Lost foal

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Just_Rena

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Yesterday Patches lost a full term stud colt to a stillborn birth. She had it in the pasture and I had checked her the day before and she didnt look and act close. I was watching the herd mill around and hanging out near the hay manger (built for round bales) bad to go to the bathroom and when I came back she had delivered. I ran outside ripped open the sac (it was easy) and tryed yo give mouth to mouth - it was to late. Heres my question - All the mare checked out the dead foal and tryed to help Patches except one - Will the mare that showed no intersted have a chance of being a good mother? I left the body in the pasture (about 2 hours) till Patches left to graze in the yard with herd so she would know her baby was dead.
 
There was an excellent post on a topic earlier this year by Dr. Taylor.The foal was born with wry mouth and it was in question wether it had passed in utero or after birth. It decribed what a foal born alive but quickly passes will look like, as well as time increments in utero since it had passed and what indications the fetus would show upon delivery. This is great as a reference to try to determine if the foal was born alive or died in utero . Sounds like there was no determining factor that would indicate it passed prior to delivery, just unfortunate circumstances that do occur. As far as mares go, I have seen experienced mares rip the sac from the foal, I have seen some inexperienced mares, ESP. Young ones not do their motherly chores in the best manor (seem too relaxed in their role as a mom), then a year or two later they are excellent mom's, they just needed to mentally mature more. Then there are the mares that just know when something is wrong, wether it is shunning a sick foal, knowing the foal died in utero or knowing that it died upon delivery, they know and they quickly accept it.

If this is the first time this mare delivered I wouldn't let it deter you from breeding her again, if she has had other foals for previous owners, do some research and find out what kind of mom she was.
 
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I don't think she was saying that Patches showed no interest, but that one of the other mares showed no interest even though all the others did. I don't think you can tell whether the one who wasn't interested in the dead foal will be a good mother or not from that, especially if she is a young mare. She just may have been confused or shy or whatever. When it's her own hormones involved her mothering instincts will most likely kick in.
 
Oops, misread. In that case,if the foal did not belong to the mare inquestion, then I wouldn't worry one bit about her lack of interest.
 
Yesterday Patches lost a full term stud colt to a stillborn birth. She had it in the pasture and I had checked her the day before and she didnt look and act close. I was watching the herd mill around and hanging out near the hay manger (built for round bales) bad to go to the bathroom and when I came back she had delivered. I ran outside ripped open the sac (it was easy) and tryed yo give mouth to mouth - it was to late. Heres my question - All the mare checked out the dead foal and tryed to help Patches except one - Will the mare that showed no intersted have a chance of being a good mother? I left the body in the pasture (about 2 hours) till Patches left to graze in the yard with herd so she would know her baby was dead.
Totally agree with Mareish Mom. Likely that other mare's behavior was due to any number of things that would have no bearing on her own future motherly instincts. Sorry for the loss of your colt. I had one born in the pasture a few years ago while the mare was just out for a short break from being stalled. It was pure pandemonium with all other horses crowding in and the guard dogs trying to protect the mare and foal. While I was carrying the foal to the barn I got kicked in the leg in the crossfire. I call that one my sneaky mare. She has since then foaled two more times...waits until she hears us pull out of the driveway.
 

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