With Doug Byars, DVM, Dipl. ACVIM, Dipl. ACVECC, head of the Kentucky-based Hagyard-Davidson-McGee veterinary firm’s Medicine Unit in Lexington that includes neonatal intensive care. Of his comments, he said, “For all of these following recommendations, we don’t know if they are useful or futile because we don’t know when the ‘hammer’ hits these horses. Whatever you do hopefully helps prevent the problems. We don’t know if there are any therapeutic benefits. All of my comments are being pointed toward the culprit being grasses. We haven’t found an infectious disease. There are syndromes in other species of animals related to toxins or endophytes that relate to what we are seeing in the horses. The increased activity this problem has created has made it difficult for us to get together to discuss the problem, but we are mobilizing and getting a lot of input from institutions and toxicology places. We hope to get a definitive answer in the near future.”

What can a horse owner/farm manager do today to protect his pregnant mares?

  • Monitor all foaling mares. Treat every foaling mare as being at high risk. Medicate them as your vet recommends (including domperidone and ancillary treatments such as antibiotics)

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