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Lost baby- Mostly just a vent

2K views 16 replies 13 participants last post by  Jan1975 
#1 ·
So my 5 year old had the unfortunate experience of finding a deceased baby foal yesterday. Thankfully she didn't put it together that it came from her pony. I am so upset, mostly with myself, for missing this. We bought the pony in November and the @#&^% made NO mention of her possibly being bred. The pony did start to get pretty round after about the 2nd month we had her and I received a stern talking to from a lady about "killing her with love". I really just hung my head and said I know because the little pony was just so darn sweet with my daughter that she got a lot of treats on top of her feed. So I backed off the treats and feed-she did slim down a bit. The back story on the pony is: She showed up on Facebook-a women pleading for some one to buy her because the womens husband lost their debit card and they didn't have money for themselves much less the horses. The pony was 6 and not broke-we absolutely didnt need it. But she was very pretty and white and I knew my daughter would love her. I just crossed my fingers she was at least good enough for my daughter to handle. (I know it was irresponsible but I knew I could give her a good home and and felt bad-I just hoped the little horse wasn't crazy). Well the little horse is far from crazy-she is actually incredibly sweet and it took next to nothing to break her. My daughter is still super timid so doesnt ride her much but just loves her, brushes her and cleans her feet. So I feel like she is learning great lessons with this little horse and the little horse is worth her weight in gold to us. So fast forward to yesterday Shelby goes to get her and makes the grim discovery. The little horse was fine- I called the vet whom said it sounded like there was really no reason to come out. I cleaned her up, buried the baby and kept an eye on her. The person I got her from gave me a hundred excuses of how it could have happened and how slim the chances were. So I am SO mad because number one had the person told me there was a teeny tiny chance she was pregnant I would have her checked by the vet and number two this kind of "accident" is why there are so many horses at slaughter. I am heartbroken that the little horse didnt get what she needed and I take full responsibility for not having her vet checked but that #*@@^% NEEDS to acknowledge how irresponsible she is. She has since passed off 3 more horses that ultimately probably have no future and I just cringe. ok, rant over-I didnt mean for that to be so long....:neutral:
 
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#3 ·
I’m so sorry you and your family had to go through this. Unfortunately there will always be people out there who have more animals than they can handle, and let those animals create even more animals without thought or regard to where they will end up. I wish there was an easier way to permanently spay mares, I think it would do a really great job of reducing the number of “accidental” horses out there while also eliminating horses carrying real personality, conformation, or genetic faults from the gene pool.

I am glad that your mare is okay, and your daughter as well after finding it- and that your mare has a safe, loving home away from her previous circumstances!

Also, sounds more like this person doesn’t have money, period. Losing a debit card means…you go to the bank and get another one. It doesn’t mean you can’t withdraw money, it just means the card gets cancelled and a new one re-issued.
 
#5 ·
I just wanted to say I knew there had to be some way for them to get to their money-I'm just a push over. I knew and told my husband it wasn't very smart to buy her in the first place. She could have been crazy-but she wasn't. I think we got lucky with her and I will not give irresponsible people any more money-but at least it turned out good for her.
The foal wasn't fully developed-I'm sure it wasn't born alive. Was it because I backed off her food? because the kids rode her? did she get kicked? I just cant say-but I am very sorry I didn't do-right by her. There is no telling what the father was so I tell myself it was probably for the best. But it was a very sad non the less.....
 
#10 ·
So if she has Herpes she wouldn't be good for breeding?? I have often wondered why she would part with this little mare. She had several other horses it seems like she could have sold. This little one has papers and is so well mannered I wondered why she picked her to get rid of.....


And thank yawl for the kind words
 
#9 ·
Natisha is absolutely right. Spontaneous abortions can happen for a multitude of reasons, and usually restricted feed is not one of them.

Quoting from an Australian vet site:

Possible causes include placentitis, viruses, twinning, poisonous plants, caterpillars, insufficient placentation, defects of the umbilical cord, and many more
Just like with people, sometimes there is just something wrong with the fetus, or it dies in-utero.
 
#11 ·
Most of the time it's just one of those things that you never know the answer to. I've had 2 different mares that aborted their foals early and then went on to have healthy ones. One thing that needs to be done is to check the mare to make sure she cleaned out. Did you have the vet check the placenta before you buried it? If not you'll probably need to take her in and have it done because any retained placenta can lead to serious problems. If you think you might want to breed her in the future they can do a culture to check for bacteria and other things.
 
#12 ·
How horrible - I'm sorry you had to go through this. Horses can have the best care in the world and still abort the pregnancy - there are a multitude of reasons this happens. I would take her to the vet, just to make sure there isn't any retained placenta or bacterial infections of any kind. It sounds like she has been lucky to find you and that you lucked out and got a good little pony out of the whole thing.
 
#13 ·
Something similar happened to me as a kid with a pony mare we bought at an auction, although the foal lived. I'm sorry this happened to you!
Ever watched Animal Cops on TV? The extremely malnourished horses rescued on that show have perfectly healthy foals most of the time. And I'm sure your pony was nowhere near malnourished. There was nothing you could do. Definitely don't blame yourself!
 
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#16 ·
So sorry for your loss. I just want to say that no, backing off on the feed absolutely would not have caused her to have a miscarriage. This is my mare when she arrive to me - two months off foaling. Not your fault, don't beat yourself up. At least you have a lovely little pony who has found a great home now.
 

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