According to an Associated Press report, two men charged in the killing of 34 wild horses in the hills east of Reno, Nev., pleaded no contest Jan. 7 to single gross misdemeanor counts, and a third defendant pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor.
The birth of a foal is a wondrous event; if all goes well, it is over quickly as the mare goes through the three stages of labor. The first stage generally involves restlessness as the mare paces the stall, paws, lies down, gets back up, and
At the end of April in Kentucky, we suddenly started seeing a large number of foals with an unusual combination of signs admitted to the Hagyard-Davidson-McGee Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU). Most were slightly premature–maybe a
When your favorite basketball team is leading by a point and the clock is ticking down to the final seconds with your team in possession, time seems to move at a snail’s pace. Not so when your favorite mare is in labor and can’t seem to deliver
Although common knowledge among veterinarians, few horse owners know that the condition of a mare’s placenta following birth is a useful barometer for gauging the health of a newborn foal. If the placenta appears abnormal, the foal could be at
Eleven months is a long time to wait for the birth of a foal. Even with the best of care, things can go wrong and interrupt the normal development of the fetus and/or compromise the health of the mare.
When the day (or as is often the case,
This article will describe procedures that should be done before foaling, the events that take place just prior to foaling, what events take place during a normal foaling–along with the normal post-foaling events–and will describe some of
A mare is at the greatest risk of a deadly complication associated with foaling known as hemorrhage in the 24-48 hours after giving birth. However, it is important to note that hemorrhage can occur at any time during gestation, and that it shoul
A total of 2,351 equine veterinarians–a record attendance–descended on Lexington for the 41st annual American Association of Equine Practitioners convention. Committee business dominated the day on Dec. 2, with 21 of the association’s 40
Good news travels fast in the horse business; bad news travels even faster. In the case of an outbreak of mysterious early fetal loss and late-gestation foal loss, cooperation and quick sharing of information served to help researchers
Many horse breeders and owners are familiar with the circumstances that necessitate an emergency cesarean section. Those circumstances involve the mare and/or unborn foal being in imminent danger due to birthing difficulties (also known as
Rolf Embertson, DVM, Dipl. ACVS, a surgeon on the staff at Rood and Riddle Equine Hospital in Lexington, Ky. described their on-call dystocia and neonate teams at the annual meeting of the Society For Theriogenology and American
Next on the concern list immediately after foaling is the mare. Did she come through the short, but almost violent birthing process unscathed? Or are we facing some post-foaling problems that could compromise her health, her ability to conceive again
Passing the meconium is, to me, the second-biggest hurdle a foal must overcome after birth–the first, obviously, is making the transition from the protected life within the uterus to life outside the uterus (breathing, standing, nursing).
Find out what to expect during the foaling process.
The foal is born with a functional immune system (if all is normal), but has a general absence of immunoglobulins to aid in the defense against infection. The foal acquires his initial immunoglobulin protection from the mare’s first milk, which
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