummy foal' syndrome appears to disappear. (Be sure to watch the video links below. Know the signs and learn the step by step foal squeeze procedure.)
http://bit.ly/1IPiM3F -> (article) Thoroughbred Village forum/reprint of article originally posted in TheHorse.com
http://bit.ly/1A8am1i -> (video) KNOW THE SIGNS. Neurological foal receiving the squeeze technique. Jump to 2:30 to see application of the foal squeeze.
http://bit.ly/1xhgxlT - (video) STEP BY STEP GUIDE. Dr. John Madigan shows how to apply the foal squeeze
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Weiner Dog
Posts: 10248
Location: Texas | even tho the Madigan theory is a miracle.....I would have an IGg done on this foal since it 24 hrs before she nursed....maybe I missed something...
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| Keep in mind colostrum will only enter a foals system in the first 8 hours after foaling due to the mucus that the stomach and digestive system create automatically to protect the digestive system from stomach acids secreted by the foal ...
It is always good to know if your vet or a local stud farm has frozen colostrum on hand for sale if you should need it ... and keep in mind one of the mustard or ketchup squeeze bottles or a large syringe will work if a nipple bottle is not available ... getting at least 4 oz into babies gut is the goal ...
People that cry vet all the time do not realize that it may be the 6th hour after foaling before you realize you have a problem and time is running out on your 8 hour limit. if you stand around waiting on a vet and test results ... you may end up losing your new foal ...
Mean while back at the ranch ... any of my mares that have foaled will get 5 days of 20cc of Pen G /day just to assist healing and upping their immune system.
Might as well add this too ... when guess foaling date ... worm your mare 2 weeks before foaling .. this gives wormer time to clean out her poop with worms and eggs ....... your new foal is going to eat//nibble some of her poop within 24 hours in order to start his whole food digestive bacteria ......... so make sure he isn't eating a belly full of worm eggs when Mother Nature tells him to eat some poop ....
If your foal is not perky at 2nd day after foaling ... give him a couple of watered down syringe fulls of mamas poop ... 1-2 tablespoons is all he needs ... and do this if foal has been given antibiotics which normally kill the good gut bacteria to get it started again ...
AND don't forget ... foaling in the pasture has fewer bacteria and viruses than a super clean inside the barn stall and the sun is a natural sanitizer for most kinds of viruses or bacteria ... weather permitting ... I like my mares to foal in the pasture ...
GOOD LUCK AND HAPPY FOALS ..
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DUMMY FOALS