New born miniature horse leg deformity question.

[RebekhaCarmynn25]

My mother owns miniature horse, her mare just gave birth to a foal with deformed back legs. This has never happened before, so we were very surprised. This is not the mares first birth, she has had two other normal pregnancies' and delivered well developed foals before. We are mystified as to what to expect or do. I have called our vet who the receptionist says is out of the office this week. So I called another vet that I'm not familiar with to get there prospective as to what to do in this situation. My mother is very worried for this little foal and so am I. She is a little fighter that I can see and want to give her the best chance possible to succeed. If any of you have experienced this before please give me some feedback.

 

[Taz]

Do you have pictures? What's wrong with them? Is it something that she will grow out of with lots of time outside to move around? Poor baby.

 

[Cayuse]

Could be that the foal is what they call "windswept". I am not that familiar with it but I think it is from how they lay when in utero and they usually outgrow it as they strengthen. They do need vet assistance as they sometimes need support (wraps or braces, not too sure). Hopefully the new vet can help get her sorted out!

 

[Pitter Patter]

Do you have any pictures?

 

[chandab]

It would take pictures to know what might be going on, otherwise it's total speculation and guess work.

 

[Maryann at MiniV]

The three most common "deformities" new born foals have with their legs is, 1. Being "windswept" as Cayuse mentioned above. That can affect all four legs. And 2. Being down on their on their hocks (usually their rear legs), and 3. "knock-knee-ed", also usually their rear legs. If you do an internet search about these conditions, and can't post pictures, maybe you can tell us which problem it looks like.

We've had foals born with all three situations at different times over the last 28 years of foaling out.... The most common was #2. But no matter which, our vet (who was a leg specialist for performance equine) would tell us to wait for a week. Allow the foal to move freely in a paddock and watch to see if the foal has improved during that time. If not, then some aggressive veterinary work should be done.

BTW, Do you live in a region where there is Low Selenium in your soil? Lack of Selenium (or sometimes other vitamins/minerals) can cause leg problems to newborns. We live in a low Selenium area, so make sure all of our horses get some supplement..... PLUS all foals receive a Selenium and Vitamin E shot within their first 24 hours of life. We haven't had any leg issues in many years now (knock on wood.).