colt in trouble

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indebtedfarms

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Long story short mare was red bag and baby was breech. pulled baby but wasn't breathing. Gave him mouth to mouth and is breathing great. Has a great heart beat and breathing great but after 4 hours has not been able to stand. He tries but he doesn't have muscles to do it. We took him to the vet and they tubed him. The vet thinks it is hydrocephalus. Any suggestions please--what can I do??
 
I'm so sorry. I wish I could give you some advice but I can only say I'll keep you in my thoughts. I hope the vets can find some hope for your little one.
 
Thank you the articles gave me hope. I will be sleeping in the barn with him tonight but he is not eating well so it doesn't look good.
 
I will be thinking of you, please keep us posted when you can. Hope he finds strength soon.
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I had to do a google on the term you were given by your vet and realize that yes, it means "dummy foal", ie. lack of oxygen to the brain.

My heart and prayers are going with you...... I'm sure your vet has told you that every dummy foal is a little different, and sometimes there's only a 50/50 chance, depending on how severe.

If your little guy has a sucking reflex, this is good. But it means hand feeding him every hour to 2 hours. Some dummy foals do come out of it as Mother Nature clicks in and helps them play catch-up. I pray your little one has that happen for you.
 
I'm praying for the little guy!
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I hope Mother Nature kicks in soon. For now just keep trying to give him his milk. Please keep us posted. I'll try and log on in the morning before work.
 
You are right about the term Hydrocephalus meaning water around the brain. If that is what it truly is, it sounds terrible cause there has to be a reason for the fluid to build up.
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Will keep him in my thoughts. Let us know how he does.

Barb
 
If he was breech - hind legs first - then the cord could have been pinched off and he could have been deprived of oxygen and have some brain damage... I am hoping he rallies.
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Our vet always said she would never give up without trying Dex. I know there was some discussion on here about it a few years ago.

Also I had just been reading on another forum



"Carla from Big Sky Barn used DMSO on their foal born at the beginning of May.He was born not breathing and after 20 minutes of CPR was brought back and then showed signs of a dummy foal.They used for 3 days.That foal never got better and had a very tough start.

After each treatment he did show signs of improvement but had too many challenges and was put

down.

Here's a article on using DMSO with a newborn

http://ctba.com/06magazine/july/HorseCare.pdf"

http://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.p...amp;SourceID=69

Might be worth a read.
 
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How is your colt this morning? Hoping for a good outcome, good luck!
 
Praying for the little guy, hope there's a happy story today.

Just wanted to mention, as we had to do the mouth to nose on a baby last week, that for the new horse owners reading this, they may think that it's mouth to mouth, when really it has to be your mouth to the foal nose, as horses are not mouth breathers.

Our vet said it's a mistake to breathe into the foal's mouth as it pushes the guck that may be in there mouth back down.

Only mention this as some who are new to horses may not realize this.
 
As the survivor of three mild Dummies, I am holding mt breath here.

Brain damage in a horse is actually not that serious, they do not use their brains as much as we do.

I had to pattern my worst one, and teach him things he would normally have learned for himself, like nursing from the bag instead of the hoof, the wall, my nose etc, but once he got the hang, he was fine.

This is not "Hydrocephalus, BTW this is Dummy foal, there could well be some swelling and some water retention, but that should take care of itself if the foal lives.

Once I had my worst one sucking and following Mama, he went on to make his other milestones normally, if a little late, and by the time he was a yearling he was just a normal animal all round.

He was a red bag, slow delivery, but he was not breech...is this foal also Preemie, would be my first reaction, all mine stood almost normally, but if he is Preemie he would well not do.

If the mare were not too distressed it might be an idea to take him off and hand rear him, obviously on Mama is best, but sometimes they do not get enough milk that way.

It's obviously up to the owner....

I do hope this has a happy ending.
 
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