Question for you about one of my mares...

[cretahillsgal]

Image is due to foal any day now. She is absolutely HUGE! Walking with stiff back legs for the past week. But hasn't really made any udder development other than one day when it was warmer.

However, last night and this morning she would not touch her feed and barely nibbled on her hay last night. Also this morning, her belly is "twitching" for lack of a better term. I have seen fetal movement in her belly before, and this is what it looks like, but it is every second, very rythmic. We also have had lots of ice, sleet and snow for the past 2 days. While we break water several times a day, it still freezes over very quickly in between. I am worried that she may be fixing to colic or foal.

What would you think or do in this situation? I have moved her over with the other mares as they have a stock tank heater and warmer water, and plenty of hay. She is still wearing her halter monitor, but I feel that it is better for her to get out and move around a bit this morning.

 

[Jill]

If she were mine, I'd probably be thinking she's getting ready to foal pretty soon. My maiden mare that just did foal on Monday surprised me as she didn't have much of a bag from my perspective, yet when her filly arrived, she had plenty of milk.

Can you put your mare back in a stall w/ plenty of straw and hay (so she won't want to eat the straw) and then bring hot water out to her bucket every few hours?

I'm thinking the lack of interest in her food is because she's fixing to make you a "grandma" here soon!

 

[Riverdance]

Is she a maiden mare? Most maiden mares do not get much of a bag, some mares who have foaled before do not get much of a bag.

Since it is so cold down where you are, I would be keeping her inside where it was wam. It is just to cold to foal outside if you have freezing water. The fact that she is off her feed and due about now, could be that she is getting ready to foal.

 

[cretahillsgal]

Thanks! I am really hoping that she is about to foal. But sooooo worried about colic right now. Hubby and I have been carrying water from inside the house out to the horses every couple of hours. I am at work now, but have instructed him to bring her back in to her stall in about 20 minutes and turn the camera back on.

Image is a well seasoned broodmare. She has had at least 4 foals before. But not any with me yet, so I don't know her habits. In your opinion will colder weather keep them from bagging up as much?

 

[Genie]

I don't know about not bagging up because of cold weather. If someone else foaled her out previously they would be the best one to answer the udder question.

Lots of mares don't bag right up until they foal.

I liked what Jill said. Warm water and a fluffy stall to have her baby in.

 

[Lucky-C-Acres-Minis]

A lot of mares go off their feed when close to foaling (course, not many of mine, lol they're piggies

) and many will lay back on how much they eat for the few days/week(s) before because there's not much room left in there for feed/hay

Since you said she's walking with "stiff" back legs then I suspect baby has moved back and put pressure on her..

Like the others have said, I'd put her in a stall with lots of straw in out of the weather.. I'd definitely not want a mare that close out in snow/ice for fear of her slipping and falling or deciding to foal out there..

Good luck and can't wait to see a foal announcement!

 

[REO]

Can you put a milk jug full of very hot water in her bucket? I mean, like a very hot ice cube LOL

Good luck with Image!

 

[Becky]

Aside from just the water issue, the rythmic twitching might mean that she has thumps (hypocalcemic). It's a serious condition and needs to be seen be a vet. You may want to call your vet ASAP and let him/her know what's going on.

 

[cretahillsgal]

Okay, hubby just called. He put her back in her stall. And added some warm water and she drank good. And started nibbling on her hay.

But the twitching is still there! It has been going on for at least an hour and 15 minutes now! I am very worried about it and calling the vet now. Thanks for warning me Becky, I had never heard of this!

 

[kaykay]

Becky I was thinking the same thing. Better safe then sorry as it is something that has to be treated asap. Sending good thoughts!

 

[cretahillsgal]

Vet said that she doesn't like the sounds of it and is coming out to pull blood and check her calcium levels. Image is now just standing in the stall. Has plenty of fresh grass and alfalfa hay, but not interested in it. Still twitching.

 

[TheCaseFamily00]

Hoping for good news,we'll be thinking of her.

 

[Becky]

Please keep us updated. It does sound like she has thumps. She needs IV calcium if it is.

 

[Bunnylady]

Aside from just the water issue, the rythmic twitching might mean that she has thumps (hypocalcemic). It's a serious condition and needs to be seen be a vet. You may want to call your vet ASAP and let him/her know what's going on.

This was my first thought, too.

I had a goat that got a bit stiff and twitchy a couple of weeks before she was due. Hypocalcemia was my fear with her, too. The recommendation for her was to up her feed, which I did, and the stiffness went away (she was carrying triplets!)

I believe I have seen this in rabbits when the babies are nearing weaning age (go ahead, see if you can find anything, anywhere about hypocalcemia in rabbits!) This can be fatal, but it is very treatable in the early stages. I hope we're just being alarmist, but well. . . .

Hopefully the vet can put her right for you. Good luck!

 

[Naira3284]

My mare doesn't bag up until after she foals. Pain in the butt!

The same mare had the "thumps" a couple of years back. I called the vet in a hurry, not knowing what it was.

The Vet. came over, looked at her, charged me $300, and told me to go get a vitamin paste

from Country Max. I'm not using that Vet. any longer!

Good luck with her!!

 

[Genie]

One of the best known cures for relieving someone of the hiccups is a good, old-fashioned scare. However, what do you do when it seems that your horse has a case of the hiccups? Sneaking up behind a 1,000 pound Thoroughbred and yelling "Boo!," is not advisable for several reasons. For one, you might get a surprise of your own.

The medical term for the noise we commonly refer to as hiccups is synchronous diaphragmatic flutter or singultus. But in horses it has been specifically called thumps since 1831 when a veterinarian first reported a thumping noise coming from the abdomen of a horse that just ran 13 miles.

"Thumps in and of itself is not a problem," said Cristobal Navas de Solís, LV, an equine internal medicine resident at the University of Illinois Veterinary Teaching Hospital. "But if a horse does have thumps, there is usually an underlying cause that needs to be treated."

Many horses that present with the anomaly are endurance athletes that have an electrolyte imbalance and significant fluid loss after an exhaustive workout. For example, thumps is common in Arabian horses competing in long distance races that last 25, 50, or even 100 miles.

"Typically these patients are dehydrated and have low blood calcium levels," mentioned Navas de Solís, "but once you treat the underlying problem the thumps usually disappear on their own."

Thumps in horses, and hiccups in humans, although both referred to as synchronous diaphragmatic flutter to the medical experts in each field, are slightly different variations upon the same theme. For one, hiccups in humans are not commonly associated with electrolyte imbalances.

Secondly, the location from which we hear the characteristic noise coming also differs in horse and man. The "hic" we hear in humans is caused by the closure of the vocal chords after the diaphragm spasmodically contracts, quickly inflating the lungs. In horses, however, veterinarians and owners that have witnessed the ailment can attest that the abnormal noise comes from the animal's side.

Low blood calcium levels are the classic abnormality associated with thumps. This may make the phrenic nerve, which runs along both sides of the heart and controls diaphragm movements, more easily excitable. But it is also a good idea to check all electrolyte levels, especially magnesium, potassium, sodium, and chlorine.

In a typical scenario with a dehydrated horse and abnormal electrolyte levels, the phrenic nerve might begin to fire at the rate at which the atria of the heart contract. In short, the nerve is inappropriately obeying firing instructions from the heart, instead of the brain, to control diaphragm movements.

"Usually we see the horse's abdomen contract 40-50 times per minute," said Navas de Solís. Typically, each contraction occurs at the same time the heart beats, but in rare cases that does not always happen, nor do the thumps have to occur on both sides of the horse.

Although hiccups in humans are quite harmless, thumps in horses are usually linked to an abnormality that warrants attention. If you hear the telltale sounds--and don't suspect your horse has merely gotten into the Kentucky bourbon--contact your veterinarian as soon as possible.--Ashley Mitek, University of Illinois College of Veterinary Medicine

[i]You probably have found this on the web but thought I would send it as well.

I hadn't heard of this before, so I am sorry for your trouble but appreciate the opportunity to be better informed. [/i]

 

[Charlotte]

everything crossed here for you Julie. thank goodness the weather is such that your vet can get to you.

I would be very concerned about the water situation and the problems that can cause. Horses without warmed water available in cold weather may reduce their water consumption by 40%. Dangerous any time but with a preg mare....... This 40% info from a vet and I believe it with watching my horses. So my suggestion once you get her issues treated is get her warmed water one way or another.

Please let us know how she is doing when you can.

Charlotte

 

[cretahillsgal]

Good news! We think Image and baby are going to be fine!

Her blood calcium levels were low and she was slightly dehydrated. She didn't have a fever, but her heart and respiratory rate was high.

The vet gave her a calcium IV and the "hiccups" imediately stoped as well as her heart and respiratory rate returned to normal levels. Image drank alot of water and is nibbling on her hay now. I have a paste that I will be giving her from here on to prevent a reccurance.

Another good thing, the vet could feel the foal moving around alot and thinks that he/she is okay!

I can't tell you guys thank you enough for warning me about the Thumps! I had never heard about that. I was thinking that she was either getting close to foaling or colicing. I probably wouldn't have called the vet out as quickly as I did without your suggestions.

 

[Jill]

Yay!!! I'm happy she's gotten better and I cannot wait to read your new foal announcement (and bet it's gonna be SOON!)

 

[Reignmaker Miniatures]

Thank goodness. Thumps is a new one to me as well and one more piece of info that justifies my time on LB as NOT wasted