Advice on Haemolytic Mare

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Darkhorse

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Im hoping that some of you can offer some advice on this my friend.

She has 13yr old TB mare that last foaled 3 years ago - this resulted in the foal having Haemolytic Disease, the foal was saved after a very expensive stay in Oakham.

Following this they tried to get the mare into work as she was too young to be a field ornament but this didn't work. Last year after speaking with a vet they advised to breed from her again with a different stallion and a blood test could be carried out about month off foaling to determine if Haemolytic was present.

Usual vet has now advised that the only way to test is to DNA the mare and the stallion, a very expensive process that she would rather not do or muzzle the foal as soon as it is born and bottle feed whilst bloods of mare and foal are checked.

Vet is speaking to EHT at Newmarket today for some further advise as he is not a specialist stud vet.

Can anyone offer any advice on this ? I have a financial interest in the foal once it is born so I am keen to ensure that we do the very best for the mare and foal. My friend is an experienced breeder but the thought of muzzling a newborn foal is daunting one !
 
I also have a friend who has to muzzle her foal at birth for I think 48 hours after which things have settled down and it is allowed to suckle, so it's not unheard of. She obviously has to milk the mare out and throw it away. I think she uses a small flower pot as the muzzle which has some more holes punched out (but not enough mare can dangle a teat through!)
Your friend would be best talking to an experienced stud vet herself to get the full details I think.
 
I must admit I am a little astounded at the pre pregnancy advice, but who am I to question the wisdom!!! Simply put the mother produces antibodies that attack the foetus even before birth because it's blood type is incompatible, this reaction would normally be set off by a previous foal, it's very similar to blue babys in humans. The reason for the muzzle is to prevent the foal taking colostrum which will attack it also.

It is possible to predict outcomes from blood typing of dam and sire (About £60 I think) before mating, which would perhaps have been the advice of choice.

Here are a couple of sites to get you started to find out more. Hopefully everything will be ok but I would dust off your chequebook and even consider foaling at a veterinary clinic if you have an interest in the wellbeing of the foal!

http://www.mitavite.com.au/mitavite06/PD...RN%20FOALS..pdf
http://www.aegrc.uq.edu.au/index.html?page=38345
 
Thank you ! We are not happy with the vetinary advice given last year - don't worry there have already been words between my friend and the verterinary pratice, said vet did leave a few months ago so not much can be done now, other than deal with the situation at hand.

Ive had a conversation this morning with the vet about sending her to a professional stud to foal as that would be a preference rather than equine hospital. Newmarket is too far but can look at some others in the area, Jonathan Pycock is not far away so will investigate that option too.
 
If I was you i would put her in foal and muzzle any foal she has from now on and milk out the mare as part of the course.It just means you have to have doner colostrum in stock for any foals she may have and obviously be present for the birth.A lot of mares that do it seem to habitually do it so just be prepared.It is not the end of the world.
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www.ballyshanhorses.webs.com
 
I would suggest you err on the side of caution with this as the antibidies from the mare can start attacking the foal prior to birth so It may need help right from the getgo! Get the professionals to deal with it and hopefully everything will turn out ok! Will keep my fingers crossed for you.


I witnessed a mare with this condition when I was a kid, we didn't know what it was then, it was born weak and we were bottle feeding it the colostrum that killed it! It wasn't until the vet did a post mortem that the problem became clear, it was really sad. This mare found a nice home being ridden in the end, but was one bitch to start aged 8!!
 
Thanks for your advice - We have a good vet on hand and she will be foaling at home as she will get too stressed if she is moved now.
 
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