One of the two fillies born on our farm this spring was found yesterday morning in the field lying down and unable to stand. We called our vet out and he did xrays and said it looked like she had a broken head of the femur in her rear leg. He sent the xrays to a surgeon and today he gave me the devastating news that the surgeon recommended euthanasia. To say that I’m devastated is an understatement. The vet will be coming out tomorrow afternoon and I am very concerned about how best to handle this for her dam. The filly is mostly lying in her stall and finds it very hard to move around much when she is on her feet (we have her on pain meds). Would it be best to put her to sleep in her stall and allow mom to be with her for a while before we remove her body? And is there something we can give her dam so she doesn’t get mastitis? The filly is only 10 weeks old, and her mom is a great milker, so she is producing a lot of milk right now. This filly was one of the sweetest foals we’ve ever had on this farm and was sooo athletic. I was hoping for great things for her…now I’m just hoping to make this as easy for her mom as this terrible situation can be…Oh wise ones…please help me…
Thank you for any help you can give me.
-Sue
So damned sad.
She may be able to help an orphaned foal, if you can find one soon enough.
yes allow mom to see her after …
I am so sorry you have to go through this
Really tragic. I feel for you and the dam. There is nothing worse than losing a baby that was so full of life.
I had to do this with my very first foal, back in 1987 at 3 months of age. I still can’t bear to think about it.
I would euth the foal in the pasture and let the mare be there for the “event” and just leave. When you see her leave her foal, she has recognized death, will move on. That is the way horses are. I would definitely NOT leave her in her stall with her dead foal.
Let nature take its way by doing in a nature-like way. When she moves away from the foal, she’ll “know”.
As a nasty, but important aside, I would euth just at dawn because of the heat…to give the dam enough time to process.
Then, if she is ridable, I would take her out for trail rides or just groom on her a lot and do what she like to do prior to her duties as a mother.
I’m SO sorry you are going through this.
SO sorry you are having to go through this. Such a shame. I wish I had advice but I don’t.
Foxtrot had a good idea about momma helping an orphan foal in some way.
Many years ago I had to euthanize a month old foal after a traumatic accident on the fourth of July. He was euthanized in the stall and I left him with his dam for a couple hours until the rendering truck came to claim his remains. I milked the mare every 4-6 hours for a day or two and then stopped to let her dry up. I must say she took it much better than I did. She was a bit depressed for a few days but once back into her normal routine seemed fine.
This year I lost that dam 24 hours after foaling. Much harder process to have an orphan foal. If you are able, having been in need this year for a nurse mare, to offer your mare to an orphan foal if you think she would accept one would be wonderful for everyone.
So sorry for your loss. Breeding is not for the faint of heart. Or faint of pocket book.
She does not need to become a nurse mare to get over the loss…that is anthropomorphic, respectfully said.
Unless of course you would like to do a “good deed” for an orphan out there. :yes:
Thank you everyone.
I would be glad to offer her as a nurse mare to an orphan foal. How would I go about finding a foal in need? Just announce it here on COTH?
Unfortunately, my vet can’t come out until tomorrow afternoon, so doing it early in the morning probably won’t work. I will talk to him tomorrow and perhaps we could delay it until Friday morning if he is available.
Walking to the pasture would be extremely painful for this filly and that is why I thought leaving her in the stall would be best for her. Plus it is supposed to be really hot here tomorrow (in the low 90’s), so I thought if this was to occur then the barn would be most comfortable for everyone.
Thank you everyone for your kind thoughts and advise. Your kindness is truly appreciated.
Orphan issue aside: do leave the mare for a while with the deceased foal. Some mares will sniff the deceased, realize it is gone and move on. Some go nuts. Hard to say what she will do. I’ve had one injured and 2 stillborn foals over the years. 2/3 went bonkers, 1 was accepting. But still… Do let the mare figure out the foal is deceased.
Dear ShadowsMom
My foal also suffered a broken leg but is now a healthy young horse.
Most equine vets do not know what to do with broken legs as most people put them down. However, cow vets deal with broken calf legs all of the time…that’s where I took my foal. They put a cast on the leg and everything healed great. Foals grow at a tremendous rate which makes dealing with a broken leg so much easier. My equine vet initially thought surgery, but the cow vets just put a cast on. I took my foal to the local teaching university where they did both equine and bovine.
Before you put your foal down, talk to a vet clinic that deals with calves, like a teaching hospital.
Best of luck!
I am so very sorry to read this. Like others who have posted here, I lost a precious foal, infact it was this experience that brought me to the COTH forum, as I sought advice for his condition, which unfortunately claimed him. In my situation the foal was under general anaesthetic while we x-rayed his hips and we chose not to bring him out from sedation. I was also several hours away from home at a specialist vet’s facility. I could not leave my dear old mare with the foal to come to terms with the loss as we were in the operating theatre. She was in the early stages of pregnancy at the time and I was very worried that the stress of the situation would result in her slipping her next foal. The vets administered light sedation and we loaded her on the trailer and tearfully brought her home. She then went back out with her two friends and their foals, and stayed lightly sedated for a little longer. I can’t remember the details of exactly how long, they may be described in my thread which I can’t bring myself to read as I am still so upset. http://www.chronofhorse.com/forum/showthread.php?455082-7-week-old-foal-lame-behind
As others have described, the mare coped better than I did. She walked the fence line for a few days but never went off her food and water, and within a few days she was back to normal and even babysitting the other 2 mares’ foals. I am pleased to say she is now 7 and a half months into her pregnancy (I am in the Southern Hemisphere) and doing well.
My thoughts are with you - a terrible time - my sincere condolences.
So so sorry to hear the news ShadowsMom
I had a foal with a broken leg nearly 20 years ago… We sold her with 4 and kept contact with her owner. She is still alive and grew into a very nice horse. She was mainly bred because of her amazing breeding but we started her under saddle as well.
Thank youTicker,
Unfortunately, the surgeon who made the call is from UGA, which is a teaching hospital and they treat all kinds of large (and small) animals there. My filly has more than a broken leg. The end of her bone that connects to her hip is broken and the surgeon said even with surgery (which would be very invasive and very difficult), she would have a single digits chance of even surviving as a broodmare. it would be impossible to cast a bone broken in the hip socket. I so wish there was a better prognosis, but according to both my vet and the surgeon there just isn’t.
Camohn, if 2/3 of your mares went bonkers, I think I’d better do this outdoors. My mare goes bonkers is some of her “herd” is missing, so I suspect she will fall into the 2/3 category.
I read a story by a local writer where a horse was put down. The horses all came, as if to pay respects, and then wandered away. Seems they need closure, too.
You could ask your local vets, breeders, if anyone has lost a mare, and - I’ve not done this or seen it - but was told you put an old sweater on the foal, and then use it to transfer scent.
If here is a colostrum bank in your area, they would hear about orphan foals.
So sorry you have to go through this. Heartbreaking.
I am so sorry to hear about this. Sounds like you know what to do. If your vets and surgeons are connected to a large practice, I would think they could tell you if there is a nurse mare need. If THEY can’t come up with one at this time, I wouldn’t trouble yourself by looking further. Milk, and let her dry up, as someone above described. Keep your sanity by just dealing with these two vets, the vet and the surgeon practice, and leave it at that, would be my suggestion for your well being.
So sorry you are going through this.
Definitely try to find a way for this to be done outside, probably not exactly out in the pasture, but more in a paddock near the pasture? This way she can be near other horses. Let the mare choose when and how she leaves the body. It may take her only a few hours, it may take a day or longer. Be patient with her. Even if she leaves the body, she may come running back if she sees you picking up the body to remove it. In that case, leave the body again for another few hours and try again.
When my mare’s filly died, she grieved for 36 hours and would not leave the body, would not eat. I had to haul buckets of water to her. She let us take the body after that, but she grieved for a long time afterwards and stopped cycling so we did not breed her that year.
Again, so sorry this is happening.
[QUOTE=Ticker;8220790]
Dear ShadowsMom
My foal also suffered a broken leg but is now a healthy young horse.
Most equine vets do not know what to do with broken legs as most people put them down. However, cow vets deal with broken calf legs all of the time…that’s where I took my foal. They put a cast on the leg and everything healed great. Foals grow at a tremendous rate which makes dealing with a broken leg so much easier. My equine vet initially thought surgery, but the cow vets just put a cast on. I took my foal to the local teaching university where they did both equine and bovine.
Before you put your foal down, talk to a vet clinic that deals with calves, like a teaching hospital.
Best of luck![/QUOTE]
We would agree that dealing with certain fractures in young horses is not a commonly held expertise. Euthanasia was recommended for a yearling with a knee fracture several years back and he is now a sound gelding with big floating movement. He was soft casted, and spent nearly a year in a 12 x 24 space. He received normal mineral and protein supplement for young growing horses plus MSM, HA, and weekly Adequan. No hint of arthritis on xrays. We gave him a chance and he has a good life, but it is pioneering. Young horses can heal remarkably well and that should be taken into consideration.
If you read the OP’s description of the fracture, you will realize that this foal cannot be saved… The op is facing reality.
I am so sorry Shadowsmom.
I agree that the field is the best place. Do you have a run in shed or can you construct some sort of shade to keep the worst heat from the deceased foal?
So sorry about the foal. The one we lost due to injury got kicked. I told the vet he needed to be euthanized. She kindly said " oh they can do wonders with young foals" but when she got here she said “oh. I see what you mean”. It was a rough day for all. Anyway, yes do it outdoors . She will need room
To pace and potentially be upset. The last stillborn one we had here was just this spring ( umbilical torsion). And the mare is one that is always terrible at weaning time. We gave her several hours ( is hot and humid / summer… Not leaving a dead foal out for a real long time to attract vultures either) then buried the filly in her pasture. She chased the tractor ( foal in bucket ) and dug at the burial site for a while too. Just saying: be prepared it may be hard on everyone. It took her about 24 hours to calm down.
I had a foal born with no eyes years ago. He was ten hours old when we euthanized him. We sedated the mare but left her in the stall when he was put down. She was so sedated she actually fell at one point but was still screaming her head off the whole time so I am not sure if I would do it that same way again. Once he was dead we left them alone together in the stall until the mare stopped standing over him and went to her hay pile then turned her back out with the herd. I won’t lie, it was awful but had to be done. Godspeed.
