Yearling filly in foal. Help needed.

[Mrs. Jingle]

'''''''''''Me and my friend have no experiance in breeding so would like all the advice we can get in ensuring the filly and the foal inside are as healthy as possible..'''''''''''

OP I quote the above from your original post, if you and your friend want to ensure that this young filly remains healthy and has a viable future, I repeat, please have your vet abort the unborn foal. You haven't answered the question about WHY this foal can't be aborted, what has your vet said about this then to arrive at the conclusion you have?

Nobody is looking down on you (well I'm not obviously can't talk for other posters here), but to become defensive when you are given extremely good advice and warned of the negative side of trying to force this filly to continue to full term, will of course make people suspicious of your genuine intent with this filly. Please reconsider and make the filly's well being priority and ask your vet for his/her support in terminating the unwanted and very risky pregnancy and care of the filly for the next chapter in her sorry little life.

 

[sallyf]

Yes absolutely you asked for advice and I have given you the best advice which is to abort the foal.
Absolute twaddle that foal cannot be aborted simply.
In fact I know someone that pg'd a mare that they were unaware was in foal that then aborted at 9 months with no issue.
Mare had been turned out in one of there fields after coming out of training ,it seems there was an escapologist welshie colt next door.
Anyway going back to the mare I foaled a 2 year old for someone a number of years ago that had been bought from the side of the road as a rescue case.
She suddenly developed a bag after being fed for the winter and I suspected she was in foal which vet confirmed.
Filly foaled fine although it was a hard foaling as the foal was large.
It ruined the filly though she never went on to do anything useful and ended up being put down by the time she was 4.
I think being poor and in foal had caused her to have growth problems.
The foal also never went on to be anything useful either and was actually a real nuisance as the mare had never taught it any manners being a baby herself.
It really depends what your friend wants to achieve out of it in the end.

 

[TheTrotter.]

Please can I PM someone on here? I really don't know what to do, but don't want to discuss openly on here..

 

[FionaM12]

Here, you say she does not want to have the foal, and now you say that she does not want to abort it. If she does not want to have the foal, and her vet has told her aborting the foetus is not possible, please have her ask her vet to consult with a specialist. I'm not sure why the recommendations here have suddenly changed how she feels from not wanting a foal to wanting a foal...?

I'm making an educated guess here that the owner (who I'm guessing is also the OP) fancies the idea of a cute new foal so won't agree with aborting.

 

[TheTrotter.]

I'm making an educated guess here that the owner (who I'm guessing is also the OP) fancies the idea of a cute new foal so won't agree with aborting.

This is not the case.

 

[Meowy Catkin]

It ruined the filly though she never went on to do anything useful and ended up being put down by the time she was 4.

This is well worth quoting.

Your number one priority is the health of the filly. Please do the right thing by her.

 

[FionaM12]

Please can I PM someone on here? I really don't know what to do, but don't want to discuss openly on here..

Maesfen is a very experienced breeder I believe, and is online I think.

 

[Meowy Catkin]

Please can I PM someone on here? I really don't know what to do, but don't want to discuss openly on here..

PM Maesfen as she is very experienced, kind and I'm sure that she wont mind.

 

[FionaM12]

This is not the case.

I'm sorry if I'm wrong, but that's how it looks. No explanation has been given as to why she can't abort.

 

[sallyf]

welcome to pm me if you want advice I own/run a large stud with many years experience

 

[Maesfen]

Yes I am and willing to help if I can; there is also Sallyf, AJBliss and others that have answered both of your threads.

 

[Mrs. Jingle]

You are more than welcome to pm me OP - but I am not an experienced breeder, having only bred a couple of home mares in my lifetime. I could only reiterate what I have already said. So probably not much help to you.

 

[TheTrotter.]

Have PM'd Maesfen. Thankyou everyone, I'm sorry for becoming so defensive. I'm just really upset about the whole situation...

 

[AJBliss]

Best of luck! None of us bite, we just all have this filly's best interests at heart, and can't help but advocate for her welfare. I'm sure Maesfen will give you sound practical advice, and I hope you'll be able to help your friend and her horse.

 

[FionaM12]

Have PM'd Maesfen. Thankyou everyone, I'm sorry for becoming so defensive. I'm just really upset about the whole situation...

That's understandable, if you really are posting on behalf of a friend who is making a poor decision about the unfortunate filly. You are in a difficult situation. I hope she does the right thing.

 

[sallyf]

Best of luck! None of us bite, we just all have this filly's best interests at heart, and can't help but advocate for her welfare. I'm sure Maesfen will give you sound practical advice, and I hope you'll be able to help your friend and her horse.

Absolutely all we want to do is help

 

[Maesfen]

Have replied to your PM.

To others, please can you back off a bit, they're between a rock and a hard place and is only trying to do their best. I can say the situation is not of their making but one they've got lumbered with if that helps.

 

[Spring Feather]

I've replied to your other post in the Lounge. Abort would be first choice for me, but if you aren't going to abort then the filly needs to be on a high protein diet now in order for her to carry this foal without detriment to herself. Once she's foaled you will definitely need to speak to an independent nutrionist and find out the levels of feed you'll need to give the filly in order for her to feed the foal and her own growing body, othewise she'll end up looking like a coat rack in no time at all. Tell your friend to be prepared to have to spend a very decent sum of money each week to feed this filly once she's foaled, it isn't cheap keeping a regular broodmare in tip top condition let alone a 2 year old dam with a suckling foal at foot.

 

[Meowy Catkin]

I really hope that everything goes well OP.

 

[mynutmeg]

Abort if at all possible would my first, second and third choices, if thats simply not a choice then feed, feed and feed is the most important thing as you need to feed for both the filly's growth and the growth of the foal.
I would recommend the Top Spec nutrition line as I got very good, independant advice from them but also phone 3 or 4 of the feed companies and talk to several of the nutritionists about the best sort of feeding for this poor little filly.
As per Spring Feather this filly is going to cost a lot to feed both now and once she's foaled - you may need to supplement the foal quite early on as well as I'd be surprised if a 2 year old would be able to produce enough milk to feed a foal properly AND have enough left to grow herself.

The other thing is that this will more than likely set the filly back so be prepared not to do any backing until she's at least 4 rather than the more normal 3 year old as she will take time to catch up on lost growth.

If possible get her on livery at a stud or similar as it will be of enourmous benefit for the filly to be in with more experienced broodmares.

Good luck with the pair of them and whatever else you do make sure she is watched like a hawk at foaling time, as her small size will put her at more risk of complications.