Checking the placenta - what to look for

JanetGeorge

JanetGeorge

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As we have a lot of first time breeders here, I thought it might be useful to show what you should be looking for when you check the placenta.

First step is to lay it out and use a hose to remove bedding and the like. Then find the opening where the foal came out and put the hose in there. The placenta SHOULD inflate. There should only be one hole in it - any tears or extra holes suggest that some of the placenta may remain in the mare - and she needs to be checked by the vet AS AN EMERGENCY!! The placenta should be completely out in no more than 6 - 8 hours! Wait any longer and you can expect infection, toxic shock, laminitis and even death!

This placenta includes the white bag (at the top of the pic) - this often (usually) comes out with the foal and seperates from the placenta - with the placenta following 30 minutes to 2 hours after the birth of the foal. The placenta is roughly a Y (or a head with horns). The foal may have come out via one of the horns or via the body of the placenta but - and I repeat myself for emphasis - there should only be ONE opening!!

placenta.jpg
 
Thats great JanetGeorge thanks for that.

The stud where my mares are also weigh the placenta's which have this year averaged around the 11 lb mark, most of their horses are around the 15.2hh mark. However my maiden mare who had the blanket colt, her placenta was 13 lb the biggest they have had this year.

Anyone else weigh placentas?
 
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Really fab thread! i have been wondering how you check the placenta, the hosepipe thing is fab!
Thank you so much for posting this!

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My pleasure. I still remember - from MANY years ago - staring at a pile of GUCK and wondering what the hell I was meant to do with it!
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Our vet at the time showed me - pleased to share.

One last bit of advice re placentas. They are VERY hard to burn - and extra tasty when half cooked if you have a garbage disposal hound like mine!! And boy - can it make them SICK!! I'd bury them if we didn't have baked clay for ground - AND dogs that dig - it would have to be 6 feet deep!
 
Very true JG - ideally they need cremating!

Never heard of using a hose though and honestly not sure about it, though I can see the reasoning. The reason I am not sure about is that it is important to note the colouration of the outside of the placenta, which as you know, is not visible in the pic you have posted, as that is the inside and also if there is any sludge (for want of a better word) present.

The most important (it's all important, but bear with me!) area of the placenta to check is the non-pregnant horn. The mares uterus has a body and 2 horns, the pregnancy will be carried in the body and 1 horn - the back legs are in the pregnant horn, the body, front legs (folded up) and the head are in the body of the uterus. Generally it is the non-pregnant horn (which will appear shrivelled, as a pose to stretched and smooth - which would be the pregnant horn and body), that is the last part of the placenta to detach from the womb lining (due to all the folds that cling on to the corresponding folds of endometrium). As the last part and most difficult part to detatch, the tip can often be left behind, esp. if the placenta is not tied up before the mare gets up (not always possible I know), more often than not a mare will get up and turn to her foal, treading on the trailing amnion, which is attached to the placenta. This can cause tearing of the placenta and if the whole of the amnion comes off, you can be hard pushed to get hold of the actual placenta, before it slips back inside - if you can get hold of it should this happen, it is important to tie the amnion to it and possibly further small weight(s) (I prefer to use rubber/plastic examination gloves filled with water).

Sorry, am rambling and seeing double - too tired. I hope the above makes sense! Can I recommend a book - 'Foaling Simplified' by Sue Caldwell - a clear and concise guide to foaling with good photos.
 
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