It's a boy!!! 345 days... but momma has no milk :-(

[Foxygrl516]

My mare foaled yesterday morning around 6:30am. We have a beautiful plain bay colt with the tiniest white star on his forehead. I could not be more thrilled!!!

Emma, the mare, has been the most impressive first timer ever. She absolutely glowed through pregnancy. She’s never been so healthy, with a stunning shiny coat covered in dapples all over her body (she never dappled like that when I was competing her and currying her 1hr/day!). Despite my frequent checks throughout the night, she managed to foal on her own between the last night check and breakfast. When we found them, she was eating calmly, not even sweating, and had passed the placenta. She looks fit to run around a horse trial right now. People warned me that she would look bad after foaling, but she is still the most stunning horse and looks physically impeccable.

When the vet came to check him at 8hrs, we discovered that what our little guy was getting out of momma was just clear fluid, not colostrom. I was concerned because her bag was very small. Vet confirmed no milk and they were taken to the ICU at the vet school. Mom and baby are technically doing great, but little man is on IV antibiotics, getting Plasma, and has a feeding tube. Emma is on medication to try to convince her to produce milk.

I’m really worried that they’ll have to put him on a nurse mare. I know it’s not the end of the world, but Emma is SO in love with her new baby and it will break her heart and mine to take him away from her. Anyone have success stories with these milk situations??? I’d love to think that after a few days at the vet school, they’ll come home with full bags of milk and full bellies.

[Somermist]

It sounds like you are doing the very best for your mare and foal. Giving your colt support is critical this time. The mare may still surprise you, hard to say. I am sure the vets will advise you on what is going to be best for both of them.

I know this was not what you had planned, but congratulations and best of luck.

[genevieveg17]

Congratulations on the colt. I am sure the vet school will have plenty of advice for you.
First, the obvious question… did the mare have access to fescue during the last trimester? That could definitely cause milk issues
The vet will likely give her drugs to help her milk to come in. I have always had great luck feeding mares Calf Manna to increase milk production. I know it is old school and there are probably more modern feed mixes that are more popular now.
Good luck!

[Home_Again_Farm]

If your foal gets sufficient immunity from the plasma, there is no reason to remove him from his mother, even if she does not produce sufficient milk. Years ago I had a foal born to a mare that had a defective udder. One side had no outlet and the other side leaked because of a faulty sphincter. I raised that baby as a bucket baby, with mama giving love, guidance, etc. The only hard part was keeping mama from drinking out of the bucket.:winkgrin: If only I had known about feeding milk replacer from an igloo cooler.

Hopefully, Domperidone will bring in your mare’s milk. But if it doesn’t, get that baby on an igloo and keep it with mama. :yes:

[Foxygrl516]

Thanks for the encouragement.

No, Emma was definitely not exposed to Fescue at any point during pregnancy. I had a horticulture specialist come to my farm before I bred her and several times during the pregnancy and we combed her field to make sure nothing had come up. The vet said last night that if she had been exposed to fescue, there would most likely have been other problems as well, such as a thickened placenta, under-developed foal, red bag delivery, etc. I’m sure there are cases of it just effecting the milk production, but the vets weren’t concerned about that in this case, especially knowing the care taken to be sure there was no fescue.

I’m really glad to know that there are good options other than nurse mares. I want what is best for him for sure, but I also want my sweet mare to be happy. she’s being such a good mother. I have a 7yo Hanovarian in my barn that was raised on the igloo. He’s always been a pushy, mouthy personality that was obviously not taught respect as a baby. But I’m hoping that is just a product of his personality plus I’m pretty sure his dam died giving birth. Have y’all had good experiences with leaving the foal with the dam but feeding them a different way? I want him to grow up to be a respectful and nice horse

[Cindy_s_Warmbloods]

Her milk “should” come in with the domperidone. If not I too would keep her with momma and raise her on an igloo cooler. But I am pretty sure her milk should come and you will be fine, it can take a week or two though to get up to full production.

[ticofuzzy]

I had a mare that lost her milk after colic surgery. We kept the foal on her (and he continued to try to nurse) and fed him milk replacer for a while. Within a few weeks, her milk came back and she was fine for the rest of her lactation.

[Home_Again_Farm]

Have y’all had good experiences with leaving the foal with the dam but feeding them a different way? I want him to grow up to be a respectful and nice horse

That is exactly what I was talking about. My mare with the defective udder raised her foal with me supplementing the foal with milk replacer. Baby was a perfectly normal foal with good manners and no hint of orphan behavior.

[tveley]

Where are you located? I have a freezer full of mare milk from my nurse mare.

[Foxygrl516]

Yall have made me feel a lot better about this. I’m glad to know that there are success stories with igloo babies. It has melted my heart to see how much Emma loves this baby. I could not take him away from her. I just won’t do it. This whole situation seems much better to me knowing that worse case scenario is just that he’s eating out of something else but he’s still getting to stay with his momma.

I visited them at the vet school this morning and he has changed so much since last night. He’s got so much more energy. He’s been cantering around the stall bucking and playing. So precious! Keep your fingers crossed that Emma’s milk comes in with the Domperidone and life gets easy for this baby (an myself!).

[Foxygrl516]

[QUOTE=tveley;6297432]
Where are you located? I have a freezer full of mare milk from my nurse mare.[/QUOTE]

Oh that’s great! I live in Alabama. I’ll see what ends up happening with my mare and let you know if we end up needing some. great to have a source. thanks!

[ise]

You don’t have to bucket feed the foal - USE THE IGLOO METHOD. Just hang an Igloo Cooler with a nipple on the faucet. Put it at a height so the nipple is where the mares udder would be. The foal will nurse on it’s own and you won’t have to worry about the milk replacement going bad due to temperature. Buckets work but it’s un-natural for foals to sip that way and I’ve seen some bucket babies that have grown up to be adult horses that suck on their tongue.
Here’s a link with photos;
http://www.shortassets.com/igloo.htm

[Foxygrl516]

Thanks ise that is exactly what I’m planning on doing if emmas milk just doesn’t come in. Still praying the domperidone works but igloo is definitely my next option

[gumtree]

The following is not as much for the OP but for others education. It is based on our experience of foaling 20 plus Tbs a year.

We always draw some milk just before and after a mare foals. The look and consistency is a pretty good indicator of its quality. It is always a good idea to keep a quart or 2 of frozen colostrum on hand. We draw some from one of our “heavy milkers” and freeze it. This can also be purchased ahead of time. Assuming your vet is a reproductive specialist I am surprised they did not have some on their truck. It is important that the foals blood is checked within the 8 hr window. SNAP testers can be bought and are reasonably reliable. Though we have had ones that have shown very low antibody levels but when the blood is checked in a lab everything was fine. After the window closes for colostrum/antibody absorption then you have to go with the expensive ICU. As I said above we check udders and if suspect draw some milk before they foal. If they are not bagging up and or the milk does not look they way it should we will give some Domperidone before they foal as a matter of course.

I would not “nurse”, drink out of a bucket. This is a very unnatural position and not what nature intended at this age/stage of their life. They can and will aspirate/inhale the milk and you will end up with some real problems. When bottle feeding be it laying down or standing it is important to “cradle” their head in the natural nursing position as one would see when a foal is nursing on its own.
If you mare does not end up producing enough quality milk definitely go with a nurse mare if you can. I don’t know where you are but there are plenty of people who lease out nurse mares and will ship one to you for the season. I hear what you are saying about Emma and her baby but try not and humanize the process. She will get over it quite quickly. We have never used the igloo method. From what I understand it seems to work well. Impractical in our situation. Nurse mares have always worked well and worth the expense.
No disrespect to your vet but it seems they were not on top of things. Some mares get quite a large bag long before they foal, wax, drip etc. Others have nothing until a few days, if that, before foaling. When in doubt just give dom. Every mare is different and it takes a few foalings to know them. Of course this is all IMO.