Darla's official foaling thread.

[Lindi-loo]

Well Im off to bed..been watching Darla most of the day Jess..seriously shes not eaten enough to feed a sparrow let alone herself..think maybe shes not feeling so good today..have you seen any foal movements??..Im just concerned

..shes not looking happy and not eating enough

 

[jessj]

d is eating her dinner now. her feet seem more tender again so i'm not going to let her out this afternoon. her ph hasnt dropped, but her temp is about 1/2 a degree lower than it normally is this time of day.

 

[cassie]

if she doesn't foal in the next few days Jess n continues not eating, I would be just a little concerned... suzie occassionally saves her food for later.... but otherwise will eat it all...

can you still feel the foal moving?!

I'll have her up most of my day, and will let you know if she does anything unusual...

 

[jessj]

very little fetal movement. she ate most of her dinner. she only left some of the alfalfa pellets. She does tend to leave them for later.

 

[cassie]

thats good that she ate most of her dinner Jess

 

[jmejemima]

I'm having a hard time believing that her feet are sore from shedding her frogs. I've never had a horse be sore from this and now it seems worse than it was.

Just my observations.

 

[anyssapark]

Glad she is eating again. I see her empty feed bowl in her stall there atm

You could possibly speak to your vet about gestational laminitis. I have had a mare here that i had to cut the protein/sugars from her feed for her last 3 months of pregnancy because she got real sore. No heat or anything in her feet, and she wasnt even overly heavy. It can be caused by a few things in late pregnancy - obviously increased weight gain being one of them, but also the hormones relaxing the tendons/coronary band etc which in turn can allow movement = inflamation = laminitis. Also, it can be caused by a uterine or placental infection or thickened placenta, which after an ultrasound, was what we discovered was the cause of my little mares case. She went on antibiotics to clear the infection and ensure the foal didnt get infected and become sickly. We also put her on regumate, as at that time she was only 9months along, and was starting to bag up, so we were worried about abortion (which can also happen with placental infections).

I dont mean to worry you, it could be something as simple as giving her some pain relief, but if she keeps up the being miserable, and so sore, then i would at least mention it to your vet and get his opionion on it

With Darla, it could be a simple cause, like your upping her feed recently to increase her weight gain. She may just need a little less protein to help her along (which wont help the weight gain, but should help the feet).

 

[cassie]

haha Diane!

I agree Jamie, none of my horses have ever been effected this bad by shedding their frogs... she really hasn't been having a good late pregnancy... but we know Jess that you are caring for her brilliantly! and doing a great job!

Renee has given you some really great info as well... can you get another vet to give you a second opinion? we don't want to stress you out, but we just want to make sure Darla is happy n healthy

 

[jessj]

I know that it seems like she is really tender but it really is the frogs. He checked the entire rest of her hoof and she was fine, but the second that you touch the frog she flinches and jerks her hoof. She was actually doing a little better, but i think that I left her out too long yesterday and she is feeling tender again today. If she isnt a little better by tomorrow afternoon i am going to call him and ask again about giving her something for pain. The next time i rewrap her feet i need to take a pic of the frogs for yall.

 

[MeganH]

Did you feel the foal moving? How has the movement changed in the past weeks? if at all?

 

[jessj]

There used to be entire soccer games in there, but just little kicks this week. I thought i felt the baby for a minute, but i think it was just her muscle when she shifted her weight. I see that she has made another poo for me to clean up....dooty calls!!

 

[Lindi-loo]

So glad shes had shes eaten her food..was worried yesterday

a watched kettle i guess..not always good to watch them so closely..some excellent points made though and something to look into a little more closely maybe..always better to be safe than sorry..hope it all gets sorted out for you very soon and you can relax once again and just enjoy her.

 

[anyssapark]

Less foal movement is perfectly normal as she gets closer and it runs out of room in there. Especially if its in "diving" position ready to be born

C'mon Darla, lets get this show on the road and have this baby!!!

 

[AnnaC]

I have to agree that any normal shedding of the frogs (or even having to cut one back for some medical reason) never causes that much pain in a foot/feet, especially if, as with Darla, the feet are well padded and she is on soft bedding and out on a grass field. But laminitis can be caused by so many internal infections (without heat in the feet), that it is always wise to look more closely at any possible cause for painful feet especially as this long has passed with no improvement.

Have the blood tests results come back yet - am presuming that your vet was testing for more than the Coggins that he suggested? I would not be getting any pain meds for Darla without further tests to rule out any possible infections, so perhaps you could hurry the vet up with those results?

Really hoping that Darla can be helped to feel more comfortable soon, she really is having a difficult time with this pregnancy poor girl.

 

[Eagle]

Good point Anna about the blood tests, they should be in by now. I would think that with Darla's udder going up and down and her small tummy that the vet would want to test for Mastitis and check her oestrogen levels too, especially as we don't know if she is 11 months or 9 !!

I personally would be quite upset to see one of my mares in this condition and to be brushed off by a vet with the excuse that she is in labour. Mares DO NOT go into labour for weeks.

I am not a vet but I do not think that sore frogs (wrapped and on a soft bed) can cause this much pain,every muscle in her body is tense.

Jess I really am praying that you will get a second opinion as no foal is worth putting a mare through this much. JMHO

 

[cassie]

I totally agree wth Renee n Anna, we dnt want to stress you out Jess or upset you, but maybe you could get a second opinion... I know I call my vet if anything at all is wrong with my ponies....

hoping n praying that you get some results back n we can help miss Darla, she is having quite a rough late pregnancy,,, poor girl

 

[jessj]

Darla's temp is 98.6* (same as usual for this time of day). Her ph is still 7.8, but her milk tastes sweet. My daughter says really really sweet. I had just brushed my teeth and had an allergic reaction yesterday, so the inside of my mouth is covered in blisters but it tasted sweet to me as well. There was a fresh poo in her stall when i fed her about 30 minutes ago and it looks like i see another fresh poo now.

 

[Lindi-loo]

Lots of good ponts raised and its great that we can all see Darla and make suggestions and hopefully raise big question marks in your head Jess dont you think ??..only wish I had this sort of help and support with my best friend (my dog) that died a very sudden and painfull death last year of a gastric torsion

..I new the signs to look for but sadly didnt pick up on it early enough to help her in time..Im sure your worried sick about all thats going on with Darla atm but we are all here expressing our concerns to genuinely try help you both

 

[Eagle]

I just read on MS that you have called the vet again, I can't tell you glad I am Jess. I normally write a list of things to tell my vet so that I don't forget anything, sometimes the smallest detail can help the vet understand the problem. I would tell him everything that has happened since she arrived. Her strange udder shape to start with, the wasp episode, her spraying milk and then stopping etc

I wish you all the best, you and Darla are in my prayers.

Hugs Renee

 

[jessj]

The vet stopped back by and looked at her again. This time when we took the wraps off one of her feet was draining and had a smell. He said that there was probably an abcess in the frog and that it is now draining. He wanted me to leave the wraps off for a few hours this afternoon then clean and rewrap the front. He gave me a tube of oral banamine for pain and told me to keep in touch and let me know how she is doing. She should FINALLY be getting some relief! He still doesn't think laminitis or founder. If this doesnt help then he will come back and xray just to be sure. He didnt have his sonogram machine with him, but if we still dont have a baby in another couple of weeks we will do a sonogram to be sure that she actually is in foal and not just having some sort of horomonal thing causing her to have an udder. I wonder how long it will take the banamine to kick in??? I am ready for this girl to have some relief!

ps.. he and his staff watched her on mare stare for a while before he came, so he could see how she was acting. Its a good thing too because as soon as he got here she acted fine. She just walked around with almost no limp at all...the silly little thing!