noob x 2- first baby and new to forum

[daisysmom]

I have been lurking here, afraid to post since I do not know how to post pics. I have a mini bought in January, possibly in foal, supposedly 6 mos along. She had her foal two weeks ago tonight. The birth went OK, she chose the dirt corral rather than the straw filled stall attached, but did it just as dusk so I was there for it. I was surprised that she was passing stool along with the contractions, but I got towels under her. Baby had a hard time finding the grocery bag. I thought maybe he was a dummy when he was sucking the walls and blindly rambling. When we tried to show him, Daisy became fierce keeping us away. She was licking him so hard instead of herding him to the bag. I finally realized she was colicing and in pain about nine or so. PANICKED me. But I have banamine on hand. She was thrashing so much there was no way to get it IV, and I had read here not to give it IM. THANK YOU to the Auntie I had read here that you gave it into the mouth. I had to guess on the dose so gave a very scant 1cc to start. And it worked. I just left her alone after that to work out how to nurse.

he passed all the other hurdles, but never seems to nurse for even a minute. his belly seems round and he has energy. Lately he has been passing hard stool and tonight he was really straining and acting colicy. So I gave him what I found as a "baby"enema- too small an amount- and the nozzle size was the same as the adult fleets I had. So I gave him several small enemas. His stools were REALLY HARD and big, but he passed a good amount til they were small grape size. he finally got up and woo-hoo'd around the pen, running and bucking.

So , obviously he is very dehydrated, so I think I need to get some more fluids in him. In the morning I plan to go get some nipples and bottles. So AUNTIES, help me find the right kind for a mini. Any and all advice appreciated for what to give him to get him to suckle a bottle. I am thinking of starting with milking the mare and bottle feeding her milk ,1) since he never gets much, and 2)it's what he's used to drinking.

He does drink water on his own. We are in southern AZ, in a drought with winds and dust storms that look like the dust bowl days in the thirties.

Sorry about the book. Love this forum.

 

[Eagle]

Hello and a big warm welcome to the Nutty Nursery.

Congratulations on the safe arrival of your liitle one and well done for being there for her.

You did great giving mum some Benamine to ease her pain which was probably not colic but after birth contractions, some mares suffer more than others but I usually give Benamine after they have passed the placenta anyway to keep them more comfortable. Now if your baby is 2 weeks old then he is definitely nursing you are just not seeing it. At this stage he is probably starting to nibble on mum's feed and hay which is causing him to dehydrate. A way to make sure he is nursing is to feel mum's udder, check in the morning to see if it is firm, warm and size then keep an eye on them for a few hours and check again. Can you sit somewhere close in the evening for a few hours? Foals normally nurse every hour more or less so you should be able to see and for how long he stays attached. Perhaps it would be a good idea to give your vet a ring and see what he says.

Milking a mare and feeding a foal is a full time job 24/7 so we should try to avoid that if possible.

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Renee

 

[AnnaC]

Hi Daisy's Mom (do YOU have a name?) and welcome to the Nutty Nursery. Many congratulations on your little colt - it sounds as though you have done all the right things to help him over the past two weeks, well done.

He must be drinking or he would be very ill by now. Most folks just have to carefully syringe a few cc's into baby's mouth in the very early hours after birth if they dont find the milk bar easily, but it is not something they usually have to worry about after two weeks.

I would not bother with bottles as, if he is drinking from Daisy's water, then he would probably drink from a bowl quite happily. Also does he help himself to Daisy's food? At two weeks he is quite old enough to start on a small feed of his own, as long as it is suitable for babies - what are you feeding Daisy?

Inspite of being experienced with foals and breeding, I have never had a foal that hasn't been drinking properly by two weeks, plus I'm in the UK so possibly not the same feed available, so hopefully someone else will offer you some advice later today.

Meanwhile how about sharing some pictures with us and please dont lurk, go join in the other threads and the general chat that goes on while we are waiting for these precious mares to foal.

 

WELCOME and don't lurk. Join us "full throttle" ! LOL

First, remember, if he wasn't getting enough, he wouldn't be here by now. You have done a fantastic job so far -- being in attendance, helping mom with her discomfort, and watching this little one carefully. The enema was JUST the RIGHT thing to do, to help him along.

I'm with the others in that I would suggest containing them in an area where you can sit and watch for a couple of hours. During that time he should go to the milk bar at least twice -- as they nurse about every hour or even more frequently. If he is also drinking a little water, he is hydrating himself. The best thing for him is momma's milk, and if you are worried, you can milk momma and try offering it to baby in a bowl. He should take to it, since he's learned how to drink water. A bowl will make your life easier for sure.

Feel momma's udder -- is it full and tight? Is she just not standing for him? If so, you might try tying her and seeing if baby will nurse more if he doesn't have to follow the milk bar around the paddock. If he does, then hopefully momma will get the idea and stand better for him --as she will feel better once her udder has been nursed out.

If you must go to a milk supplement, I would contact your local vet to see what they recommend. I've used a milk supplement here for a couple of foals over the years, but it's been a long time ago. It was a powder that you mixed with water, and I fed through a bowl and the babies did fine!

Continue to watch for straining as you did, and let's see how he does.

I compliment you on the fine care you are giving him -- and the watchful eyes! Keep up the good work!!

 

[blazingstarranch]

Hi Daisy's mom! It sounds like you're doing a great job so far. Foals can nurse very quickly and he must be getting enough to eat. We would all love to see pics!

 

[daisysmom]

Thank you for the welcome, and for the replies. Not bottle feeding will save me a lot of trouble, and you all agree, and your advice makes sense, I won't try.

But, This poor baby may still have constipation- I will watch him today. My SO feeds in the am and said he was frolicking about this morning. he does drink out of her buckets.

My name is Sally. I am a worrier. We have had a mini ,as well as riding horses for about seven years. The big guys left since I am unable to ride, so our mini was alone. Thus Daisy.

We are retired, so I have plenty of time to watch them. I can see the corral from a window, and I spend at least an hour with them, stall cleaning and getting Cowboy used to being handled.

We have no local large animal vet. REALLY. I have to haul about an hour to the nearest. We are two hours out of Tucson, small town, middle of nowhere.

I have been lurking here since I got her in January. Thanks again for the advice. I am sure I will need more.

 

Keep us posted, and I hope you can figure out loading pictures -- as I can't wait to see them!!

You can also email them to one of us, and we can post them for you if you're still having problems.

My regular email is: [email protected] and I'd be happy to post some for you!