Lethal white foal?

[BuckNappy]

We had a sweet filly today,unfortunately it looks to be a lethal white.I do not have much info on lethal whites but plan on looking up all I can tonight.I thought Id first come to the 'experts' (horse owners themselves.)When I bought my overo mare I was told that she was bred to another overo so she could have a lethal white,I honestly never heard of this as I have never bred overo to overo.But the breeder did warn me of this.After waiting for a much wanted foal the mare had her filly today.I was so happy,she is gorgeous,solid white with blue eyes-then it hit me-what the breeder told me-she may have a lethal white,my heart sank

I remember her telling me I would have to have the foal put down asap if its a lethal white.How do I know if the foal is a lethal white or a palamino/creamello?(The mare is a buckskin overo)The foal is solid white,pink pigment and blue eyes.She seems healthy,has passed a little yellow stool.The only odd thing I noticed is that she may have a little of moms milk come out of her nose which I have never noticed in any of my other foals.ANY info would be greatly appreciated.Im willing to have surgery done on the filly if this is an option.ANY hope would be great.Thank you in advance!

 

[targetsmom]

I have never had a lethal white foal but I am sorry to say that your foal sounds like it could be. I know someone who did have one, that like you, had no knowledge. The issue is that the intestines are not normal and they will only live for a few days. I would have a vet check her out. I am so sorry about this.

If the mare were bred to another LWO+ frame overo, she had a 25% chance of a lethal white foal. PLEASE test any stallion you plan to breed her to. This is something that can be so easlily avoided if you just test.

 

[AnnaC]

Keeping it very basic - an overo coloured horse bred to another overo coloured horse will not produce the lethal gene in the offspring. But an overo that is confirmed as positive (+) for the Lethal Gene put to another positive overo has, I believe, a 50% chance of having a 'lethal white' foal. This foal is usually minus some part of its internal make up - digestive tract - and therefore will not survive.

What breeder would put two 'positive' horses together deliberately????

Hope this helps make it a bit clearer for you. There will be others on here who will be able to explain better than me LOL!!

Good luck with your filly. If you test your mare (very soon) you will find if she is 'positive' or not. If not you are in the clear. If she is, can you contact the stallion owner to ask if he has been tested, and get his results?

Anna

 

[Reble]

I have read that a lethal white foal usually cannot pass their manure, keeps straining, and seems colic.

usually shows signs within the first few hours normally, some that say did not notice for two days, they where not watching the foal to close.

most lethal whites the intestines don't connect to the rectum, ...

yours passed stool, so good luck and sure hope this little foal is normal for you

 

[hairicane]

Before u freak out completely the foal could be a max white sabino and just fine! I have not had a lethal foal but I thought they could not pass any stool as the digestive tract is not complete. If she has stool she may be fine. Make sure there really IS a fatal problem before u rush to any decisions. I hope she is just fine!

 

[BuckNappy]

Believe me I will not put her down unless she is rolling in pain! I am praying for the best.I lve her already.Im sure I will be up reading al night.Thanks for the info everyone,Im headed down to the barn now to watch her for awhile.I HOPE SHE POOPS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[tagalong]

If the filly has passed yellow stool - then she may be just fine. Yellow means that the meconium has passed... and milk is going through her system. Hopefully all will be well. Most lethal white foals cannot pass anything - even the meconium - as their colon does not connect to the rectum. Colic signs may show in the first 12 hours - usually within the first 48 hours of life. I hope she is one of the exceptions to the rule - like this one:

http://www.completerider.com/lethalwhite.htm

The milk coming out of her nose may simply be a sign that she drank too quickly and aspirated a bit of milk... and is not connected to any lethal white issues.

 

[BuckNappy]

With a 'lump' in my throat and many tears I just came up from the barn-my baby is rolling and trying to pass stool.I was hoping to see stool but just very little yellow fluid comming out,VERY little.This has to be the saddest thing I have ever seen

 

[minimule]

Any updates? Hopefully you don't have a LW.

The statistics are a LWO+ bred to a LWO+ is only a 25% chance of a LW foal but most knowledgable breeders won't risk even that small of a chance.

 

[Royal Crescent]

Also, the fluid coming from the nose could be a sign that things are not connected up from mouth to stomach.

I have seen this in human babies. I am so sorry for your new baby. Prayers are coming your way.

 

[wendi leigh]

Did you give her an enema since she was born? I hope your vet is on call 24/7 and can come see her tonight to determine if there is a LWO problem, or just a problem passing the miconium. I don't have any experience with the LWO foals. Hopefully he can at least advise the proper dosage for some banamine to ease her pain until he arrives if it will be a while. I'll be thinking of you and your precious baby tonight.

 

[Keri]

Sorry to hear about your troubles you may be having. I don't know anything about lethal whites and have never heard of them until just now. I hope all goes well for you.

 

[BuckNappy]

Yes I gave my little girl an enema 20 minutes after she was born,thats when she passed the yellow fluid so I assumed she may be ok?It does not look that way tonight

As I am looking up information I see that yellerroseintx has posted a thread today on an adorable baby boy that was born as a lethal white or so he seemed to be.How sad,Such gorgeous healthy foals and NOTHING can be done?I just cant believe this,NOTHING AT ALL?

 

[Miniv]

I am praying that you will be lucky that she is not a lethal white.........

Please inform your vet about the enema and the result from it. What concerns me is that it doesn't sound as if she passed her true meconium. That should have been a very dark sticky "first poop".

 

[Minimor]

I'm sorry to hear that things are not going so well for your baby.

It's really a shame that the previous owner had to breed LWO to LWO, with that 25% risk of getting a lethal white foal. It's such a terrible way for a foal to go if they aren't helped on their way across the rainbow bridge.

Sadly, there is nothing that can be done to save these foals. In the past there has been attempts at surgically repairing the section of intestine that is incomplete but as I understand it there is such a length that is missing or faulty that surgery is not successful. If your foal is lethal white then the only thing you can do for her is to euthanize her to spare her an agonizing death.

 

[dreaminmini]

I'm so sorry to hear your foal is having trouble. I'm sending prayers for you guys. I hope he's not a lethal white...Please keep us posted.

 

[love_casper]

Well, I'm really very sorry, but it sounds like it is.

BUT - if she passes stool - ANY stool that seems fairly normal - then she's not.

See the reason these "lethal whites" are lethal is that the frame overo gene is lethal in homozygous form. It is a dominant gene with a recessive lethal effect. So all frames you see are heterozygous and carry (but are uneffected by) the lethal part. However when you breed two of them together, they may both pass the gene down, resulting in a homozygous and thus lethal foal. But the thing that actually kills them is that the pigmentation of the color is directly connected to the formation of the small intestine. Homozygous frame means pure white. Which is little to no color. Which is basically little to no small intestine. I have also seen this happen is some very rare cases of double dilutes, in fact a forum member a while back lost a perlino stallion who upon necropsy was found to have an incredibly short small intestine.

So I suggest getting your vet out to look at her unless she passes normal stool, and if he says she is in fact lethal white.......my heart goes out to you and your mare.

 

[PaintNminis]

I am SO Sorry to hear this! I hope all goes well for your Filly & your Mare

I am True Believer in Genetic Trusting. I test everything with any white or coming from an Overo background, I even Test Solids & Appies just to be Safe. It's just not worth the Heartache of a lethal White Foal jmo. If any of my horses ever do test Possitive I take Great Care in making sure I cross them with a non Lwo - I can't Imagine why Someone would do it on Propose. Because I couldn't Put a mare, the foal or myself through any of that.

I do hope all goes well Keeping my Fingers Crossed for you!

 

[Gena]

I am praying that you will be lucky that she is not a lethal white.........

Please inform your vet about the enema and the result from it. What concerns me is that it doesn't sound as if she passed her true meconium. That should have been a very dark sticky "first poop".

This is what I was wondering, if she has passed her meconium, have you seen her pass any dark sticky poo? I am praying she is ok

 

[Reijel's Mom]

Oh my, I'm so sorry to hear this. If she is lethal white there is no saving her and she should be put down ASAP as it must be a very painful way to go.

I hope this thread is educational for anyone who does not know about lethal white. It is NOTHING to play around with.