Mare off colour post foaling

Devonshire dumpling

Devonshire dumpling

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Our Shetland Mare has had difficult labours in the past and last one resulted in a C-section, so we were very cautious this year............

She delivered a week ago, no problems whatsover, vet checked mare and foal and all was well, she has been fussing over the her baby and not really getting down to proper feeding since birth, she is having hard feed and out day, was initially not passing droppings for a few days, but now its the opposite and shes loose, her foal isnt thriving compared to another foal born a week later, today she isn't really eating her hard feed, and her foal seems hungry, so think the milk is drying up, we are making sure her feed is very wet.

Taken her temp tonight and its 38.9, will be calling the vet tomorrow morning, does anyone have any advice or ideas?
 
Can you call the emergency Vet and talk it through with him/her? I wouldn't want to wait until tomorrow myself, but I am sitting here in front of my laptop reading. I may be over reacting from your post. :( I've no suggestions except get Vet advice but I hope the mare and foal are ok.
 
Thanks for the reply! I did speak to the vet who said make her food wet, , he's seen her a couple times as been around seeing other animals, she's not dire will wait for a call out tomorrow as not a bank holiday, defo not an emergency, just can't put my finger on what could be wrong with her, poor lass x
 
hunting mad said:
Did you check her placenta after foaling....she hasnt retained any??
I would be getting the vet to check ASAP
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Hi there,

Placenta was whole and vet was there, so also checked :-) Vet has seen her this week, and phoned today, said wet her food, he will be seeing her tomorrow morning, ... shes not worse today than she was yesterday, hard to put your finger on it, I will let you know what the vet says x
 
Without delaying until your vet visits I would milk off some via the upside down syringe method and give it the foal, if it seems hungry it probably is and will go down hill very fast.
When was the mare last wormed, it almost sounds as if that could be the reason for being off her food and if she were mine I would also put her on a probiotic to stabilise her gut. To check for infection keep taking her temperature.
That's slightly odd advice from your vet to me, if she has the runs wetting her food is hardly going to work?
Right now the foal should be your priority, without adequate nourishment you may lose it.
 
Firstly she needed plenty of fluid as she was not passing any droppings post labour, which is normal as they often don't eat properly for a few days prior to labour, as with any animal they need to drink drink drink when lactating and with the diarrhoea as well she needs fluid replaced, so this is why she is having wet food, its like a breastfeeding human you need plenty of fliuds on board, shes obviously got an infection, foal is well, belting around the field and being a loon, so really no need to express milk off mum. I will keep you updated, Vet coming shortly
 
I would consider any mare off colour post foaling to be an emergency. Do follow Henryhorn's advice - especially as goal is not thriving. I expect you've had the vet by now - keep us posted.
 
Devonshire dumpling said:
Firstly she needed plenty of fluid as she was not passing any droppings post labour, which is normal as they often don't eat properly for a few days prior to labour
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It can be normal (ish!) for them to get a bit backed up for a day or two post labour, droppings wise, but I wouldn't personally consider it normal for them to not eat. Our mares (shetlands mostly) have all had a nice big feed within an hour of foaling, and we keep them regularly fed for the next few days, and they all clear up beautifully.

Three years ago, I had a mare off-colour. No major symptoms. We had vet out within a few hours, she was admitted to vet hospital later the same day, and died 36 hours later. So personally, I consider any off-colour mare to be an emergency if I don't know what is wrong.

Equally, if I felt foal was hungry, as you've mentioned, then I would be enforcing a feed, milking mare, or giving supplemental milk made from powder.

I hope vet has been now, and your mare is feeling brighter.
 
Glad the foal has picked up, as in your earlier post you expressed concern it seemed hungry.
I probably wouldn't feed lots of wet food to a horse that already had extremely loose droppings, hence my question why this was advised.
I see in your earlier posts you are an experienced vet. nurse which could be why you aren't as concerned as perhaps others may be, but I hope you have caught the infection in time, infections after foaling can be horrible insideous things to fix..
 
Hey guys,

Mare has no temp (must have been stress related that night) has had some antibiotic cover/bute, she is is currently rugged up and grazing a little in the field, she won't eat in the stable, her baby is having formula twice a day and feeding off her the rest of the time, we think her gut is out of sorts from foaling and not eating properly etc, put her off food and foal taking all the goodness from her, shes had some glucose powder and bit perkier today, had a bit of a trot around the field earlier. Colour very pink, she tried to drink the foals milk earlier, so seems to want sweetness.
 
varkie said:
It can be normal (ish!) for them to get a bit backed up for a day or two post labour, droppings wise, but I wouldn't personally consider it normal for them to not eat. Our mares (shetlands mostly) have all had a nice big feed within an hour of foaling, and we keep them regularly fed for the next few days, and they all clear up beautifully.

Three years ago, I had a mare off-colour. No major symptoms. We had vet out within a few hours, she was admitted to vet hospital later the same day, and died 36 hours later. So personally, I consider any off-colour mare to be an emergency if I don't know what is wrong.

Equally, if I felt foal was hungry, as you've mentioned, then I would be enforcing a feed, milking mare, or giving supplemental milk made from powder.

I hope vet has been now, and your mare is feeling brighter.
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Sorry to hear about your Mare :-( did she have an infection? Horses die very fast from retained placentas etc, they aren't like cows and sheep x
 
is her body condition score high?
shetlands who are overweight at foaling can be prone to hyperlipaemia after foaling.Particularly if they arent eating enough feed after and are breaking down their body fats.Needs bloods to confirm though.
 
Devonshire dumpling said:
Sorry to hear about your Mare :-( did she have an infection? Horses die very fast from retained placentas etc, they aren't like cows and sheep x
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No, my mare didn't have an infection. When our mares foal, we check the placentas very carefully, and if we have any doubt any is missing, vet is called in & mares washed out, thankfully only had to do this twice over the years.

The mare had a four week old foal at foot when we lost her, so it wasn't directly the birth that was the problem. She died from liver failure, which brought on hyperlipaemia. It was believed that she had suffered liver damage before we bought her (we'd only had her for a year), and the strain on her body of feeding a foal & the birth caused her liver to tip over the edge. As it was, foal had been born three weeks early, which we'd found a bit odd. Once the liver went into failure, she stopped eating, and with the combination of that, and the ongoing feeding of the foal, it brought on hyperlipaemia. She was admitted to vet hospital, and had all the drugs & drips that could be given, but all the same, she was gone within 36 hours. And truly, her only symptom had been that she was a bit quiet in the field. Fine in the morning, quiet in the afternoon, vet called late afternoon, in hospital by the evening, dead 36 hours later, leaving us with an orphan to hand rear.

The happy side to this is that we still have her foal, a healthy 3 year old colt, about to take his stallion license this year, and he is absolutely beautiful, and utterly wonderful!
 
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