Our mare is at about 300 days now. I keep reading everyone's posts lately about losing foals or having to do CPR to save the foal. I am an absolute nervous wreck! I am so very thankful for all the information on red bag and dystocia to where at least if it happens I have some idea what is going on. My question now is how do you perform CPR if needed? I think I had read somewhere on here about using the top of a water bottle or something, maybe? Any information would be greatly appreciated. Also, this being our first experience with foaling, is it normal for miniatures to have lots of problems? It just seems like so many people are talking about having issues lately. I am going to get everything together and out to the barn tomorrow so I am ready and have all my supplies out there when the time comes.
CPR on foal
- Thread starter shannonw
- Start date
Help Support Miniature Horse Talk Forums:
Reble
Well-Known Member
This is what I found for information after we had one survive after giving CPR
http://www.pacificpintos.com/articles/cpcr.htm
http://www.pacificpintos.com/articles/cpcr.htm
Last edited by a moderator:
minih
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Nov 30, 2002
- Messages
- 3,085
- Reaction score
- 13
Those are really good instructions, but the one thing I found different from when we had to give CPR to one of our colts is that on a very small foal or a newborn their noses are so small you can not use just one nostril as indicated in the instructions. We held the mouth closed and put mouth to nose over both nostrils.
Reble
Well-Known Member
Last edited by a moderator:
minih
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Nov 30, 2002
- Messages
- 3,085
- Reaction score
- 13
Congratulations!! I am so happy for you. Our foal sadly did not make it, and all the breathe in the world would not have helped I found out later. He had a reaction to the plasma transfusion we were giving him under vet instructions.
It still breaks my heart to work so hard with one for a week and then lose them.
Reble
Well-Known Member
So sorry for you loss, that would be also heart breaking.. Hope the mare is Ok, or is she grieving, heard horses also grieve loss.Congratulations!! I am so happy for you. Our foal sadly did not make it, and all the breathe in the world would not have helped I found out later. He had a reaction to the plasma transfusion we were giving him under vet instructions.It still breaks my heart to work so hard with one for a week and then lose them.
Last edited by a moderator:
minih
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Nov 30, 2002
- Messages
- 3,085
- Reaction score
- 13
THis was several years ago, she went on to have two other foals for us before we sold her. That one happened to be her first one and we had to do so much with him at first, he was away from her for too long and she rejected him. Tried to be mean with him. He was a bottle baby. That is what was so hard on me, we had a play pen he would sleep in at night next to our bed and he would wake up and make smacking noises to me so I would know it was feeding time. My boss was kind enough to let him come to work with me so I could feed him. I was substitute Mom and it just about killed me to lose him. I'm crying now it still hurts.
Joanne
Well-Known Member
Thanks Reble for posting the CPR instructions we have on our website!
One additional note on them. We have printed that instruction sheet out and have a laminated copy (which we did at a local printing shop) that is in our barn. When you need it, you do not want to be running to the computer to print it out. We review the instructions often during foaling season to remind us.
We have resusitated two foals successfully over the years. One that was caught in the sac for several minutes and was not breathing. There had been premature seperation of the placenta and when the mare stood up the placenta came out too. We got a heart beat back quickly, but that foal we worked on for 20 minutes until he was breathing on his own. We named him Justin Time!
The second was born breathing and then faded on me while the cord was still attached! I started cpr immediatly and he came back in about a minute (seems like hours though).
We did pinch off on nostril and closed the mouth during our experiences. It is helpful to have a second person there to let you know if you are expanding the lungs, which can be hard to see on these small foals, as your arm is blocking the view of their chest while you are breathing.
You also want to strip out as much fluid as possible from the nose before starting cpr to be able to get as much air as possible into the lungs.
One additional note on them. We have printed that instruction sheet out and have a laminated copy (which we did at a local printing shop) that is in our barn. When you need it, you do not want to be running to the computer to print it out. We review the instructions often during foaling season to remind us.
We have resusitated two foals successfully over the years. One that was caught in the sac for several minutes and was not breathing. There had been premature seperation of the placenta and when the mare stood up the placenta came out too. We got a heart beat back quickly, but that foal we worked on for 20 minutes until he was breathing on his own. We named him Justin Time!
The second was born breathing and then faded on me while the cord was still attached! I started cpr immediatly and he came back in about a minute (seems like hours though).
We did pinch off on nostril and closed the mouth during our experiences. It is helpful to have a second person there to let you know if you are expanding the lungs, which can be hard to see on these small foals, as your arm is blocking the view of their chest while you are breathing.
You also want to strip out as much fluid as possible from the nose before starting cpr to be able to get as much air as possible into the lungs.
Last edited by a moderator:
There is another method I've not used but remember reading here a few years ago. It involves cutting the bottom off of something like a plastic drinking bottle (water, soda size), taping the cut edge so it's smooth and putting it over the foal's muzzle to do CPR. It's easy for you to blow into it and usually fits nicely over the entire muzzle. Again, I have not used this and can't give you any assurance that it works....would like to see a refresher on it - I did fix a bottle though and keep it in my foaling kit, just in case...
Jan
Jan
I was able to get air into our foal by blowing through one nostril. Of course, he was probably long gone before we ever got him out of the mare (sitting dog), but I just had to try until the vet arrived one hour later. Anyway, one nostril did work for us.
Peggy
Peggy
Joanne
Well-Known Member
Jan, when we have done it using the mouth to nostril approach you have the benefit of feeling the nostril start to move as the foal comes back. It kind of feels like a catepillar in your mouth, but by then you are SOOO greatful you want to sing for joy at having a "bug" in your mouth!
Joanne
Well-Known Member
The one that faded after I had birth it I remember being shocked and mad! I had been there from the water breaking on and he came out easily and then stopped breathing!
I said, "Oh No you don't!" and started cpr.
It is extremly valuable to have a stethoscope in the barn so you can check for a heartbeat. Often they have that, you just need to get them breathing again. He came to very fast, but if no one was there, I think we would have found him dead.
I said, "Oh No you don't!" and started cpr.
It is extremly valuable to have a stethoscope in the barn so you can check for a heartbeat. Often they have that, you just need to get them breathing again. He came to very fast, but if no one was there, I think we would have found him dead.
Similar threads
