My Mare has Aborted

[BeckyG]

It’s so sad.

My sweet mare, Windy, has aborted her foal. She was about 240 days.

The good news is that she is fine.

Windy is my favorite mare. I am so thankful that she is OK. Though we continue to watch her.

This is my 1st experience with abortion, and I would appreciate any input from others.

For lack of a better way to explain.... It was like a foal delivery.

The fetus came out of the bag, and the placenta was expelled afterward.

I was there when it came out, so I did like I do with foal births. I collected it so I could examine and ensure it was intact.

It seems intact, and I do not think she has retained any....... which was my concern. But, I am puzzled by the placenta.

The placenta’s I have examined in the past have looked pretty-much like textbook pictures.

This is different from what I have seen before. It’s almost like 2 oddly shaped placenta’s.

And it looks like 2 openings. So, I think maybe twins. (I know twins are one cause of abortions.) But there is only one fetus.

I have looked on Google, but have found no pictures that look like this.

I have pictures below. One of the fetus, one of the placenta, and a close-up of the openings.

Please let me know your thoughts.

Thanks,

Becky

 

[topnotchminis]

So sorry for your loss! I glad your mare is okay though.

 

[Keri]

Sorry to hear. I have no experience with abortions.

But a friend in our mini club had a mare abort hers too. The weird part is, is that her mare is named Windy too!

 

[kaykay]

I hate this time of year because this is when you start to see abortions. Most of the vets I have spoken say that abortions after 5 months are a lot of times caused by rhino. My vet recommends rhino shots starting at 3 months instead of 5. Other times you just dont know what happened. We have had necropsies done in the past but found it was a waste of money as we never got any answers.

 

[Mock2Farms]

Soo sorry for your loss. I know how it feels, I just had 2 abort within a week of each other. Im glad your mare is okay though.

 

[Marnie]

I'm sorry Windy aborted but at least she's ok, usually they don't realize what happened and don't mourn like they do when the baby is full term.

 

[mizbeth]

I am sorry to hear for your loss. Sometimes there is no explaination for this, it just happens.

Give your mare a hug,

B

 

[SandyWI]

The placenta does not look normal to me. There really should only be one hole. I have no idea what might have caused the second hole, but I think I would show it to a vet to be sure. Could there be any possibility at all that the mare was carrying twins, but one didn't develop, and is possibly inside the mare? I don't know if that could happen, but I do know that there should only be one hole.

 

[eagles ring farm]

So sorry for your loss

but I hope your mare is fine

it is best to have a vet examine her IMO

hoping someone has answers for you

 

[BeckyG]

Thank You everyone for your kind thoughts.

It's so nice to have LilBeginning friends.

I agree..... I should follow-up with the vet.

I think everything is ok.... but its not the normal placenta.

(Better to be safe.... )

Thanks Guys!

 

[Field-of-Dreams]

I'm so sorry for your loss....

What it looks like to ME, and I'm NOT a vet nor pretend to be one (but I DO read a lot) is that the larger sac is the placenta and the smaller one is the amnion sac. In a normal foaling the amnion gets pretty thin and shredded as the foal is born. This one never got a chance to stretch.

JMHO.

Lucy

 

[Versatility Farm & Training]

I agree with Field Of Dreams,

It looks normal to me, there is only 1 placenta with one hole, and an amnionic sac with one whole. The whole in the placenta is where the foal passed through, and the one in the amnionic sac is where the foal broke through after being aborted.

 

[Irish Hills Farm]

Sorry for your loss.

And I'm glad to hear your mare is fine.

 

[attwoode]

Sorry about your loss. I agree that second part is the amniotic sac. Does the placenta appear thin to anyone else?

 

[StarRidgeAcres]

I'm so sorry! I'm glad Windy seems OK though. I'm glad you're going to consult a vet as I've not seen or heard of what you have there. If you don't mind, please tell us what the vet says. Hopefully there can be some good from your loss and something can be learned from this.

Again, so sorry.

 

[rabbitsfizz]

That placenta is completely normal, you are confusing the sac with the placenta....come on people, there HAS to be two holes, if you think about it, one in the placenta that surrounds the sac, one in the sac.

In the horse the placenta surrounds the foetus, not like a human at all.....

Anyway, I'm sorry this happened, all I can say is the foetus does look a little underdeveloped for the age it is but different horses have vastly different gestation times, so it could well be "normal" for this mare.

The one thing you can be sure of is that it will not have been "hanging around" dead, a mare aborts within 24-48 hours of the foetus dying.

 

[BeckyG]

What it looks like to ME, and I'm NOT a vet nor pretend to be one (but I DO read a lot) is that the larger sac is the placenta and the smaller one is the amnion sac. In a normal foaling the amnion gets pretty thin and shredded as the foal is born. This one never got a chance to stretch.

I agree with Field Of Dreams,It looks normal to me, there is only 1 placenta with one hole, and an amnionic sac with one whole

That placenta is completely normal, you are confusing the sac with the placenta

Ah, of course!!

(I just haven't seen the sac looking this way. )

[SIZE=10pt]Thank You!! [/SIZE]

 

[rabbitsfizz]

It can be very confusing, I agree.

I can be fooled even after 45 years, and add in the stress factors of the whole thing and it is easy to see why the penny did not drop sooner!!!

 

[sedeh]

I'm so sorry for your loss.

This time of year I'm always on tenderhooks watching the mares(not that I have that many to foal) and hoping they make it past the "viable" stage. I'm glad the mare is okay. My first thoughts when I saw the placenta was "placenta and amniotic sac" also. You just don't normally see it like that since foal is usually wrapped up in it a bit more. I'd still have your vet check the mare.

 

[REO]

I'm so sorry for your loss

That is always so sad. I'm glad Windy is fine.

{{{hugs}}} to you both.