How do you know when your mare needs a c-section — before things go wrong? I lost a mare recently and I think it could have been prevented if I had taken her to the hospital sooner for a c-section. She became extremely uncomfortable after pacing the fence for a day when I switched her to day turnout for foal watch. I switched her turnout about a week before she foaled — she was getting close but was not imminent — I was trying to make sure she had time to settle before she foaled. The next day, I thought her feet were sore from pacing so I started turning her out in boots. Other than walking slowly, she seemed ok. Two days before she foaled, she really didn’t want to walk and was very unsteady on her feet. She started leaning on the stall walls and pawing… she was clearly uncomfortable. I contacted my vet and told him I thought she’d foal that night but that she didn’t act this way with her previous two foals. Her feet weren’t hot so I was concerned there was a problem, like a malpositioned foal. The next day, she wouldn’t leave her stall. She was very uncomfortable all day. I talked to my vet again and he wasn’t concerned by what I was telling him. I reached out to multiple other friends (one being a foaling manager at a stallion station) with breeding experience and they all echoed what my vet said. So… I didn’t do anything but watch and wait. I wish I had taken her to the hospital when I felt like something was wrong, but everyone with more experience than me were unconcerned. I even gave my vet access to my cameras so he could see what she was doing. No guarantee the outcome would have been different, but maybe? She ended up rupturing her abdominal wall on both sides. My theory is that she started rupturing several days prior to foaling (but there weren’t any obvious signs, like swelling). If I didn’t already have another pregnant mare, I don’t think I’d breed again for a long time. So, back to my question: how do you know when your mare might need a c-section (before it’s too late)?
This was a question that came up with my mare since last year the foal presented hind feet first and didn’t survive delivery even with the vet present and assisting the whole time. Not sure if the outcome would have been different had she foaled out at the vet hospital since my the time the baby is in the birth canal they won’t c-section, at least that was what I was told. So this year as the mare got closer to foaling we did a number of trans abdominal ultrasounds to make sure baby was at least in the correct orientation. Had he not been or if we couldn’t tell we would have scheduled an elective c-section when she was ready. Fortunately it ended up being a non issue, baby was in the correct position and delivery went smoothly. Not sure if ultrasound would have told you anything in this case. It’s hard when vets and experts don’t listen to your instincts. On the flip side I’m sure they deal with lots of unfounded panic. It really sucks in your situation, hopefully your other mare foals uneventfully. Hugs
I am so sorry. It seems like it is a rare and difficult prognosis, no matter the road taken.
That’s the thing about breeding horses… there’s lots of things that you only find out about after the fact. And shipping to a vet clinic guarantees nothing but a big bill. That’s why… when I see the mare start to foal on the camera, or things are looking close in the evening at feed time, I would get this feeling of “dread”… because you just don’t know what you are going to be dealing with in a few hours… the heartbreak, the loss, the tragedies. You WILL lose some… mares and foals. It’s unavoidable. It’s a high risk thing to do, especially with horses. You deal with it as best as you can, as does a vet you call.to try to save at least one of them.
Sometimes you get some inkling that things are going wrong in advance, sometimes you don’t. Sometimes you think that everything is progressing well, and it isn’t. It’s the great unknown. It’s high risk. If you want to ship the mare to a clinic to be foaled out by someone else, go ahead and do that now. Good luck!
Nancy M has said it so well. So accurate and true. I understood a mid-Atlantic clinic had a base estimate of $20,000 (+) for a C-section (not including neonatal foal costs), which assumed no complications, does not consider the further misery the mare has to endure, with no guarantee of survival or quality of life for mare or foal.
Best of luck in the future, sounds like everyone did their best by her. May your heart heal a little bit more everyday.
In addition, from what I’ve heard in the past (which may have changed with time and veterinary advances???), a C-section on a mare is usually expected to result in an orphan foal. It’s not as easy as it is in humans.
From what I was told by my vets c-sections have gotten better, but a lot depends on the mare and what condition she’s in when the procedure is started. I think the numbers I saw were 95% survival rate for planned c-sections and 80% or better for emergency c-sections. The foal survival rates were lower and decreased significantly the longer it had been since the mare’s water had broken.
It’s a hard call no matter what, hindsight is not always helpful. Try not to beat yourself up and second guess, it doesn’t help. Biology is often messy and cruel.
Not exactly, but the financial realities and the distance from a place with general anesthesia capabilities play a huge role here. For the average mare on the average farm, it’s both technically easier and a lot less expensive to drop the mare on the farm as a terminal C section, meaning induce anesthesia and get the foal out without the intent of recovering the mare. If finances and distance from a referral hospital allow, many mares do quite well and in fact go on to have additional pregnancies.
