I may have bought a heartbreak

[weerunner]

I went to look at a stallion and in the paddock with him was a mare "possibly in foal". Well there was no possibly about it. She was huge in the belly and her udder was hard and her vulva was swollen more than I've ever seen. She will foal in the next few days I'd say. But the awful thing is she is near starving. Her backbone is about 1/2 inch above her back and every vertebrae is visable. I can feel each and every rib but can't see them due to the horrible feeling dull fur over them.

Of course I took her home. I could not leave her there, even though they say she may be carrying a mule and not a mini foal. Doesn't matter, no way would she have been able to foal out safe there with a stallion, a stud donkey and two other donkeys in the same paddock.

I've given her a small amount of grain and half a leaf of hay to start with (which she ate gratefully) but she is almost groaning as she is eating due to being so full of baby?

Is there hope that this mare can have a healthy foal and is there hope she'll hold off awhile and get heatlhier.

I think she is maiden, and there is not a drop of milk in the udders but that vulva just could not be looser. How long can she go with a vulva like that.

Could everyone please hope and pray for my little Carmel. She is so sweet and quiet, she will be a lovely mother if she can find the energy.

Below are pictures of her and her vulva and udder last night. The udder has gotten much bigger this morning.

amanda

 

[kaykay]

Oh my gosh my heart sank seeing those pics. Her vulva is HUGE. But that small udder worries me. Could she have fescue poisoning? I would consult a vet and see if he recommends dopimine (sp) shots. I would for sure try to have some colostrum and milk replacer on hand. I would also do a total body clip and get that hair off her before she foals. Shes probably not shedding due to lack of nutrition. Go slow with the grain but I would keep hay in front of her so she can eat small meals thru out the day. I would also wait a couple days and deworm her. Or deworm her as soon as she foals.

My guess is you will have to wean the foal early as once it starts nursing it could suck whatever weight she has left off. Years ago we bought a 2 yr old that was NOT supposed to be in foal but was. That foal took her condition down so bad we had to wean him at 8 weeks.

Mule foals tend to have a longer gestation but man she looks ready to pop.

Sending prayers it all goes okay

 

[AppyLover2]

Don't have any advice. Just wanted to say bless you for giving her a new home.

 

[barnbum]

Oh I bet a gentle bath will help her feel better? A soft cloth with warm water to wash her udder and between her teats would make her smile? Then it'd be easier to clip her a bit, as Kay suggested.

I have no experience with horses in this condition, but I'm sure hoping once she foals she'll be gobbling a LOT of grain to be able to feed her baby. The constant hay should start to turn things around.

Poor poor mama.

You get the blue ribbon of the month for being willing to take her home. Thank you. Thank you.

 

[weerunner]

Not likely to be fescue poisoning as she was only in a dry lot with round bale hay. But I really dont know her past much at all I suppose anything is possible. I'm going to look into a friend of mine's to see if she has stored colostrum. She did lose a foal a few years ago, but that probably would be no good to me. Do mule babies need the colostrum as badly as horse babies. Gosh it makes me sick to look at her little body and that huge belly, such a contrast.

I'll give her a nice warm bath today, it is a lovely sunny day and try to clip her, that might be hard though as she is all angles and bones.

Thanks for the good wishes guys, I'll keep you all posted. Please God let her and baby make it.

 

[barnbum]

All babies need the colostrum.

Even if you can clip her belly back where the udder is and all around forward and up from there. Anywhere a foal might try to suck before it finds the milk spigot and could get a mouthful of hair. Those should be smoother spots and easier to clip.

Good luck. I'll be watching your posts for news. Prayers sent for your Carmel.

 

[fancyappy]

Thank you and bless you for taking her, for feeding her, caring for her and loving her. Her life and her baby's will be so good in your hands.

Go light on the grain but give her all the free choice hay she wants ..sounds like you already have a good plan to help her and I believe there is a beautiful mare under all that hair.

 

[rcfarm]

You are a angel

Ditto on the clipping. God bless you for saving this mare.

 

[Annabellarose]

When I clicked on the pictures she didn't look near as bad as I expected her to from your description. She was certainly in need and thank God you found her and were in the position to buy her (I suppose you had to buy her to "rescue" her?) and give her a good home. I can't advise on the issue of what to do for the foal at this point, but I can tell that she does still have some "meat" on her bones (the insides of her back legs for one) and will, hopefully, snap back herself. She doesn't look bad to me at all compared to what I see on a regular basis around here (I really hate Kentucky, I am not from here!). I live in a very rural area where concern for animals seems completely non-existent.

 

[Bess Kelly]

My suggestion would be that you add some nice alfalfa leaf to her hay, a couple times a day. We all know a lot of calcium is needed for foaling & milk. Plus, it does help with the PH in her stomach, so it will be a good thing all around and not a grain. Some vit/min would be a good thing in small amounts as she is probably low in those areas, also.

Best you can do is "wait and see". The vulva looks huge but, is she dark pink inside? Maybe she is naturally larger there -- or the stallion/jack were breeding her? -- some stand during pregnancy and when nearing foaling, the scents simulate cycling. Is the tail loose when you lift it? Well, to be honest, with her nutrition many things won't be normal, sorry. Some mares don't bag much until very close to foaling and with her condition, it would be exaggerated.

Wishing you and her the best --- like holding out a while. Sure looks close. Keep us posted.

 

[Minimor]

Research has shown that starving horses should not be given grain--something, carbohydrates I think but I could have that wrong, has a negative effect on the horse & causes organ (kidney) failure. She should be given hay--and again, research has shown that alfalfa is the best thing to give to a starving horse--she should be fed small amounts frequently.

Poor girl--I hope she will do okay for you--I would want to have some colostrum on hand and also a milk replacer (or goats milk formula would be my choice) for the baby. I would not give domperidone to such a thin mare--I'm not sure that she has the resources to make milk for a baby. If she does make milk it may be at the expense of her own health. I would leave her to provide whatever she has naturally, and supplement the baby with formula--more work for you, for sure, but much better for the mare.

Bless you for taking this girl out of the situation she was in and giving her a good home. I pray that she & baby will come through all right.

 

[Bonny]

Bless your heart Amanda! Your an angel!!

I feel so bad for your little mare! Here is something that I may be able to do to help you.

I have goat colostrum from a Nubian goat that would be a wonderful substitute for your new foal if Momma doesnt have any. I can send it right away if you need it. I have a friend with many contacts that may also be in your area where you can pick up goats milk if you need it.

I have raised a foal on goats milk and he thrived. Its not exactly the same as mares milk but fresh raw goats milk is universal and would make an excellent substitute.

I hope she holds out a bit longer for you.

Holly

 

[weerunner]

Everyone, thank you for the prayers. Maybe things are not as bad as they first seemed. I gave her a nice warm sudsy all over bath and as I was doing it guess what I found. Yup millions of lice all over her body. So out came the clippers and she stood wonderfully (in fact she seemed to enjoy it) for a full clip with the exception of her legs. Her ribs are not actually horribly visible now that she's clipped and she almost looks more hopeful and happy. Here is her new look. It almost seems like she gained a bit of weight just from the two meals and all the hay she got in the last 24 hours. I let her eat some fresh grass as a reward for her good behavior. Now she is back in her stall with hay and she is still eating hungrily.

Question, I've dusted her with louse powder. Is it safe for baby, or should I bath her tonight before I tuck her in just incase she foals?









Holly, I know a farmer with goats. If I have to I will ask him for some milk. I'm sure he would let me have some.

 

[pinkapache]

Holly, I know a farmer with goats. If I have to I will ask him for some milk. I'm sure he would let me have some.

Actually, cows milk is actually closer to mares milk than goats, I know this as I raised 3 orphans that I rescued in the past and was surprised to discover this fact. Well done on getting her out of a disastrous situation, I hope it all goes smoothly for her.

 

[Make A Wish Miniatures]

She doesn't look nearly as bad as a mare that we rescued back a few years ago. We did not feed grain for a while (Vets instructions) We gave the mare free choice coastal and small meals of alfalfa during the day. We did give her domperidone to bring in her milk.You should probably have colostrom (from a horse) on hand and then use the goats milk or milk replacer. We did have to wean early at two and a half months as the mare got so pulled down and the foal was eating well. Good Luck .The mare is lucky you rescued her.

 

[bannerminis]

Firstly well done to you for taking care of this little mare in need. But I will say I have seen worse cases so looks like you might have caught her before her condition worsened.

If you found a lot of lice then I would treat her with multivit with Iron as those little beggers could have her anemic.

Have everything crossed for a safe delivery and for mother and baby to thrive.

 

[StarRidgeAcres]

Thank you so much for getting the beautiful mare out of that situation! You are an angel. And I personally disagree with some who've said she doesn't look that bad. Yes, sadly, there are always worse, but she is so heavy in foal and there is a ton of water weight that goes along with being in foal. Within an hour of her dropping that baby you will see how truly thin she is. When an underweight mare foals, it's startling to see what is left on the mare - once the baby is out and the water weight in going down...oh my gosh, it's a sad sight. So, keep with the hay and maybe contact a vet if you have one that can help. Granted she doesn't look close to death, but she IS terribly underweight and it will be so obvious once she foals.

Best of luck to you and her!

 

[Tab]

I see it over and over again because people hear that minis hardly need to eat any food and they're always fat. They hear that they are so susceptible to colic and founder that you don't dare feed them. That idea leads to people to starve their horses.

The pregnant/lactating mare, breeding stallion, and growing weanling have nutritional demands no matter what breed. She was probably given hay, maybe grass. I have seen worse, Her butt cheeks actually touch. I'm not giving the seller excuses.

I bet it will be a happy ending now that she has someone who is aware of her condition and can help her. I agree with those who mentioned very gradually introducing grain into her diet. ALSO, PROBIOS. Give her probiotics before graining and then once you are graining. Her body needs to adapt to digesting concentrates.

 

[Matt73]

I wouldn't give her any grain whatsoever. I would just provide her with good-quality free-choice grass/timothy hay to start. I think you're asking for trouble by giving a horse like this grain right now.

 

[chandab]

Bless you for taking her in.

While she doesn't look as thin as it sounded, I agree that once she foals she'll drop considerable weight.

Here are a couple websites for refeeding starved horses, while they don't deal with pregnant mares specifically, they should still be helpful:

http://www.completerider.com/nutrition.htm

http://www.equineelders.org/feeding.htm (I realize she probably isn't elderly, but they can face similar problems with digestion)

You might talk to your vet about feeding her soaked beet pulp in addition to her hay, its easy to digest and provides more energy than most hay.