If only predicting survival in sick foals were as easy as shaking the Magic 8 Ball for an answer. Researchers have evaluated various measures to help owners make difficult decisions when caring for sick foals, including white blood cell counts, fibrinogen levels, and glucose and lactate concentrations, among others, but none have been as effective as practitioners would like. Most recently, a Colorado State University (CSU) team investigated the impact of platelet counts on foal survival.

Elsbeth Swain, DVM, Dipl. ACVIM, of CSU’s College of Veterinary Medicine & Biological Sciences, presented her research data at the 2016 American Association of Equine Practitioners Convention, held Dec. 3-7 in Orlando, Florida.

Swain explained that many hospitalized foals have low platelet counts, referred to as thrombocytopenia, associated with their illnesses. When this occurs, the foal’s blood doesn’t clot normally. This condition’s impact on overall survival, however, has historically been unclear.

Foals can show signs of thrombocytopenia and abnormal clotting ability, shown in both images