RIP Little Remington....you were loved

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lovemylilbit

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I don't now if anyone will remember me, my name is Laura and my first post on here "So confused" has archived. I was trying to get opinions on if my mare was bred or not. Well after watching her for a while looking for signs, I gave up thinking she was just fat. I had a couple of family emergencies that took me out of state twice in the last month, when I got home this Sunday, Lizzy looked like she had lost a lot of weight, she had diareah, and I was worried about her.

I had been checking on her a lot yesterday as she just didn't seem right, and was going to tell my husband we needed to take her to the vet. I went out to the barn this afternoon to check on her again, and there at her feet was a beautiful colt, all clean and mostly dry. He wasn't able to get up. I am not sure how long since he had been born, no clue on if the birth was difficult, Lizzy did it all on her own. He did still have his golden slippers on and they were still wet and squishy.

Anyhow, We have been helping him stand, and he is able to stand on his own now and walk some, although still wobbly. He hasn't been able to nurse unless we put him right on the nipple. I have been checking on him every couple of hours, been trying to get him to nurse, but it takes 2 of us, 1 to hold him and one to guide him on the nipple. Only a few times have we actually seen him attatched and heard him sucking. With a suggestion from a friend we went out and bought some powdered colostrum and milk replacer and a bottle, just in case, as Lizzy really hasn't bagged up yet. But she does have milk in there, no doubt as when he gets a hold of the bag, milk comes streaming out.

I have tried expressing it, and rubbing it on her, so he would smell it and help him find it better. My husband is about to go to work and I can't get him attatched alone.

More then likely going to get him into the vet today, I have to call and see if they can either come out or if I can just bring him in, or if I need to bring mom in too I will have to borrow a trailer.

so anyhow, I could really use some advice while waiting to get a hold of the vet.

The nipple I got him was a lamb nipple. I don't think the hole was big enough, I made it bigger as he was sucking forever and got nothing out of it ( I measured before and after feeding), so after this last bottle I just gave him, he got maybe 2 ounces. How much milk does a miniature foal drink at a time?

I hold him up to her, or stand him next to her facing that direction, and he has tried nursing, but he sucks on everything but her nipple.

Thanks in advance for any advice. I am a nervous wreck. I am in love with him, I want him to live and I am trying everything I can think of.

I will try to add pictures here in a bit. We named him Remington.

Please forgive any misspellings, I have been up all night and am too tired to proof read.
 
Try feeding him a little every hour. Two ounces is fine, let him take what he wants. If he can stand now, keep trying to help him find the nipple if you can. If you can express mom's milk, that is the best for him. You can even syringe it in his mouth (without the needle). The more frequently he eats and the more he takes the stronger he will get. He sounds like he may have had a difficult birth -- what we might call a dummy foal -- and it takes them a bit longer to sort things out. But he should come along, as long as you can keep getting colostrum into him -- his mom's is the best for him.

If mom doesn't stand well for him, try tying her so you have hands free to help him. If he will take the bottle, try getting him to stand next to momma and feed him in a natural nursing position by putting the bottle between mom's legs, so he's in the general vicinity of his mom's nipples.

Continue to try to get him to find mom's nipple first, but use the bottle if you must, because he needs to get a steady stream of food, every hour. Bottle feeding is a laborious and exhausting task, but keep at it. As he gets stronger and can stand better, hopefully he'll get better oriented and find the nipple on his own.

KUDOS on keeping a good eye on him. He's going to need your attention to keep moving forward. Getting him standing now is a move in the right direction and shows he's gaining a little. But try feeding him every hour during this first day. The vet can do a test to measure how much colostrum he's gotten to make sure it's enough, and hopefully he can come to your farm to see if he can assist.

Keep us posted on how Remington is doing.

Keep us posted.
 
Thank you. I will keep working with him. I am going to try to find a different vet, the one I know of only does farm calls once a month.

Lizzy has been amazing. Standing still for him, standing over him watching him.

I will update again when I can. Going to have my husband try to help me get him attached before he goes to work.
 
Also, call your vet NOW, don't wait. There should be an emergency number listed on any vet's phone service that you can call and now is not the time to be afraid to do so.

Better to milk the mare out, in between encouraging him to "latch on" to her, and use her milk in the bottle than to use the Mare's milk replacer. This is so that he gets the colostrum that is so important. You can use the Mare's milk replacer later - it may come in handy.

The vet may give her some meds to help her "release" her milk or to bring her milk in. There are several types. Also, after checking your little guy, the vet will want to check the mare to be sure she is ok.
 
I will also look up dummy foal syndrome, I have never heard of it
 
If you can syringe his dam's milk (colostrum) into him as often as he will take it, that will be the best thing for him until a vet can tube him with milk expressed from his dam, Be careful he doesn't swallow the wrong way. That tubing will most often give him a big boost of strength. I had a dummy foal once and I know how hard it is to get him to latch onto the nipple, you have to be very frustrated, my sympathies, and I know you need a second pair of hands now.

If you go to the vet take the mare with you so he can milk her. Good luck, you are a good mom.
 
I do remember you! Congratulations on your new addition. Hopefully you can get a Vet out to check to make sure he received the colostrum he needs and to check your mare. It sounds like you found him in time, and since he is trying to suckle that is good.
Here is the link to a good article about neonatal maladjustment syndrome or dummy foal syndrome. ..and a video

 
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Thanks again to all who responded. The vet came this morning, they just left. He passed the clotting test to see if he got enough colostrum, they also think with as feisty as he was (he fought hard when they were examining him) that he has gotten enough to eat. I am wondering if he just isn't latching when we try to help him as he is getting mad for having his head pushed around, the vets (3 came out) also took turns trying to get him to latch and he just wouldn't stay on there. I had seen him at about 930 walk up to mom, I just pushed his butt a little and I heard him sucking and pretty sure swallowing, but it was very quick. So I am hoping everything will work out just fine, I just need to sit back and watch for any signs that he is getting weak and call them back out.

Lizzy is kind of quiet today, I let them know she just isn't herself, isn't really eating right now, they looked her over, checked her temp and said she looks good, just keep an eye on her. She was extremely well behaved, I was pleased. They loved both of them, especially Remington.

I will try to upload some pictures of him today, I tried doing it with my phone but I couldn't figure it out, so when I get some time I will get some up.
 
I hope Lizzy and Remington are doing ok!! Keep us updated.

Debby, that video is great! Amazing that they can mimic the birth pressure like that!
 
Foals naturally nurse little and very often, so you'll probably see him try several times an hour for the first few days, then it won't be quite so frequent after that, but probably still hourly.

Did the vet offer any pain meds for the mare, they are often give a little bit of banamine after foaling to help with the discomfort/pain of passing the placenta and uterine involution (contractions to help it go back to normal size after being stretched for pregnancy).
 
Great news!

What a colorful foal, and so precious, I can see why you are already in love.
 
What a handsome little guy!!! And I love the name. And such long, long legs! Jut beautiful -- I guess I should say "handsome" !!

So good the vets came out to help, and so WONDERFUL that he has gotten enough colostrum! Good job, YOU!!!!

If you can, take a little time outside the stall, peeking in, and watch for him to get up on his own and see if he nurses. He could be a "fooler" and actually be nursing in small amounts. Sometimes you can see milk on his muzzle or inside his lips when he's done.

He's just beautiful and please keep us posted on him and his little momma. You might want to ask the vet about getting momma some Banamine for her discomfort. I always used the injectable -- drawn up into a syringe, then I removed the needle and squirted it in momma's mouth. It tastes AWFUL, but it works very quickly with all the mucous membranes in their mouths!

CONGRATULATIONS again, and we're praying for both of them!! Good job in all you've done for him!
 
Congratulations he is a ripper , please keep us posted on his progress
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A couple of hours after the vets left I found him laying in a corner. I went to pick him up to move him away and he was limp.

I tried to get him to nurse, my daughter was even holding LIZZY'S leg up to the side for better access, but he was too weak.

Ran in to make him a bottle while calling the vet back, got him to drink most of his bottle and they told me to bring him right in.

They were shocked as he was so full of life and active while they were here, and I was so confused as how he could be perfect and then a few hours later barely alive.

For those that suggested dummy foal syndrome, that is what they believe he has. They are doing all they can for him, and we took Lizzy up to the clinic as well so they can milk her for him, and work on his nursing when he is stronger.

I will update again when I hear something. No news is good news for Tonight, she will only call if needed. So should get an update in the morning.
 
Thank goodness you were so attentive to him. Unfortunately, foals can crash quite suddenly, but so glad your vet is involved.

Oh, please keep us posted. Sending lots of prayers for Remington, momma and you.
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