Fainting Foal

[Sweetb]

Do any of you have any experience with fainting foals? I had a filly born Tuesday night and to date she has fainted 4 times. She just goes limp for no reason.....and when she comes to she is perfectly normal. I'm so afraid that she won't wake up. I usually just hold her and talk to her and blow in her face......oh yeah, and pray! Any help or suggestions will be greatly appreciated.

 

[wildoak]

Does she faint when you are holding her or doing something with her (ie. medicating or anything that might be stressful)? I've had a few do that, scared me silly but they all outgrew it within about a week it seems. There have been discussions here on that, maybe it's due to an immature nervous system, don't remember what the consensus was but I know it's frightening when they collapse. Always worth a phone call to your vet if it concerns you.

Jan

 

[Miniv]

Ditto to what Wildoak says. We've had a few little ones who fainted when startled.....and they outgrew it in a matter of a couple of days.

I think the theory is that the nervous system isn't completely mature and it takes a few days to get all their wires connected, so to speak.

When it happens to us, we massage their spine and legs. It tends to revive them fairly quickly and I suspect that it also helps their circulation and that probably helps things too.

MA

 

[Lisa-Ruff N Tuff Minis]

I have had some fainting foals as well. It is very scary but usually just a few days and they dont seem to do it anymore. I have found they usually do it when over stimulated.

I also had one 2 years ago who's heart actually stopped several times at first I thougth she was fainting but then I realized that it was more. The vet came and saw her do it like 3 times.. and gave her some meds to keep her heart regular. I gave her mouth to nose before he got here.. but she did that a few times the first day - a couple the 2nd and is a healthy 2 yr old now..

 

[Leeana]

Narko was diagnosed with a form of Narkolypsy when he was younger, hence where the name NARKO came from lol. He would just faint for no reason i was told, he spent some time at a equine hospital and he has not had any problems since he was 2 months old, he outgrew it im guessing ..i was fairly worried about it for a while but he is fine and i even asked OSU about it and no worries. I was told he would just fall asleep or collapse. He is fine and dandy today. The first month i had him i noticed he was pretty 'sleepy' all the time but now he is a firecracker, cant keep the good boy down lol. I'd bet you have a case of what my Narko had. He is 9 months old now, pictured in avatar.

Good luck ..take care

 

[Charlotte]

Have seen this here a couple of times and at other farms. Our vet lays the cause to immature neurological system which all have outgrown in a couple of days or the longest about 2 weeks. They always did it when stressed...oh, but one would 'over sleep' the first day or two. I would wake him if he didn't wake on his own once per hour to nurse. He was fine in a couple of days. (had to wake him VERY gently)

:aktion033: to you for paying close attention to your baby and seeking advice when something seemed 'not quite right'. :aktion033:

Charlotte

 

[Sweetb]

Thanks for all the good advice and wishes.

No, my filly is not startled when she faints. Last night she finished nursing and just collapsed. I thought she had asperated or choked or something, but she was fine when she came through.

As for contacting my vet (which I normally would do), but he had an accident and will be out of the office for several months, and the replacement vet is young and so inexperienced that I knew it would be better to ask the LB forum instead of him.

Thanks again for all the help. I will keep you all updated on her progress.

 

[Miniv]

There are a couple of other related newborn situations to watch for.......

One is narcalepsy (sp) where the foal will sleep so much that it won't wake up to nurse! We have had two foals like this and both out grew it in a couple of weeks. We did, however, have to watch them 24/7 and make sure they nursed ever 2 hours.

The other problem is a RH Factor foal. If a foal acts listless or falls asleep every time it nurses - similar to both above situation, you need to get mom and foal to the vet ASAP. In essence the colostrum is killing the foal and you will have to find another colostrum source........Then the mare's colostrom needs to be milked from her. That can take up to 36 hours. Once the colostrum is no longer being produced and just milk is coming in, the foal can go back to nursing off its mom.

Don't mean to scare you, but sometimes a "fainting foal" can mean other things as well and the differences can be subtle.

MA

 

[Shaladar]

I have had fainting foals in the past that outgrew it like others have said.

But, last year I had a colt that would just simply collapse and then would come around and be ok.....I thought maybe he was a little slow because he was a Red Bag and we had a heck of a time getting him out, but he was diagnosed with a large hole in his heart and sadly was helped to Rainbow Bridge.

If it keeps up, might want to have her heart listened to and maybe have a ultra sound of it done.

Sue

 

[jdhand]

We had a colt that did this. It is like they just collapse and fall asleep. Ours you could hardly wake up. We were told that it is a type of Narcolepsy that young babies get. They do outgrow it. Our little fellow grew up just fine.

 

[RobinRTrueJoy]

I was wondering .... would a taste of Karo syryp or mollassess from your finger every couple hours help? I always wondered if this is a blood suger problem. It may be a coincidence, but I had a fainting foal a couple of years ago, and did it, and the fainting stopped. Your opinions? I am no expert, but am wondering.

Thanks!

 

[Joyce]

I guess we've all had fainting foals at one time or another. It will eventually stop and I've never really found out what causes it. I have one mare who has had 6 foals for me and all of them have been fainting foals and I have found it is after the foal has the first drink of milk from the mare that it starts in. Any one else found that to be true?

Joyce L