Disfigured foaly

If THEY the owners can afford the operation and aftercare then go ahead. However if they cannot, and need/want to fundraise :rolleyes: to cover the costs then it should be PTS.
 
Ok, so I expect many of you won't like this, but in my opinion if they are breeding horses, yet don't have £4K in the bank for emergencies, then that's bad planning. Anything could have happened during the birth - to the mum or foal, and it could have cost a lot more than £4k. If they don't consider pts to be a realistic option then they should have covered their back for all eventualities beforehand.

Let's hope they raise the money - or the profs reduce their fees to help, for the foal's sake. We had a foal born away at stud and it had a deformed skull - like a rhino baby and it was pts. It was sad, hard, but the best thing to do for the foal and the bank account, harsh as that may sound. Sometimes you've gotta do what you've gotta do.

(I also think it looks like half llama):eek:
 
For me, it's not that I am against the owners doing all they can for the foal in terms of an operation if that's a genuinely viable option and they can afford it - what I object to is that they didn't keep it to themselves and quietly get on with it. What's their story doing appearing inside my newspaper today??!

As anyone who breeds animals knows, things can go tragically wrong sometimes but God forbid we advertise these incidences in the national newspapers everytime.

Had I read this story down the line; after the operation had been performed successfully - with pictures showing the foal (before and after) with the little girl, I would have been happy to see it. As it is, appearing now, it can be interpreted all too easily as a hope for funding.

Good luck to them though. Hope it works out for the poor little thing. x
 
i would have put him to sleep as soon as i saw him. you may not like this but there is plenty of other things to spend 4000 pound on that will come to great use other than spending it on fixing a nose for a horse and they probably will still have further surgeries to get it right when hes older. appart from out of pity nobody will ever buy him and he probably will have difficulty when hes older with a bit in his mouth. so basically all theyr doin is raising 4000 to make his nose look a little better and then hel be chucked in a field for the rest of his life which means hel b as usefull as he would b dead. thats just my opinion. x
 
Lippyx said:
Think how it would survive in the wild. It surely would be rejected by the herd, and it would be an easy target for a preditor!!
I think I would opt for the PTS option, but its difficult not being in that situation.
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Many thousands of horses would be targets for predators in the wild, it is only us as owners who provide expert treatment, vet care etc for illnesses or other issues which in the wild would be the end. :)
 
i say good luck to the little fella, hes battled to live, with help. so what if they need to fundraise, its none of our business! predator- what predator? hes not in the wild so what is the point of bringing that up-the family are devoted to him and knowledgeable, so let the wee man live!
 
I think it depends on how successful the surgery could be. If they think relatively easy surgery could give the horse a good quality of life then definately go for it IMO. I dont see how any amount of surgery will make his jaw ok enough to graze normally though...
 
I think they should do the op if they can afford it...they obviously can't therefore they should PTS...

I don't see people dipping their hands in their pockets to pay my £1700 laminitis vet bill or my other horse when he chipped his cannon bone costing me £3650 to put right.

I think it's a bl00dy cheek.

Maybe I've got it all wrong and i should go and take a couple of cute photos of my horses with kids stroking them and put them on the Internet...I wonder if my vet doesn't mind waiting while i raise the money!!!!
 
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"He's a fighter and I am willing to do everything and anything for him - whatever it takes to make sure he has a happy, normal life."
Apart from either fund it yourself or PTS.
 
Personally I wouldn't put the foal to sleep. If he seems happy then I would take it day by day whilst maintaining quality of life. It's interesting though as they don't seem to have any comments from vets i.e. people with professional opinions...!

I don't think it's fair to have let the girl get so attached to him though.
 
MagicMelon said:
I think it depends on how successful the surgery could be. If they think relatively easy surgery could give the horse a good quality of life then definately go for it IMO. I dont see how any amount of surgery will make his jaw ok enough to graze normally though...
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This foal is going to need multiple surgeries to enable it to survive!! It is unlikely that - even after several operations - it will be by ANY stretch of the imagination - 'normal'! At best it will have a shear mouth, restricted breathing etc. and it will have suffered a LOT of pain in surgical recovery to get to the point where is quality of life WON'T be the greatest!!

Any responsible vet would - I feel - tell the owners that the problem is TOO bad to correct within a scale of intervention that could be considered 'reasonable'! And £4,000 is just the FIRST op - the total cost could easily be £20,000 or more! To put a young foal through all of this is - IMHO - cruelty!
 
I think it is cruel to subject the foal to ongoing surgery too, so PTS is, IMO, the only option.

Am never namby-pamby or a bunny hugger, but I must say I wouldn't allow a small child to be handling a loose foal either without at least a hat on - I know that is not the reason for this thread, but I was a little taken aback as foals can suddenly become very boisterous!
 
Weezy said:
I think it is cruel to subject the foal to ongoing surgery too, so PTS is, IMO, the only option.

Am never namby-pamby or a bunny hugger, but I must say I wouldn't allow a small child to be handling a loose foal either without at least a hat on - I know that is not the reason for this thread, but I was a little taken aback as foals can suddenly become very boisterous!
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Agree with you Weezy. I don't think it's fair to put such a young foal through operations as I'm guessing it would take more than one.
Also agree with your second point.
 
zefragile said:
If it were mine I'd have it put to sleep. It says in the article it may have difficulties grazing.
Also, I hate the people in the comments insinuating that having the foal pts are cruel or selfish!
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this ^^

i also find it incredibly pathetic they are using a child to front their fundrasing........
 
Wish I could advertise for fundraising when I had a big vet bill.

But in my opinion I would put the poor foalio down, he is obviously going to be in pain, have trouble eating and breating. Its not fair on him. Plus what effect will all the drugs and anaesthetic have on him as well.
 
who the hell are we to criticise!! we only know half the story,im not saying that to put it down isnt the final option, but with the unpleasant comments on here its unfortunate that the OP posted at all!!good luck as i said earlier-
 
EllieBelly1 said:
Like I said earlier...the newspapers have twisted this story somewhat...they are not fundraising using a child to front it...http://www.nfed.co.uk/index4chat.htm I think a few of you are being rather judgemental of someone trying to do the right thing.
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Took the words right out of my keyboard! The DM has not reported the same as the NFED admin, who says they have spoken to the owner and she has not had advice from a vet that there is an op that can fix it, and has not had a 4k price tag, and definately are not fundraising from joe public with or without the kiddie!

The NFED forum posts from this foal's owner did state that the vet advised euthinasia as soon as they saw the newborn foal, and that the owner realises that there may come a point when this is the right thing to do. She just doesn't feel it is right at the moment, and the pics on NFED forum of the foal at 5 weeks old are of a decent and otherwise healthy looking foal. She has said she has spoken to a dentist who isn't at all optimistic, but it would be a vet not dentist doing the surgery.

I'm torn on my opinion of this one, but I do worry that the owner is wearing slightly rose-tinted specs.
 
junglediva said:
i would have put him to sleep as soon as i saw him. you may not like this but there is plenty of other things to spend 4000 pound on that will come to great use other than spending it on fixing a nose for a horse and they probably will still have further surgeries to get it right when hes older. appart from out of pity nobody will ever buy him and he probably will have difficulty when hes older with a bit in his mouth. so basically all theyr doin is raising 4000 to make his nose look a little better and then hel be chucked in a field for the rest of his life which means hel b as usefull as he would b dead. thats just my opinion. x
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Well, that's depressed me for the remainder of the evening.

Poor foaly. Also, typical of the Daily Fail to twist the story.
I say good luck to the owner for wanting to give Diego a good life. It can't be an easy decision to make and I hope things work out for Diego, whatever the owner decides.
 
How ridiculous. Put the poor thing to sleep while he can still 'eat' and is happy.

The surgeries required to fix that level of deformity would be hugely stressful and painful for a young foal, and recovery would be even more so. I wouldn't want to go through that (in fact, i did of sorts and it was hell), even being able to see that things will get better. Which this little guy won't be able to do. He won't be thinking 'It will be worth this torture in the end' He will be thinking 'i'm so sore and hungry and fed up' for a long time.

How did they ever let him get this old, it would obviously be harder to pts after you've had chance to become attached. Yet, look, it still needs doing.
 
The foal is theirs and at the end of the day the decision to put it down or put it though an op is theirs to make but....

Why are they asking everyone else to fund it?

They are not a charity where the money raised would be helping lots of horses and ponies. They are a private breeder.
 
hudsonw said:
The foal is theirs and at the end of the day the decision to put it down or put it though an op is theirs to make but....

Why are they asking everyone else to fund it?

They are not a charity where the money raised would be helping lots of horses and ponies. They are a private breeder.
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are they asking for everyone else to fund it- dont think so, they want to raise the cash in whatever way they can and good luck to them- brave people!
 
How on earth do they feel its going to have a "healthy" life?

It wouldn't have lasted 24hrs here..

I would then have fostered a viable foal that stood a decent chance of a healthy life.
 
How can any-one justify the pain, confusion and lack of normal life that this foal would undergo if the necessary operations were to take place?
IMO this should be the over-riding consideration, all the rest about letting the child get attached, the involvement of the press (which seems to have followed the OP on NFED) and the possibility, or otherwise, of funding the treatment through appeals is by the by.
I speak from experience, as we lost our first foal and I have in the past opted to PTS an adult horse rather than subject it to to a 'possibly successful' operation and the prospect of prolonged box-rest. I would definitely do the same again and would definitely pts this foal. I wouldn't have waited 'til weaning either, mares usually get over the loss very quickly. They have to in the wild, or they leave themselves open to predators.
 
At the end of the day every owner should make the final decision for themselves following advice from their own vet as they are the ones that know the full details. I do agree with a lot of comments that say they should also fund any operation/after care themselves as any of us breeders/horse owners would have to.

I have personal experience of this problem as a friend of mine has had a foal born with this earlier this year. The day after the foal was born a very experienced equine reproductive vet examined the foal and also spoke to our local equine hospital senior partner.

The foal was managing to get enough to drink from mum but wasnt able to make a full vaccum on the teat so was only getting 70% of milk sucked (rest was wasted). At this point the foal was in general good health.

It was decided that the foal would never be able to graze properly.

An operation was discussed but it would have to be done sooner rather than later and the foal would have metalwork sticking out of its head - meaning it couldnt drink from mum so would have to be bottle fed and 1 operation may not be sufficient.

Following a lot of discussion the decision was made to PTS as this was the best for the foal. If anything could have been done the money would have been spent.

The mare then did go on to foster a foal who had lost his mum with colic and just yesterday was scanned back in foal.

It is always a very hard decision to make but sometimes it's the right one and I wish this owner good luck over this matter.
 
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