I was going to post pics of Prize last night but blogger hated me. Check out our Facebook page to see pics of Prize standing up. Here's just one pic of Prize. He's one day old in this photo. Can't believe he's two days old already.
have you had an equine veterinarian evaluate mama and baby? I saw on your facebook that you didn't think baby was getting enough milk. did a Vet see them yet? Would you like DoubleHP to try to raise some vet money through our 501c3 so they could go to Dakota Large Animal Clinic? or maybe you've had them there already?
I saw on your facebook that you didn't think there is enough milk. would you like DoubleHP to try to raise some vet money through our 501c3, so they could go to dakota large animal clinic, or maybe you've had them there already? or maybe you've had a different equine vet look at them already?
I talked with our vet. There is no way to handle momma at this point. She is very protective of baby. We have two options. 1. Give momma meds so she produces more milk. 2. Bottle feed baby.
We are giving momma meds for the next five days. The meds are supposed to make her produce more milk. And by actually feeding her maybe she'll be able to produce.
We tried bottle feeding baby without any luck. If he were away from momma completely, there is a chance he might nurse but we aren't set up to separate and if she is producing milk, I don't want to take baby away.
We'll continue to monitor the situation and keep everyone posted.
The reason I asked is because if she is picky about her hay, as some emaciated horses are, we have several different kinds here if you would like to try any of it. We have some really soft alfalfa, a couple different kinds of grass, and some mix.
To answer your questions: we take emaciated horses to an equine practitioner/vet the day of the rescue, as most reputable rescue organizations do. To determine if the poor body condition is a matter of lack of food alone. Or if there are other reasons: parasite load (easy to check with a fecal exam), needed dental work (also easy to check), perhaps a blood draw so we have a baseline on numbers in case things start to go downhill. We would also do a preg. check if we were not sure on that. So that if the emaciated mare were pregnant, we could get her started on really good feed for her condition. A few years ago we had one emaciated mare who was just miserable. A very picky eater. broken hip, respiratory probs, yearling at her side, and about to foal again, in her emaciated condition. situation much like yours. We couldn't tell she was pregnant because she had a BCS of one. But the vet's preg. test confirmed it. We tried many different kinds of hay and finally got her to eat a nice soft alfalfa/orchard grass mix. Plus we found some vet-recommended specialty feed that she just loved and that really started to put the weight on her. The pasture did wonders for her but she just hated the bugs so when the bugs were bothering her she preferred to be in the barn eating her hay. So basically we fed her what she would eat, as long as the Vet said it was ok to feed her that. Since she was so close to foaling, we were instructed to keep excellent quality hay in front of her 24/7 and if she wouldn't eat that we were to try some different prepared feeds that the Vet would recommend. Luckily we found some hay that she liked, and the pasture. but still did feed her some of the special pregnant mare feed in the bags. stuff the equine vet recommended. She did have a healthy baby and always had plenty of milk. Probably because we knew she was pregnant due to the vet preg. test on rescue day, so we started feeding her accordingly right away. From your posts it sounds like you don't know what else to do and aren't sure if the foal is getting enough nutrition from mama. We are here to help. I'm sure we could raise some money and find someone to "handle" the mare to get them to the vet clinic. Or have a horse vet come to your place. Our horse vets have handled wild horses for us. big ones and little ones. And they work with mares and foals every day. hundreds of them. If an equine vet has not yet evaluated the mare and foal, it is premature to say there is nothing left to do. And there is always a way to handle a mare. So if you want help, please let us know. If you aren't sure the foal is getting proper nutrition, you really should have it checked out. And any time you have an emaciated horse, you should have an equine vet evaluate it. Actually examine the horse, not just talk about it. That way, if the horse dies, you can say that despite everything you did that the equine vet told you to do, it was too late to help the mare, her neglect from before her rescue was just too severe and it was too late; and then, as long as you had been working with an equine veterinarian trying to help the horse, you will be respected as a rescuer. Once again, if you would like our help in getting the mare and foal examined by an equine veterinarian, we will help. just let us know. DoubleHP. 359-0961 or email doublehphorses@alliancecom.net
have you had an equine veterinarian evaluate mama and baby? I saw on your facebook that you didn't think baby was getting enough milk. did a Vet see them yet? Would you like DoubleHP to try to raise some vet money through our 501c3 so they could go to Dakota Large Animal Clinic? or maybe you've had them there already?
ReplyDeleteI saw on your facebook that you didn't think there is enough milk. would you like DoubleHP to try to raise some vet money through our 501c3, so they could go to dakota large animal clinic, or maybe you've had them there already? or maybe you've had a different equine vet look at them already?
ReplyDeleteoh for goodness sake. you are right. blogger is acting up. told me the first one didn't go through.
ReplyDeleteI talked with our vet. There is no way to handle momma at this point. She is very protective of baby. We have two options.
ReplyDelete1. Give momma meds so she produces more milk.
2. Bottle feed baby.
We are giving momma meds for the next five days. The meds are supposed to make her produce more milk. And by actually feeding her maybe she'll be able to produce.
We tried bottle feeding baby without any luck. If he were away from momma completely, there is a chance he might nurse but we aren't set up to separate and if she is producing milk, I don't want to take baby away.
We'll continue to monitor the situation and keep everyone posted.
what is mama eating? how is she eating? ok? is she eating pretty much nonstop, or not so good? 20 lbs a day? 30? more?
ReplyDeletegentlereins - Good questions. What do you feed your emaciated nursing mare? And how well does she eat?
ReplyDeleteThe reason I asked is because if she is picky about her hay, as some emaciated horses are, we have several different kinds here if you would like to try any of it. We have some really soft alfalfa, a couple different kinds of grass, and some mix.
ReplyDeleteTo answer your questions: we take emaciated horses to an equine practitioner/vet the day of the rescue, as most reputable rescue organizations do. To determine if the poor body condition is a matter of lack of food alone. Or if there are other reasons: parasite load (easy to check with a fecal exam), needed dental work (also easy to check), perhaps a blood draw so we have a baseline on numbers in case things start to go downhill. We would also do a preg. check if we were not sure on that. So that if the emaciated mare were pregnant, we could get her started on really good feed for her condition. A few years ago we had one emaciated mare who was just miserable. A very picky eater. broken hip, respiratory probs, yearling at her side, and about to foal again, in her emaciated condition. situation much like yours. We couldn't tell she was pregnant because she had a BCS of one. But the vet's preg. test confirmed it. We tried many different kinds of hay and finally got her to eat a nice soft alfalfa/orchard grass mix. Plus we found some vet-recommended specialty feed that she just loved and that really started to put the weight on her. The pasture did wonders for her but she just hated the bugs so when the bugs were bothering her she preferred to be in the barn eating her hay. So basically we fed her what she would eat, as long as the Vet said it was ok to feed her that. Since she was so close to foaling, we were instructed to keep excellent quality hay in front of her 24/7 and if she wouldn't eat that we were to try some different prepared feeds that the Vet would recommend. Luckily we found some hay that she liked, and the pasture. but still did feed her some of the special pregnant mare feed in the bags. stuff the equine vet recommended. She did have a healthy baby and always had plenty of milk. Probably because we knew she was pregnant due to the vet preg. test on rescue day, so we started feeding her accordingly right away.
From your posts it sounds like you don't know what else to do and aren't sure if the foal is getting enough nutrition from mama.
We are here to help.
I'm sure we could raise some money and find someone to "handle" the mare to get them to the vet clinic.
Or have a horse vet come to your place. Our horse vets have handled wild horses for us. big ones and little ones. And they work with mares and foals every day. hundreds of them.
If an equine vet has not yet evaluated the mare and foal, it is premature to say there is nothing left to do. And there is always a way to handle a mare.
So if you want help, please let us know.
If you aren't sure the foal is getting proper nutrition, you really should have it checked out.
And any time you have an emaciated horse, you should have an equine vet evaluate it. Actually examine the horse, not just talk about it. That way, if the horse dies, you can say that despite everything you did that the equine vet told you to do, it was too late to help the mare, her neglect from before her rescue was just too severe and it was too late; and then, as long as you had been working with an equine veterinarian trying to help the horse, you will be respected as a rescuer.
Once again, if you would like our help in getting the mare and foal examined by an equine veterinarian, we will help. just let us know. DoubleHP. 359-0961 or email doublehphorses@alliancecom.net
Thank you for your offer of help.
ReplyDelete