March Newsletter
Our first foal to be admitted to the clinic returned to the farm this morning, what a relief. So far, we have had a very blessed foaling season, with few complications and healthy foals and mothers. However, I was reminded of this fortune and appreciation for our veterinarians earlier this week.
As you likely know, horses have an eleven-month gestation, meaning they should give birth eleven months following their last breeding date. This year it seems that most mares are carrying longer, in fact we are still waiting for a mare to foal who was last bred on February 22nd. 2024…she’s now six weeks overdue!
One thing you will learn in agriculture is you are at the mercy of nature. When she is ready to foal, she will, and so far she hasn’t had the inkling…so we wait.
Through the years we have learned how to affect nature. In the 1960’s, veterinarians hypothesized that a mare’s estrous cycle could be manipulated by their exposure to light at nighttime. Mimicking the effects of longer spring days, farms began bringing mares, not in foal, into the barn at night and turning the lights on. Their hypothesis bore true, and it catalyzed their ovulatory cycle. This led to greater conception rates because they effectively lengthened the breeding season thus giving more opportunities to breed.
Similarly, vaccinations have been developed to mitigate several causes of miscarriage and early sickness in foals. Many of our mares are participating in a clinical trial for the Rotavirus B vaccine. Rotavirus A having an effective vaccine, now we are working to develop a vaccine for Rotavirus B, which causes aggressive diarrhea in newborns and has been prevalent these past few years.
Along the same lines, we started measuring placenta thickness starting at 8 months of pregnancy and following along every 30 days until foaling. This is an effort to treat placentitis, when it can be most effective. Placentitis is inflammation of the placenta and can cause pregnancy loss, early term birth, or poor foal development. We have had a significant reduction in placentitis since implanting this practice.
While we work every day to avoid the hospital for our horses, when we need it, we sure are relieved it is there. This was our reminder this week, when one of our mares had a foaling that resulted in a “red bag” birth. This type of foaling occurs when the placenta prematurely separates from the uterus at the time of birth. In doing so the foal does not receive oxygen during the birth process, because their umbilical cord is no longer attached to their mother through the placenta. As a result, the foal is at a great risk of not surviving. Upon presentation of a “red bag” our foaling team immediately jumps into action to get the foal out and with oxygen as soon as possible.
The foal immediately responded to oxygen on the farm, which gave us hope. However, after 30 minutes it didn’t continue to improve and we made the call to get it to the clinic, where they can provide the best continuous care.
I arrived at the clinic about 90 minutes after our mare and foal were admitted. As I approached, another mare and foal were being admitted. To see a mare get off the van followed by their foal being carried in stretcher, is very humbling. I found our mare and foal in the hospital’s stall and was relieved to see the brightness in the foal’s eye and pride in mama. I know 90 minutes prior; our mare and foal were being admitted in a similar fashion. It’s a very unique emotion, one of tremendous fear of the unknown and relief knowing mare and foal are in the best place with the greatest care in the world.
To see our mare and foal come back to the farm today brings a smile to our face and excitement in our hearts, dreaming what he may become.
We hope you all have had a peaceful winter, with spring around the corner we hope you will come see us, at the farm or in the winner’s circle!
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