Fetotomy (the vaginal removal from a mare of a dead fetus in two or more pieces) is a viable option for resolving severe dystocia (difficult birth), with better mare survival rates than those cases involving Cesarean section, according to
People are always looking for tips on how to do things better–particularly horse breeders looking for ways to get healthier foals. Benjamin Espy, DVM, Dipl. ACT, a practitioner from San Antonio, offered insight on many areas of equine reproduction
If your mare experiences complications following foaling, it’s important to note when they arise, said Walter Zent, DVM, a veterinarian at Hagyard Equine Medical Institute in Lexington, Ky., in his presentation at the 2006 Hagyard Bluegrass
Thanks to a University of Pennsylvania study, owners of small ponies can now predict their pregnant mares’ delivery dates simply by looking into their unborn foals’ eyes. During a two-year project, researchers in the university’s School of
I am searching for information or articles on induced parturition (labor). Is there any information published on this?
Foals can be born prematurely for a variety of reasons. The most common reasons for a premature delivery are infection of the placenta (placentitis) or long-standing placental insufficiency.
For a mare, the birth of her foal is an explosive process, in the best of circumstances requiring less than a half-hour from the time her water breaks to the time the foal has been delivered through the birth canal. In a wilder existence, a
Surgically repairing or stabilizing fractured ribs in a newborn foal can reduce the risk of further complications such as puncturing a vital organ, said Robert Hunt, DVM, MS, Dipl. ACVS, and Fairfield Bain DVM, MBA, Dipl. ACVIM, ACVP, ACVECC. Th
A long umbilical cord increases the risks for abortions and stillbirths in horses. Complications include strangulation of the foal and excessive cord twisting, writes Karin Bosh in a recent edition of Equine Disease Quarterly, a newsletter
Normal gestation in a mare lasts anywhere from 320 to 360 days. The average is about 341 days. A foal born at less than 320 days will display immature characteristics such as silky hair coat, overly pliable ears, weak or lax flexor tendons, and
The best chance to improve the survival rate of a newborn foal, she said, is adequate advance disease prevention and planning. The disease prevention includes a comprehensive vaccination program, Zimmel told her listeners.
The ?blip? of abortions seen in August, September, and October in Kentucky has continued on through December. With only about 50 total abortions reported, this problem might not even catch the attention of many people in a normal year, as
Rhonda Rathgeber, DVM, PhD stressed the need for assessing newborn foals early for abnormal conditions.
Foaling alarms are designed to notify owners, farm managers, or foaling attendants that a mare is in labor.
Some New York breeding farms have experienced an unusual number of foaling problems so far this breeding season, and slightly higher incidences of sickness and herpesvirus abortions. There is evidence to suggest a slight connection between the
Each year throughout the United States, mares lose their pregnancies due to placentitis or an infection in the placenta. Placentitis causes lesions in the placenta, which provides nourishment from the mare to the fetus. When that nourishment is
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