Foal appears to have wet himself laying down?

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DuckToller

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i have a rather poorly foal - I noticed he was lethargic and miserable around lunchtime. I saw him stale (or at least appear to, I was too far away) but he looked uncomfortable, so called the vet and got mum and son in.

Once in the stable he passed a decent amount of light coloured urine, and then when the vet got here, an hour later, he staled again and it was a longish one.

Vet observed, listened to gut etc, checked he wasn't dehydrated, and took bloods - awaiting to see if it shows anything. He drank the fresh stable water, but didn't want to suckle, and mare was leaking milk like a sieve, which makes me think he hadn't suckled for a good few hours.

He had respiration rate of around 70 when I did it, and vet said around 55-60 when she did it (probably more accurate). Temp of 39.5. Vet administered finadyne and antibiotics being picked up from tomorrow.

While vet was still here watching him he brightened up (thanks to the anti-inflammatory she thought), and then he suckled. Still looked uncomfortable, stood bottom to the stable wall and rather tucked up, then eventually laid down.

When I went to see him just now, he had got up and was quite lively, and wanted to share her feed. But I noticed he had a huge urine stain on the inside of his thight which had spread to the outside, as if he had wet himself.

Do they do that sometimes?
 
Oh dear! So sorry to hear your wee lad isn't well! Sounds like he's picked up an infection of some sort. I have seen foals wetting themselves once or twice, and from what I can remember they had both been off colour, one with mild colic and the other, sadly, brain damaged. Has he pooped at all?
 
Have you seen him urinate correctly? Did the vet examine the umbilical chord for any sepsis or hernia?
 
If the foal is drinking water and to the point where milk from the mare is running down her legs because he isn't feeding from her, then that would rather worry me. I also wonder if there have been any changes of routine. I understand that when tested he showed no signs of dehydration, but wonder if he may have some sort of heatstroke if he's been out in this unusual heat-wave. Sorry, just stabbing in the dark!

From the behaviour which you describe, he sounds a touch colicy and I'm wondering how he is this morning.

Alec.
 
Apologies everyone - I don't come on here much these days and it's very rude of me to ask a question then disappear!

He is feeling very much better after starting antibiotics and a shot of finadyne. Bloods have come back indicating some sort of infection, and because he also had raised or low potassium levels (I can't remember which :) ) vet now wants me to try to catch some urine as she thinks it could be a kidney infection. She came again yesterday to take more bloods and he fought hard so obviously feeling better.

Just so very annoying as there appears no good reason for this. It was a much cooler day here when he was poorly, and it was very sudden. He was charging around Sunday evening and barely moving Monday mid day. Foals - who'd breed one!

I was much reassured though that other foals have sometimes wet themselves, so thanks for the feedback.
 
Thank you for returning DT! I'm also pleased to read that the foal seems to be on the mend. The worry with foals is that when they go downhill they do so all so often with lightening speed and I'm sure that your vet's immediate intervention has resulted in a turn-around.

Well done and may the progress continue. As for breeding, I wouldn't worry too much, we've all had the odd fright and if we need reminding, we should never ignore what is clearly wrong thinking that the foal will recover by itself, because generally they don't.

Alec.
 
So glad to hear he's doing better. You did exactly the right thing, and please don't be put off - breeding is so rewarding and while we all will come across disappointments or worries along the way, the whole process can be so much fun, although often scary!

What has heartened me since joining the forum here is the way folks are approaching the whole process. While some of us are coping with rescues and all of the issues and joys they bring, those of us who are planning to breed do so with much forethought, research and long-term plans for their various babies-to-be. And while the best laid plans of horse breeding sometimes go awry, and we might get a horse intended as an eventer who steadfastly refuses to walk over a pole let alone jump anything, we take it in our stride and discover where our babies' talents lie.

That's what I love about it - the challenges and rewards are often unforeseen, but hey - that's life! :D
 
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