cretahillsgal
Well-Known Member
I knew that in raising miniatures and having 15-20 horses here at any given time it was bound to happen to me eventually. But this was so sudden that I was stunned. It still seems surreal.
Cherish was a 3 year old black mare and was due in March with her first foal. Monday evening she was fine. Ate well and was her usual self. Tuesday morning she was in obvious pain. Pacing and rolling. I got her up and checked her out. I figured that it was either colic or she was aborting. Gave her banamine and she seemed to relax instantly. Throughout the day she acted more depressed and sluggish than usual, but she was wanting to eat(we didn't let her), drinking, pooping and peeing so I assumed that she was over the worst. And she never ran any fever. Her temp was usually around 99.5.
I started getting worried again Tuesday evening because she didn't want to eat anymore. But at 10 PM she pooped and peed so I assumed she was just exhausted from the ordeal.
Around midnight she gently laid down, aborted her foal in one push and then died. She never rolled again or thrashed or anything. Just took one last breath and that was it.
I had been in contact with my vet all day Tuesday and she said that since she seemed to respond to the banamine that hopefully she would be fine. She told me that usually if they twist a gut or uterus that banamine would not work on their pain, so...
The vet came out and did a quick autopsy on Cherish and said that it looked like the blood supply to a large part of her intestine had somehow been compromised, thus killing that part of the intestine, causing a blockage and toxins to be released into her system, which is what killed her. We still don't know what would have caused the blood vessels supporting her intestine to be compromised. She said that they may have kinked or twisted. Has anyone here heard of this happening and what causes it?
The foal that she aborted was a very tiny solid dark colored colt. We were thinking that she was around 240 days, but there is no way that this foal was that old. I am thinking that he is more around 150 days. I have pics if you want to see for yourself. But he seemed normal except for a small bruise like spot on the back of his head. The vet thinks that this happened from the extremely quick birth and that he was alive up until the time that she aborted.
This is a picture of Cherish from this summer.
And about 2 weeks ago in her winter coat.
Cherish was a 3 year old black mare and was due in March with her first foal. Monday evening she was fine. Ate well and was her usual self. Tuesday morning she was in obvious pain. Pacing and rolling. I got her up and checked her out. I figured that it was either colic or she was aborting. Gave her banamine and she seemed to relax instantly. Throughout the day she acted more depressed and sluggish than usual, but she was wanting to eat(we didn't let her), drinking, pooping and peeing so I assumed that she was over the worst. And she never ran any fever. Her temp was usually around 99.5.
I started getting worried again Tuesday evening because she didn't want to eat anymore. But at 10 PM she pooped and peed so I assumed she was just exhausted from the ordeal.
Around midnight she gently laid down, aborted her foal in one push and then died. She never rolled again or thrashed or anything. Just took one last breath and that was it.
I had been in contact with my vet all day Tuesday and she said that since she seemed to respond to the banamine that hopefully she would be fine. She told me that usually if they twist a gut or uterus that banamine would not work on their pain, so...
The vet came out and did a quick autopsy on Cherish and said that it looked like the blood supply to a large part of her intestine had somehow been compromised, thus killing that part of the intestine, causing a blockage and toxins to be released into her system, which is what killed her. We still don't know what would have caused the blood vessels supporting her intestine to be compromised. She said that they may have kinked or twisted. Has anyone here heard of this happening and what causes it?
The foal that she aborted was a very tiny solid dark colored colt. We were thinking that she was around 240 days, but there is no way that this foal was that old. I am thinking that he is more around 150 days. I have pics if you want to see for yourself. But he seemed normal except for a small bruise like spot on the back of his head. The vet thinks that this happened from the extremely quick birth and that he was alive up until the time that she aborted.
This is a picture of Cherish from this summer.
And about 2 weeks ago in her winter coat.
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So sorry to hear of your loss...{{{HUGS}}} Shelly
