Hello all,
I have a 4.5 month old filly who has suddenly started casting herself (3 times in the last week - never before that). Luckily for me, she has a great brain and just waits for me to find her and help her out without any drama. She still has plenty of room in her stall with mom. I have banked the stalls but it doesn’t seem to help. Would ant-cast strips help with a foal? If so, any idea how high I should place them?
Any advice is greatly appreciated!
Thanks
Is it possible to just turn them out 24/7? This is likely your best solution.
I don’t think they make anti-cast rings for babies, but maybe they do. As a breeder, I would not be comfortable with putting an anti-cast ring on a foal. I don’t know how well the strips would work for a foal.
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Thank you very much! I agree that an anti-cast ring would not be a viable option for a foal. Unfortunately, 24/7 turnout is not an option for us right now, but I really appreciate your response 
Can you move the mare and foal to another place where they can be turned out and move around?
I think there’s a possibility of your foal getting injured by being caste especially overnight when no ones’ around to help.
I’d be finding a temporary place to put them if it were me.
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Our solution for horses that like to get cast is simply to slice 3 inch wide strips from a regular rubber stall mat and screw them onto your stall walls horizontally. Put them about 2 ft 6 or so from the floor around interior perimeter of stall. Works very well as they have something to push off of with their hooves. Good luck. You may choose to put them higher or lower but this height worked for us.
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ULCERS!!! There are very few reasons horses/foals purposely cast themselves. I can count to one - ulcers.
Also, she is probably not waiting for you to un-cast her. She is probably quite happy and more comfortable upside down and allows you to get her upright. I’d bet that she is doing it way more often than you suspect and is perfectly capable of un-casting herself when she chooses. If by chance you have a foal cam set up to record - take a look back over the last few days and I’ll be you see a couple times/day not just a few times/week.
First saw this happen about 20 years ago on a TB breeding farm I worked at. We were all WTF with this weanling. Our amazing vet was all, if he’s doing it often and getting himself up when he feels like it - ULCERS!!! We treated him with (ranitidine?) whatever was available at the time and boom, within a couple of days he gave up lying on his back against the wall.
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I have to agree with you. Come to think about it, we had a clients foal about 30 years ago that used to do the same thing. As in sascha’s case, the culprit was ulcers and the foal felt more comfortable laying on his back with all four feet up in the air. As a result, he ended up casting himself frequently.
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3rd ulcers
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Thanks to answering posters. My 3 mo old filly something similar. Vet was out today and we’re treating for ulcers. Gives a little comfort to have voices of experience say the same.
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Thanks everyone! I have spoken to my vet and will be starting her on ulcer meds today.
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Let us know how it goes! Hopefully that is the solution to the problem.
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Yay! If she has been put on Omeprazole and you don’t see any change for the better, ask your vet to try again either with Sucralfate (I’ve seen amazing results in adult horses) if appropriate for a baby, or with one of the older meds like ranitidine. FWIW, I’m personally not sold on Omeprazole as the be all and end all … and it only hits one certain type of ulcers in a specific location iirc.
At any rate - GOOD LUCK!!!
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That was my first thought, too…
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Talk to a chiropractor. She could be uncomfortable in her back and is trying to straighten it out.
Any update on the wee one?
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Hi!
Sorry, yes an update - she is doing really well now! No more casting herself :D. Another plus is that she is getting much better about having to behave when getting her meds as she’s getting paste and deworming used to be the bane of her existence. So two birds with one stone!
Thank you so much everyone
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YAY! So pleased she is more comfortable and is getting “meds broke”
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