I may have bought a heartbreak

[luv2ridesaddleseat]

Bless you for taking her, I'd have done the same thing. This is going to be tough on her, nursing a foal. Prayers for you, her and her foal. She deserves some goodness in her life, poor mare. I pray all goes well with all of this.

 

[weerunner]

Carmel is rubbing her tail in wild abandon and shaking her head, but not much else. So far, so good. She is the quietest, lovingest mini I've ever met. She just has to make it through this safe and sound. Will let everyone know as soon as she goes.

 

[barnbum]

Checking in before I head out for chores... bet Carmel is happier by the minute... well, and will be even more so once that baby is out.

 

[Maxi'sMinis]

You did a good thing

Carmel will be in my prayers that she gains strength and foals easy. Poor girl thank the Lord you found her. Isn't it something how we end up where we need to be when we are needed! Good luck with your lovely girl. Will be watching for updates.

 

[Elk Ridge]

First of all....Pat yourself on the back for bringing her home!

Second. Be very careful about adding grain to the her diet. Free choice good quality grass hay and some alfalfa is best. If you really feel she has to have grain (and I know I would be feeling that way) then go get a bag of Senior grain. Its easier to digest. Im a Purina fan, but may not be available in your area. And a cup am and pm is not too much. Follow the 10 day rule. Let her adjust to new found feed and dont make changes, unless vet say otherwise, less than 10 days apart.

Gives her time to adjust.

And make sure she has access to salt block. So many hungry horses are not given salt at all. And good clean water.

We saved a herd of 9 using this method. The worst one of the group was a two year old filly that looked like a weanling. As we were loading them to bring them home she layed down and gave up. All we could do was pick her up, load her in trailer and hoped she would be alive when we arrived home. She was. And many years later she is healthy and producing foals.

When we brought this herd home we were very careful not to use to much of a good thing too fast. And I am happy to say. We didnt have a sick one as a result.

Good Luck...and again....GOOD FOR YOU!

 

[weerunner]

Hey everyone. I'm happy to tell you all that she is looking so much better. The lice are all but gone, of course I will have to retreat as the eggs hatch but there are none running around on her now. I'm still finding dead ones as I'm grooming but as of this morning no live ones. Her vulva has gone down slightly in puffiness. Someone here had mentioned maybe she was being 'abused' by the stallion and Jack in her paddock and maybe that was it.

I've combed her mane out completely. I'm going to see if I can buy some wormer today, but not sure what to use. I've emailed her former owners but I'm not getting a response so far as to whether she was ever wormed. I probably should start with a Stongid product, right?

Oh my yes, she loves her mineral/salt lick. As I'm watching her on my camera last night, she was licking and licking that block, 1/4 of it is gone since she arrived. And of course she is drinking water like crazy. She is going through 3 - 2 gallon buckets in a day.

Thanks to everyone again for praying and hoping for her to hold on for awhile, it seems to be working.

Here she is this morning:









and her udder





amanda

 

[bannerminis]

Well she is looking good - as good as can be expected. You are doing all the right things for her so she has every chance.

As for a wormer I would start with a broad spectrum wormer to begin with and my vet always say if in doubt of the history to worm again in 2 wks.

I had a yearling colt I bought in a terrible state and had an infection and liver issues and he took a lot of treatment but with time and care he grew like a mushroom and turned into a gorgeous 36" boy (gelding) and he ended up with a lovely family and treated like royality.

 

[AppyLover2]

My goodness what a pretty girl she is. Sure doesn't look like the same horse as those pictures you posted a few days ago. Great job.

 

[supaspot]

if you dont know her worming history I would suggest giving her half the normal dose and then worm her again in a week , if she has a large worm burden and you kill them all at once it could cause her to colic

 

[albahurst]

This story is going to have a happy ending- I can just feel it

 

[Katiean]

I saw a rescue of a big mare that was in foal. She was so thin she didn't look pregnant. She looked like she had a rather large tumor. They were hoping to have a month with her to get weight on the mare but I believe she foaled within the week of her rescue. A couple of hours later the mare died but they saved the foal. This mare you have pictured is bad. But, she is not near as bad as the mare I mentioned. Good luck with both the mare and foal.

 

[targetsmom]

First of all, bless you for taking in this mare.

This reminds me of a mare (full size) that I bought back in 1973 that turned out to also be bred to a jack!! The seller kept insisting that she wasn't pregnant though, so I was not giving her the extra feed she needed for her pregnancy. Then I thought the big belly might be from worms, so I wormed her - with a product not to be used for pregnant mares! My mare foaled 2 days before my vet was due to give her a pregnancy test. By this time you could count her ribs. But she had a very healthy mule colt (outdoors in November!) and as soon as she got the food she needed, she gained her weight back.

Hoping you have a similar happy ending.

 

[barnbum]

This story is going to have a happy ending- I can just feel it

 

[lil hoofbeats]

When I clicked on the pictures she didn't look near as bad as I expected her to from your description.

I did not think she looked that bad either. i have bought horses in worse shape from some "reputable" farms. With a little feed,and worming i think she will be just fine. Good luck with your new mare!

 

[pepperhill]

Just a couple of thoughts: I'm sure you have inspected the other horse you got for lice as well, right? If one has them they probably all do. And, you might pour a little vegetable oil over her hay or in her grain if you've decided to give it. The oil will add fat calories which will not cause colic/founder like the sugar/starch calories will. It will also help her skin and coat after the lice infestation. Make sure you blanket her at night now that she is clipped as she doesn't need to burn a single calorie trying to stay warm at night. And finally, donkeys gestation is 12 months so if you are having a mule she just might go longer. hard to say. Best wishes, and good for you for caring!

 

[ArabianEcho]

Adding fat to her diet in the form of rice bran or corn oil will help her add the weight faster and produce more milk.

There are also some nice mare and foal complete feed that I'd try.

I'd start with a small amount of each and add more as she get used to the food.

Electrolytes will also increase water consumption which helps with milk production.

Good luck and we'll keep your little gal in our prayers.

 

[weerunner]

I never thought about adding a little corn oil to her feed, you're right that would help her dry skin from the lice and also give her a little extra energy and shine. Excellent suggestion. She is on Mare and Foal feed right now. Milk amount that I can express has increased but is still sticky yellow. Soon, I'm thinking.

 

[Versatility Farm & Training]

I didn't think she looks as bad as described, but once she foals she probably will look worse. Keep in mind being that thin you HAVE to be there when she foals. Maiden mares have a hard time foaling sometimes, but a extremely thin mare will be more likely to have problems and less likely to have the energy to push it out. Hopefully you are able to watch her 24/7. The foal needs colostrum from a Mare first ASAP then its possible to switch to another animal. The lice dust can be used after she foals, but in a small amount only on her topline, not where the foal could get at. Oh and lots of beet pulp will help her gain weight and stay hydrated.

 

[Katiean]

If you want to add an electrolyte supplement Manna Pro makes a Multi-Species supplement called Bounce Back. I mix it in my horses wet feed in the winter. But, it would work well in your mares stall water. It is not flavored and comes in a 4lb bag.

 

[wpsellwood]

just waiting for the foal pictures

good luck and great job!