The importance of "being there" at foaling.....

[Dona]

I just heard from the farm in Australia who bought Tiger & Moonie from me last year. Tiger was bred to Moonie when she left, and we were both worried about whether she would abort during the long trip over there. We were very pleased to see she was checked, still carrying the foal when she arrived in Australia! :aktion033:

I've been on pins & needles since....waiting to see what Tiger had this time. She was due in June, and I just heard from Samantha that Tiger lost her foal.

She AND her children had all been sick for weeks...the night Tiger foaled, she had a terrible headache & her daughter was throwing up. Her husband travels & wasn't there, and since it's winter over there...she couldn't find anyone to "horse sit" & keep an eye on Tiger. She found the foal still in the sack. It was a perfect Frame Overo filly! Samantha is just heartsick about losing it. :no: She said Tiger is fine...and has bonded with an orphan kangaroo that they had to bottle feed. They are together all the time.

:

I'm posting this to remind everyone know just how important it is to BE THERE at the foaling..... if at all possible! I don't blame Samantha in this case, as there was nothing she could do. But if at all possible......be there, or arrange for someone to be there to assist the mare if it's necessary. Tiger never needed any assistance for the three previous foals she had here for me.....but this is proof that you never know when that assistance WILL be needed........and the foal you lose, could be that "special" one you've been waiting for!

 

[kaykay]

so sorry for all of you. it can be so heartbreaking

 

[CountryHaven]

Oh my heavens yes. I'm so sorry for Samantha's loss. I thank God that the filly born here this week unattended was okay, but I've been on the other end too, having just left the barn for a few minutes to come back to a dead foal.

 

[virginia]

That is always so sad to hear. It's the reason I've invested many dollars in a Camera system and Equipage. It has saved the life of several foals. Wouldn't be without them.

Ginny StP

 

[Becky]

That's so sad for them!

Yes, being there for every delivery is critically important! Not only for the life of the foal but that of the mare as well. I, like Ginny, use a camera and Breeder Alert or Equipage. I wouldn't be without them!

 

[Gena]

That's so sad for them!

Yes, being there for every delivery is critically important! Not only for the life of the foal but that of the mare as well. I, like Ginny, use a camera and Breeder Alert or Equipage. I wouldn't be without them!

Couldn't agree more, we would have lost many foals if we wouldn't have had these. I also thinks its critical that breeders study every dystocia possibility and have a dependable vets number on hand.

Sorry Dona for the sad news

 

[Joyce]

That is so sad. Yes, it is very important to be there at the time of foaling as you never know when you will be needed. This is a classic case of what can happen but it seems they had no other way of being there.

Too bad and very sad. Things do happen like this.

 

[nootka]

What a sad reminder...I know this pain, too. Found a (not more than) 2 hour old colt dead w/the sac over just his nose and mouth. Granted, he was nothing special as far as color or gender (I had been hoping for another filly to keep from this mare and stallion, and something other than black might have been nice as I already had three at the time), but I have the feeling he would have found a place in life, and been an enjoyable, and loving little guy. He would have been a half brother to my gelding, Mouse, and they would have loved to play together, being only one week apart. I think about that little colt all the time, and I think his "job" is to remind me that I can live without sleep and that I need to use all the tools available to me to ensure that I AM THERE when those mares foal, otherwise I need to put aside my desire to breed and wait until I have the time to dedicate to them when they are ready, which means 100%.

Liz M.

 

[outlawridge]

Dona, I am so sorry to hear this. Samantha must feel so horrible, even though her absence was totally understandable.

I think his "job" is to remind me that I can live without sleep and that I need to use all the tools available to me to ensure that I AM THERE when those mares foal, otherwise I need to put aside my desire to breed and wait until I have the time to dedicate to them when they are ready, which means 100%.

Liz, I think your words should be printed out and hanging on every breeders barn wall. How perfectly put!

 

[Magic]

I am so sorry for Samantha's loss.

I agree wholeheartedly with you, Dona, and with Liz.

Sometimes things just conspire against one, as in Samantha's case, unfortunately. :no:

I have friends that are always begging me to foal out their mares for them, because they know how obsessed I am about watching them every minute. My family has more of an attitude of "oh no, it's foaling season again!" though. Oh well, it's worth it!

 

[REO]

Oh no! :no: Poor little filly. I'm so sorry for Samantha, Tiger, Moonie and you Dona. I know that baby was long awaited and wanted. Very heartbreaking.

MUST be there!

 

[rabbitsfizz]

In all my years of breeding I have heard of many, many foals "born" in the bag- I really do think, 9 times out of ten, these foals are DOA- it is fairly easy to see if a foal had tried to breathe and, had it done so in the bag it's lungs would have been full of fluid, so, I think maybe she can stop beating herself up over this one.

I have had a couple of foals born dead, in the bag- they seem to come that way when they are dead.

I have had, once, and only once, a foal come, placenta, foal, still in bag, the whole nine yards and I can tell you, had that been on camera I would have been too late to save it.

Watching it happen, no more than twenty five metres away and already running as fast as I can, I was still only just in time.

So many, many things can go wrong at foaling, it is humbling, you never, ever cease to learn, and, when things go wrong, you never cease to wonder at the power of Nature.

I hope everything goes OK for her next time.

I'm sure it will.

I hope she can forgive herself, really , I do think there was nothing she could have done.

 

[CountryHaven]

So many, many things can go wrong at foaling, it is humbling,

If nothing else, that is about the truest statement ever.

 

[Dandy]

You are so right about being there. I lost a filly 3 years ago that didn't get out of the sack so I bought an Equipage system. Missed both births last year (during day) but they were fine. This year was at both births which was a good thing because in both cases one front leg was back and we had to go in and deliver.

 

[Soggy Bottom Ranch]

This post hit home for me for sure. We had sold 2 female alpacas to a breeder about an hour from us last year, one was pregnant, and due July 12th, 2006. I just got a call this week from the breeder saying that the cria had died, and had been dead a couple days before it was delivered still born. She's a new breeder, whom we tried our best to educate, and worked with her as best we could to answer any and all her questions. It's been a struggle for us because we found out that she hadn't been following our instructions, or doing the research it takes to learn about these exotic animals. I had to step in at one point with a little "tough love," for the alpacas sake, and after that, things improved greatly from what we could see.

I've been trying to find out all the details a little by little, and have come to realize that this cria didn't need to die. It was a beautiful little female out of our male! To me each birth tells a story, and if you connect the pieces together, you can really learn alot. It didn't die 2 days earlier because of the story all the signs were telling me. All the signs point to a female who was in labor for a very long time, was stressed and needed help, and no one was paying attention to see she needed help. This is a big lesson learned for this breeder, and now I feel it my obligation to step in once again to do what we can for the alpacas sake, a little tougher "tough love" this time maybe. Animals have feelings too, and she knows all to well that something happened to her baby. I was told "I can't save the world," but I can certainly give it my best shot for Tessy's sake.

I know this isn't "horse related", but it was a topic so near to my heart, I felt it was ok to share. Thank you for letting me do so!

 

[midnight star stables]

Oh Donna I'm so sorry :no: That is very sad, I send prayers to everyone involved. :no:

 

[Miniv]

Thank you for your sad reminder, Dona.

I just was telling a family today who are buying their first minis about how important it is to be there......I may have scared them off about breeding for now, but that's okay. When and if they are ready to dive into it, I hope they will be prepared.

MA

 

[KarenM]

Sorry to hear about this foal... So pleased Tiger is ok after all that is the main thing !!!

Dona ~ Tiger & Moonie have gone to a fantastic stud for sure and very well known

Now girls Samantha is a breeder with a BIG stud here in Australia !!!!!! She has many foals born each year so she sure does know what she is doing !!

Yes it is handy to have a phone number ready for a vet but in some areas the vets are not " Horse " vets as such.. in my town there is not a vet dedicated to Equine the closet is 1 hour away ...

Foaling season starts here on Tuesday August 1 so say a little prayer for the rest of the mares that are getting ready to foal. We have our first foal due in October we dont have a cam or alert but we will be doing it the " eye watching " way ..

 

[Mulligans Run]

.....

Mare Stare is a wonderful tool as well. We have people that sit up all night long watching the cams and if you need to run out on an errand or you NEED SOME SLEEP they will watch for you and call if they see a problem. And with the different time zones it helps alot too.

Especially with the people in other countries watching and having their own cams online as well.

We've saved about a dozen foals that we know of this year. There's no telling how many we don't know about. We've had owners fall asleep - the foal is born and stuck in the sack- we've called and gotten them down there in time. I even had that very thing happen to me. I was out of town and my son was on watch. My mare started foaling - the girls in the chatroom called and woke me up - I called my son and he made it in time to help. We've had maiden mares foal unexpectedly and we've alerted the owners so they are there.

We've even saved the life of one person.

We aren't a babysitter service, but there are people that are devoted to watching and will help when they are needed. It's become a great big family.

:



Dona I'm so sorry. I know you are still attached to these horses. I was in love with Tiger myself and would have loved to have her in my barn. I often wondered if she gave birth or if they had any Moonie foals. I'm so very sorry for their loss. I pray that next year they'll have many beautiful foals running around that look just like Moonie.

 

[minisch]

Thanks Dona for posting this. This is why I choose not to breed. Accidents do happen, but it's so frustrating to hear "look what I found this morning" or see poor quality horses breeding cause there "cute"