Foal is alive … do we nurse the colostrum out before they haul the carcass off?
Acquaintants mare … but my mare has adopted before … going to see if she will adopt again but will have to bring her back into milk again.
colt did get some colostrum … was nursing well early this morning.
I am so so sorry for your loss!!
I have never dealt with this, but YES, IMHO I would immediately milk the mare, and bottle feed the foal. That foal needs colostrum from the mare right away. You can also freeze the colostrum for use another year.
There was just someone on here last week (I think) from Oregon who had lost a foal and might be able to provide a nurse mare for your foal. I will try to find the post.
Thats good. How long did he nurse after birth and how long ago did the mare pass? I would still milk mare and give foal as much as possible. Are you doing an IgG on foal?
Here is the post about a mare who lost her foal in OR May 1:
http://chronofhorse.com/forum/showthread.php?t=351523&highlight=nurse+mare
Mare lived (apparently) about 4-5 hours before bleeding out (please remember this is not my mare).
Just checked my nursemare and she has some milk now. Need to remember what shot to give her to bring her back into full milk.
Ah that just sounds awful. I am so sorry. That is great that you have a nurse mare on hand.
How sad :o( She needs to be on Domperidone I believe for a few weeks to bring the milk in. Good luck!
Did your vet do an Igg on your foal? You are obviously going to supplement your boy for the time being. We used Progressive’s products with good luck for our orphan. You can find plans for an Igloo feeder on here, they are great, keeps milk cool and flies out.
So sorry about your mare. Good luck with your colt.
What was the specific name of the progressive product you used? It appears Tator Tot has enough milk to keep the suck reflex going and we know we’ll have to supplement until she fills back up… would like to get to the stores before they close today.
Although I will also say that I am still waiting for the mare/foal owner to call me … I was contacted by a mutual friend. I hate to say this, but Tator Tot is my daughter’s horse that she is planning to use for her C3 testing in August. She doesn’t have to show her, but does have to ride her here and keep her in work.
It hadn’t dawned on me until just now that the owner may not want to bring the foal here … that may make things complicated. Hmmmm…
Owner should be on their hands and knees thanking you.
This ~ exactly ```` Congratulations ~
THIS ~~ CONGRATULATIONS ON SAVING THE FOAL !
Sorry, did not see this until now. We used the Foals First initially. We started with the milk replacer powder and moved onto the starter and creep feed.
They also make a product called Rejuvenaide that comes in a paste and liquid. Also can be helpful to any foals, not just orphans.
I am sure there are many great products out there. This is what we used with outstanding results.
Good luck.
An Update - I did speak with the mare/foal owner. They declined having the foal here with the mare (they live about 30 minutes away). I gave them a variety of resources (igloo, etc) and told her if she changed her mind to let me know.
I absolutely hate to say this, but I just wasn’t that comfortable sending my mare there (even beyond the need to keep her in condition for our purposes). We are relatively experienced at breeding, foaling out, and raising young horses. I just don’t really understand how the mare could have foaled about 5:30-6 am, have the foal get up and nurse for several hours and then have the mare “bleed out” and die 4-5 hours later.
They still hadn’t called the vet. They decided to wait until the foal was a day old before having the vet out.
With that lack of supervision and lack of concern, I just wasn’t willing to let our very nice mare be under their care.
Can’t attest to the poor reasoning behind the delay in getting the foal vetted. But 100% it is possible that the mare bled out later.
Broad Ligament tears , Uterine artery bleeds , uterine hematomas all nastys that can sneak up on even what has seemed to be an uneventful foaling. It is sadly not unheard of to have mares bleed out and die hours to days and know of one that did months post foaling.
Most act perfectly normal until they are in sever distress.
They still hadn’t called the vet.
This says it all 
keep your nice mare at home.
I should add … they came out to find the mare dead and the foal nursing off of it. And they left the foal in there until the knackers came to haul her off. And still no vet call … and no idea of a reason of why I would suggest bloodwork.
Anyway, I wish them all the best and hope they end up with a sane healthy colt.
OP, sorry. It sounds like you tried to do the very best you could for the foal. If you are not comfortable leaving your mare with them, follow your instincts.
I am still trying to wrap my head around loosing a mare and not calling the vet for over a day for the foal. I guess everyone does things differently.
Again, so great of you to help and offer up your girl.
I wouldn’t shift my mare there either!
They are novices? Obviously have no idea how much more expensive and time consuming it will be to hand raise the foal.
[QUOTE=WeDoItAll;6302736]
An Update - I did speak with the mare/foal owner. They declined having the foal here with the mare (they live about 30 minutes away). I gave them a variety of resources (igloo, etc) and told her if she changed her mind to let me know.
I absolutely hate to say this, but I just wasn’t that comfortable sending my mare there (even beyond the need to keep her in condition for our purposes). We are relatively experienced at breeding, foaling out, and raising young horses. I just don’t really understand how the mare could have foaled about 5:30-6 am, have the foal get up and nurse for several hours and then have the mare “bleed out” and die 4-5 hours later.
They still hadn’t called the vet. They decided to wait until the foal was a day old before having the vet out.
With that lack of supervision and lack of concern, I just wasn’t willing to let our very nice mare be under their care.[/QUOTE]
Nope, definitely not. You made the best and correct judgment call. I have a favorite saying, “always listen to your little inner voice”. That voice is always right.
Hope their foal makes it.
