Very Sad

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lcforster

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Our mare had a beautiful bay colt foal on Thursday 12/6, but she didn't like him - she attacked him with her teeth and heels, and we had to get the vet to sedate her so we could milk off her colostrum and feed it in a bottle! After about 6 hours she eventually let him suckle, as long as we held her (and him), but wouldn't let him feed otherwise! Lots of hard work meant that by Friday night she was letting him suckle on his own without us being there - so on Saturday afternoon we put them in the field - and she attacked him with her teeth - flat out across the field and knocked him over, they both went down and when he got up he couldn't put his leg down! We carried him back in and got the vet out who said he didn't think anything was broken, and to see how things went. Well things didn't get any better and we got them referred yesterday and after xraying his leg found his hind cannon bone was shattered - only held together by a very thin sliver of bone, which had hairline cracks and could "go" at any minute! There was no decision to be made really! But trying to get the mare back into the box without the foal, who she suddenly decided she couldn't be without was awful -the vet had to sedate her! Today she is in the field as though nothing has happened! We are all heartbroken - we bred the mare too!

The vet said to give her a couple of weeks and then start working her again - any one else had to go through this?
 
Oh what a terrible thing to have to go though. I am sorry for your loss.

I knew of a pony mare that was attacking its foal, the stud tried everything but the mare was having none of it. The foal was taken away and fostered by another mare.
 
Oh no - I am soo soo sorry for you. My friend's mare was similar at the start last year in that whenever baby went to nurse she tried to attack him but luckily for us she settled down.

My thoughts are with you!
 
I'm so sad to hear what you've been through, it must have been very traumatic. Was this her first foal? I'm trying to get my 2 mares in foal at the moment and when you hear these kind of stories it really makes you think about what can go wrong.

I really feel for you,

Sending a hug your way
 
Thank you all for your kind thoughts, its meant a lot to us. It was the mare's first foal, one of my daughters says don't breed from her again EVER and the other says just be more prepared next time - have the vet briefed and some sedation at the ready - she did seem to be taking to the foal by yesterday and may be if he had lived would have been OK. The mare is only 8, and is now going back to being an eventer - may be will try again in a few years after her eventing career is over. Thanks again for all your thoughts.
 
Our mare, who lost her foal only four weeks ago did her first ODE at the weekend at Solihull RC (Novice) - she had a great day, had to be stopped from going too fast! and finished on her (terrible) dressage score! She has been ridden and fittened up since losing the foal, and when I looked at her in the trailer after she finished she had a sparkle in her eye which hadn't been there whilst she was off work being a brood mare - I think she was trying to tell me something.
 
What an awful thing to happen.
Sadly no matter how we watch them sometimes things go wrong, we had a mare tread on one of her foals shortly after giving birth, that allowed an infection to get in and it later died of massive infection of it's shoulder, despite us treating it very quickly.
I think for some mares it takes a while for the instincts to kick in, if you breed from her again she will probably be fine next time, and of course you would watch her anyway no doubt.
We always allow the mare time with her foal after it's euthanised, as it seems to help, but by the sound of her she is recovering well.
I am so sorry you lost him, that is unusual in my experience, but perhaps others will have seen more agressive mares than me.
 
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