Tragedy again!

[Sandy B]

I am just sick, sick, sick. I am sure you remember my 11 yr old daughter losing her first mini mare to foal when the mare had dystocia and we ended up losing both mare and foal. Today, we lost her other foal when it was born and did not get out of the sac. The mare just started getting her milk today and showed no signs of coming labor (you all remember I am a very experienced horse person) yes I had checked on her 40 minutes before and she was nibbling in her paddock out of her stall looking for crumbs. Then my daughter not knowing I had checked her had checked her on the monitor and said she was nibbling in her feed trough. Then Gracie went out to start chores and found the foal in the sac with placenta already delivered and the mare up. She ripped open the sac and started screaming. My husband swung her by her hind legs and I did chest compressions and breathing in her nose to no luck. Although her body was warm, her gums were pale. We could not revive her. She was a beautiful bay pinto filly that was just gorgeous, stunningly gorgeous. We are in shock and sick to our stomachs. Gracie is hysterical one minute and numb the next. She is angry at God and blaming herself and repeating that all she wanted was this baby and it after losing her mare & foal a month ago, this was supposed to help make everything right and better. Gracie wanted this foal so bad, all along she wanted to have a baby of her own to raise like I raise my full sized horse foals. She said she is done with minis, that she can not take this anymore. OMG, I just hurt so bad. To think she (and I) have been waiting for 11 months for these mares to foal and we lose a mare and two foals. I have never missed a foaling mare in all my years. We really need prayer right now, thank you.

 

[cretahillsgal]

I am so sorry! I will be praying for you and your daughter.

 

[Magic]

Oh no, I'm so very sorry!

I don't even know what to say, that is so awful.

 

[frostedpineminis]

So sorry for your loss!!1

Please tell your daughter to keep trying!! it really is worth it in the end and these things happen, I had the same problem my first year!!

So sorry for your loss!!1

Please tell your daughter to keep trying!! it really is worth it in the end and these things happen, I had the same problem my first year!!

 

[Marty]

I am so very sorry for your tremendous loss.

I've had mares do the unexpected too. We are only human, not rocket scientists and we can never really predict what will occur during a foaling until it happens. You are true horsemen in every sense of the word and did nothing wrong and do not deserve this. Both my kids have experienced the loss of their animals more times than they needed to at young ages and it is a very hard thing to watch them go through. Tell Gracie there will be a foal out there somewhere that really needs her someday and to never loose hope.

 

[Dee]

Ugh I feel for you guys right now! I'm so sorry for your loss! Thinking of you guys!

 

[targetsmom]

I am so, so sorry about this!! I feel your pain as we had very similar experiences when we started breeding minis - also after YEARS with big horses. We lost a foal that didn't get out of the sack when my back was turned for 5 minutes; I am sure others have too. The mares are VERY sneaky and I also read that it is possible that you would not have been able to save the foal anyway. For example, Rhino doesn't always cause abortions but the mare can carry to term and the foal won't make it. We have almost given up several times. Breeding minis can be heart-wrenching.

 

[kaykay]

My heart breaks for your daughter. I am so sorry.

 

[sedeh]

How awful. I'm so sorry for you and especially your daughter.

As others have said. Mini mares are sneaky and can foal so quickly. I'm sorry your daughter feels she wants to give up on minis. I'm hoping she changes her mind once the grief lessons. Minis add so much to our lives! There are a lot of young minis out there for sale!! You don't have to breed...you can let others take the risk.

 

[topnotchminis]

I am so sorry. Sending prayers.

 

[Kim~Crayonboxminiatures]

I'm so very sorry for your losses, and my heart breaks for your daughter. I have experienced the same losses, and know the pain and the regret that goes along with it. Miniatures are not easy horses to breed and raise. I hope your daughter can find comfort in the adult Minis she has now.

 

[StarRidgeAcres]

I'm so, so sorry for you and your daughter. I have no words to provide any comfort I'm afraid. It's a terrible start you've had and I wish the outcome had been different. Prayers and hugs to you both.

 

[ClickMini]

I am SO SORRY for your losses. I lost my first foal to a bad dystocia and very nearly lost my mare, too. It is a sad fact of breeding minis that no matter how careful you are things can still go badly wrong. I am sending prayers for heart healing to you and your daughter. (((((HUGS))))) You do have a good support group here.

 

[Kendra]

I'm so sorry for your loss.

 

[Taylor Richelle]

I am so truly sorry! It's just awful when these things happen. Please tell your daughter not to give up. Tell her to keep trying, it will be worth it. ((Hugs))

 

[Riverrose28]

So very sorry for you and your daughter. These horrable things happen to all of us, it can't be helped. Maybe if she gets a weanling it will help for now, and you can try to breed your mare again in the future with a better outcome. My condolences.

 

[Allure Ranch]

My heart truly breaks for your daughter and the thought of her having to come to terms with yet another tragic loss....

 

Unfortunately, all miniature horses don't follow a consistent criteria when it comes to foaling and while some will develop full bags other's don't seem to develop much of a bag at all and can/will still foal. I personally have SEVERAL proven broodmares that most individuals would have never expected/anticipated that they would of foaled based on the size of thier bags when indeed they have and do. They literally only develop a bag that's the size of (1) hard boiled egg.

 

[wingnut]

Oh how awful and tragic. My prayers and the biggest hugs possible to all of you, but especially your daughter. I cannot imagine how hard this has been for her.

 

[Sandy B]

Thank you all. We are doing okay, many tears still being shed though. The grief is deep and the loss of a promise is now gone. Gracie had many hopes for this baby. She wanted to train the foal herself and show it. She watches me with my QH foals and thats all she has talked about, her own baby. She wanted to be the one who delivered it, dried it off, helped it nurse, dip the cord, halter break it... everything. Her dreams are dead right now. 11 months is a long time for an adult to wait for, let alone a child. Her faith has wavered but she has been spending time in prayer and told me she asked God to forgive her for being so angry at Him.

Some of you guys may have met Gracie a couple years ago at the AMHA World show. When Gracie got in to the minis, she and I had a mother/daughter trip to Fort Worth to see the big guns in action. We had just started to get in to minis. Gracie wanted to enter the Youth Judging contest and so she did. She ended up winning the Overall High Point in her age group (she was on the young side of her age group too and had never done a judging contest before) for her high scores for both Performance and Halter. She was so proud of herself (and I was too). She even made friends and got to be a part of the Youth Parade and more. Gracie is a social butterfly, very friendly and outgoing. She hopes to show there one day.

We are so grateful to have this board to go to and all you wonderful people for support and mentoring. I knew going in to the minis that is would be a challenge and we have experienced a lot of the most common mini problems in spite of being cautious. I also knew that the foaling risks were much higher in minis than in large horses. I even told Gracie the risks prior. However, I never would have thought this first year of foaling minis would be so tragic. Peeling Gracie off that dead filly yesterday was completely gut wrenching. She was sobbing and saying all the things that I was saying in my heart. She was kissing that beautiful face and stroking her neck and telling her how much she loved her and how perfect she was. I am not sure I can do that again. I know I will though if she wants to give it another shot.

On another level- the mare is doing well. Her udder is very tight as can be expected. However, never having been through this, is there anything I need to do to the mare to help the fluids get out of her uterus? I know a nursing foal helps contract the uterus to get the excess fluids out and massage the uterus back in to shape. The placenta was complete, her vulva looks good and I see no bruising or tears when I look. Plus I took her temperature and it is normal. She is eating and drinking well. I just turned her out on grass for awhile with her buddy mare hoping to get her to move around some.

 

[Connie P]

I am tremendously sorry for all of your loss. I cannot even begin to imagine the pain this has caused your family. Continued prayers for your mare and your entire family. ((( )))