Hi All,
long time no been here. My vet is not back til August 2nd and we have troubles. I am not even so sure I want to see this vet again so here is the scoop.
My mare finally had gone into labor so I ran outside with camera in tow as the foal was presently normally in the dive position. Soon realized this foal was not progressing out so I tried a bit of gentle traction with her pushing....nothing. Phoned my vet who was on another farm call. He instructed me to pull downward as I had already tried and get back to him I then phoned a friend who told me it sounded like a hip lock...by this point the foal had died. I then called my vet to ask if I could meet him part way if it helped, as the mare was still able to stand so he sent another vet to my farm.
2nd vet arrived who was a big guy 180-200lbs and he immediately started pulling very very hard, not downward but straight back with me holding the mares halter/head. I was bothered by his force and without being confrontational just said "OH Dr.#1 said to be pulling downward...." Dr.#2 replied by saying, "well if we don't get this foal out, you are going to lose the mare as well!" - he then proceeded the same thing with chains with no success and then advised me to bring her into the hospital....right - like I could have saved an hour of agony for the poor mare by doing this in the 1st place.
Anyhow the 1st vet came and met the 2nd at the hospital and decided that the foal had a rear leg up in the birth canal. Its body was outside the mare past the ribs so it could not be pushed back in for repositioning and it couldn't be pulled out so they ended up doing a fetotomy (cutting up of the dead foal)
The vet then checked the mare and said she felt cleaned out and he came out to my farm the next morning to do a followup on her.
Two weeks later after noticing an antiseptic but odd odor, a chunk of stinky afterbirth began sticking out. It seemed stuck so I called the vet who said he would come by. Before he got out I had washed the mare and this chunk softened and had come out on its own so I just put it in a bucket for him to examine. I also mentioned to him this odor and that the mare had seemed to be spewing out pee whenever she got beyond a walk. He gave he a shot of antibiotic and advised me to exercise her to help tone her up.
Well it has been 6 weeks now and I have washed this mare several times. She is starting to get skin breakdown from urine constantly dripping on the hind legs so I have washed and coated her legs with udder budder to provide a barrier. I just called the vet clinic and the horse vet is away til the start of August now.
I am wondering if the vets actually damaged her bladder either from excessive pulling or the fetotomy. Does this sound like it is going to mean more surgery? Has anyone had anything similar? Should I wait for this vet to return? What approach should I take and should I be heading to the next town to find another vet? I would really appreciate some feedback - especially from those who breed a lot.
Thank you
long time no been here. My vet is not back til August 2nd and we have troubles. I am not even so sure I want to see this vet again so here is the scoop.
My mare finally had gone into labor so I ran outside with camera in tow as the foal was presently normally in the dive position. Soon realized this foal was not progressing out so I tried a bit of gentle traction with her pushing....nothing. Phoned my vet who was on another farm call. He instructed me to pull downward as I had already tried and get back to him I then phoned a friend who told me it sounded like a hip lock...by this point the foal had died. I then called my vet to ask if I could meet him part way if it helped, as the mare was still able to stand so he sent another vet to my farm.
2nd vet arrived who was a big guy 180-200lbs and he immediately started pulling very very hard, not downward but straight back with me holding the mares halter/head. I was bothered by his force and without being confrontational just said "OH Dr.#1 said to be pulling downward...." Dr.#2 replied by saying, "well if we don't get this foal out, you are going to lose the mare as well!" - he then proceeded the same thing with chains with no success and then advised me to bring her into the hospital....right - like I could have saved an hour of agony for the poor mare by doing this in the 1st place.
Anyhow the 1st vet came and met the 2nd at the hospital and decided that the foal had a rear leg up in the birth canal. Its body was outside the mare past the ribs so it could not be pushed back in for repositioning and it couldn't be pulled out so they ended up doing a fetotomy (cutting up of the dead foal)
The vet then checked the mare and said she felt cleaned out and he came out to my farm the next morning to do a followup on her.
Two weeks later after noticing an antiseptic but odd odor, a chunk of stinky afterbirth began sticking out. It seemed stuck so I called the vet who said he would come by. Before he got out I had washed the mare and this chunk softened and had come out on its own so I just put it in a bucket for him to examine. I also mentioned to him this odor and that the mare had seemed to be spewing out pee whenever she got beyond a walk. He gave he a shot of antibiotic and advised me to exercise her to help tone her up.
Well it has been 6 weeks now and I have washed this mare several times. She is starting to get skin breakdown from urine constantly dripping on the hind legs so I have washed and coated her legs with udder budder to provide a barrier. I just called the vet clinic and the horse vet is away til the start of August now.
I am wondering if the vets actually damaged her bladder either from excessive pulling or the fetotomy. Does this sound like it is going to mean more surgery? Has anyone had anything similar? Should I wait for this vet to return? What approach should I take and should I be heading to the next town to find another vet? I would really appreciate some feedback - especially from those who breed a lot.
Thank you