I have nothing to add except my sincere wishes that all turns out as well for you as it did for Element. From your description, it sounds like she is well worth the time and effort. Jingles to you and your foal.
Wikkid, I read and replied on your post in the Horse Care. But just came to this thread, flipped through, and found your post about how this filly is the last chance at this particular pedigree. Wanted to share a story from the past couple years, because I can sympathize with this situation.
I had a well bred broodmare who at some point before I bought her had some type of traumatic injury to her hind end. When I bought her she had a “minor stiffle problem”. Turns out she had broken her femur in two places. She was sound enough to carry a foal, and did carry one for me. Then became reproductively unsound. Multiple cervical prolapses during one pregnancy, lost that pregnancy, whole crap load of money down the drain for a wasted year and no foal to sell to recoup the vet bills. Next year I didn’t an embryo transfer. It was a successful transfer, recipient mare was about 4 months pregnant when the donor mare developed pneumonia. She was unable to clear her lungs due to (unbeknownst to me) a tumor on her brain stem that affected her lungs and throat. I tried my damnedest, but couldn’t save her. The baby the recipient was carrying now became my entire world. This was the baby to carry on for her momma.
Fast forward to when the filly was born, at 20 hours she started showing signs of clotridiosis. I was not hopeful when I took her to the university (I had lost a colt the week prior to clostridosis, and this filly ended up with it too in spite of the craziest amount of cleaning/disinfecting/bleaching/housekeeping/paranoia/etc). But she had the will to live, and a spark that kept me going. She meant the absolute world to me, as long as she was willing to live, I was willing to put up the money to let her have a shot. She’s now wonderful, sweet, albeit “teen-like” coming two year old.
Just wanted to show a little support since I’ve been there with a I’ll-never-have-another-one-of-these babies. Granted she wasn’t a dummy foal. But very special to me. Hope she’s continuing to come along!
My very first foal was a red bag delivery, dummy/barker foal. Vet gave her less than a 10% chance of making it through the night. No attempt to stand, no suck reflex. Did colostrum by nose tube, plasma first night. Still alive in the morning and was lifting its head and reacting, so kept on with nose tube feeding. She managed to stand at about three days old, learned to nurse at about a week and a half (thank god). Grew up to be a very nice event horse. Cost about $3k by the time she was a week old… (Treated at home not clinic)
Jennifer
Ditto about checking about soft tarsal bones…a tarsal bone collapse likey means pasture ornament future.
Hope all is going well.
