Sad morning ... Cowboy angel filly

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CrescentMinis

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I've been looking so forward to the arrival of our first foals ever this year. One mare is overdue and holding (358 days), but the other isn't due till June 1st, so I got a major shock this morning going out to turn my girls out and clean stalls. My Toy filly aborted at approx. 285 days. A perfect little chestnut filly with a big star in the center of her forehead. 3.5" cannon bone and about 16.5" tall at the withers. Probably about 10-12 lbs.

I am so bummed out!!! I can't believe this happened. The cord was wrapped once around her neck very tight, and I am guessing that she died because of that. Her eyes are very black like a live foal's, so I don't think she was gone very long.

Sofie, the momma (in my avatar), seems to be OK, she is eating now. She had the baby out of the bag and was pushing her with her nose, to get up when I first saw all this earlier. Baby had been on the ground a while because she was very cold at 6am.

So can you guys reassure me, if the placenta passed intact (it looks like a pair of pants, the waistband is open but the "legs" are closed up), Sofie is not bleeding or anything, there is no reason to have a vet out is there?

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I am so sorry!!
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It is always hard to loose a foal, especially when you are first starting out.

If the placenta is fully intact and mom is doing well, you really do not need to have the vet out.

It does look like the filly died when the placenta wrapped around the neck. Probably cutting off cirulation from the cord as the foal breaths through the cord. It also looks like the filly was farther along then you think as she seems to have some hair.

I sure hope that your next foal is alive and heathy!!
 
I am SOOOO sorry Faith. I know you guys and especially Alexa were looking forward to this baby.

If you take the red part of the placenta and fill the hole the foal came through with a garden hose to make it look like a water balloon. That should tell you if any part is missing. If she pawed the bag though there may be mulitple holes. I would call the vet and tell them what happened. The might want to come and update some of her shots.

Again, I know you loved this baby before it got here. I am sorry.
 
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I am so sorry!!! I know your mare, looked at her myself on behalf of a friend just before you bought her...but you beat my friend to the punch. Your mare is lovely and sweet, and one of the few Cowboy Del babies out there for the year also! And she did look beautiful, too!
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Aw geez, there are no words. I would get the vet out just to check your mare. I would for any post-foaling, even if everything goes textbook.

You will need to watch Sofie very closely for the next couple of weeks. When Ally lost her first baby, she got very sick the next week with Hypocalcemia and Hypoproteinemia, and had to be hospitalized for a time while they stabilized her.
 
I am so very sorry for the loss of your little one. My heart breaks for you and your mare.

Tammie~
 
Thanks guys. I was somewhat prepared for this just from reading the forum, which helps a little. But it still sucks. That baby was perfect. I wondered about being later term as well; the seller was positive about the dates. I looked at CrayonBox's website where the photos of different stages of fetal development are shown, and this baby looked a lot like the ones they showed at around this age, to me. If I had any idea, I would have had her on camera and monitored, just in case there was the slightest chance I could have done something to help.

More importantly now.... If Sofie is shivering a little on and off (it is cold out today, about 42 degrees IN the barn even, but at least there's no wind in there), is there anything I should do right away? My vet is out of town till tomorrow, and so far this doesn't seem like an emergency. I just don't want to find her going into shock or anything, but the placenta was intact, so I don't have that worry.

I was going to be stopping by the farm Sofie came from anyway this morning, so I will see if I can borrow some banamine. It will be about 1:00 before I can get back here to her. I hope everything will be OK. I don't have a blanket or anything for her, and she has the shortest winter coat of my horses.

Clickmini, I am not familiar with the conditions Ally developed. Are they unusual and did you find out why she had them? I will do a little research later but have to run out for about the next 3 hours.
 
You have my sympathy on this sad loss...you are likely right about the cause being the badly-placed umbilical cord, it appears. For me, as the "Number One Fan"of Cowboy Del(at least, of those who haven't actually OWNED him, as I know that THEY are his Number ONE Fans!"
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)--it is doubly sad. He is a horse of SUCH quality that IMO his genes SHOULD BE being passed on as widely(with equally good mares, of course, since it takes BOTH sides to try for greatness)as possible! He has not been bred all that much, and he is not getting any younger....

As others have mentioned--I'd also recommend at least a phone call to discuss this with your vet--and if you have no previous foaling experience, I'd want the vet to SEE that placenta, at the very least.

Hope the mare does fine, and that you have a chance to breed back to my favorite miniature stallion of all time-the incomparable Landrys Cowboy Del!

Margo
 
I actually don't think it is that rare. She just could not maintain the levels of calcium and protein in her body. Calcium is essential to their muscles, if they don't have enough of it the muscles can't contract properly. And the heart is a muscle.

If you see her get "hiccups," it is a RED ALERT EMERGENCY. That is Thumps, or Synchronous Diaphragmatic Flutter. Ally was already in the hospital on IV with a calcium push when she got it; her levels had just dumped very quickly.

Can you take your mare's temperature? Her temp, heart rate, and respiration rate are essential to determining how stable her health picture is.

Everyone should learn how to check their horse's vital signs. If you don't know how, get help from a respected and knowledgeable friend, breeder, or trainer. Get a book on emergency health care and keep it handy for reference. One I have that is excellent is: Hands-On Horse Care: a Complete Guide to Equine First Aid by Horse & Rider magazine. It is well laid out, gives very clear step-by-step guidance in how to determine what is wrong based on symptoms, how soon the vet is needed, etc. It also is excellent for learning how to do certain things: i.e.: bandaging certain areas, things to have in your first aid kit, etc.

Good luck with Sofie, and keep us posted. I know Mary Ann will be very sad for the loss of this foal as well.
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Temp is normal right now. She was shivering off and on, so is now "wearing" the biggest, fluffiest pink beach towel you've ever seen. I put a small space heater outside her stall to warm the air a little hopefully (I won't leave it on unattended for more than a few minutes!!). It's really cold out there today.

She peed a little tiny bit and it looks pretty bloody, I assume that is normal at this stage. How long till they usually poop again after delivering? She is drinking lots of water, nibbling at her hay a little, and ate her normal little bit of grain earlier for breakfast. My big horse neighbor is coming over (she also works for our vet) and I'll have her double check the placenta.

I cancelled my appointment for this morning so I can stay home and keep an eye on her and get her warmed up a little more.

First person I called early this morning was of course Cowboy's owner, MaryAnn. I can take Sofie back out there this spring to try again for another Cowboy foal. It seems strange to even be thinking of that right now, but I sure do want one of his foals! Love him, and Sofie is a nice little mare.

Anything else I should be watching for that you think of, I would love the input. Thanks very much everyone, I knew I could count on my forum friends for advice and support!
 
I am so sorry for the loss of your little filly, my prayers going out to you and her mom.
 
I am so sorry for your loss. It is so hard, I know as do a lot of us do. May God Bless
 
I am so sorry for you and for Sofie. My thoughts are with you.
 
I'm so very sorry. First because of the heartbreak of losing a foal, second because it was such a beautiful foal, and third because it was a Cowboy Dell foal!
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Bye bye little one.
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Does anyone have a website where I can see video or more recent pictures of Cowboy Del?

Leia
 

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