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Mare dies after foaling. What happened?

17K views 21 replies 17 participants last post by  IheartPheobe 
#1 ·
We had a 14yrs old broodmare who has had two foals previous to this one without complications. For the past week she had developed her udder and her belly dropped. Usually a solid 24 hrs before she foals she becomes very restless, agitated with other horses and her teats wax up.

This morning my mom went to the barn and she had already had her foal, which shocked us seeing as the usual signs were not apparent. I got a phone call saying the mare was not good.

Basically to describe the scene, she was lethargic. She had no idea where she was (stall walls etc) sweating, shaking, shallow and laboured breathing. She couldnt walk,best description is that she resembled a drunk. We hurried to get the foal out of the way seeing as she looked like she was about to collapse.

When the vet finally arrived he said for sure he thought it was a ruptured artery but seeing as she was still alive he doubted his first thoughts. He then checked her and said nothing seemed wrong internally. He played with the idea that maybe she hit her head while foaling and gave her an anti-inflammatory.

Long story short, we rushed to get the foal to a surogate. Our mare had dried up so obtaining colotrum was near impossible. Just before we loaded the foal things went bad. She started what looked like convulsing, frothing at the mouth, eyes rolling. We knew she was on her way out. By this time the vet had already left and said "Call me if shes still alive when you get back."

I watched her for a minute. She fell against the wall, than to the ground, where she stayed. Her gums and tongue were white as snow. Before she went down she was running into the stall walls, unable to coordinate herself.

While we were with the foal and the surogate mare, my aunt called saying she stayed with her when she died.

This whole experience is utterly painful and bewildering. Ive had this horse for 14 years. She has never been ill nor lame. She was a trooper. Period.

The foal is doing well. He has lots of spunk and the surogate took him no questions asked.

I'm just wondering if anyone has any idea what could have happened? Her condition went from iffy, to bad. Stayed bad, than spiraled down hill all in the span of 5 hours(ish). The last we were told by the vet, he called a specialist who said that her blood pressure may have sky rocketed while foaling causing something to burst.

Any insight into what caused this would be very much appreciated. Thank you.
 
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#6 ·
See the first thing the vet did was examine her for internal injuries. He said as far as he could tell nothing was seriously wrong. Im just so... I dont know, flabergasted? I almost believe it had something to do with maybe her hitting her head or injuring her spine while foaling. I dont now, everything route just doesnt add up to the end result.
 
#7 ·
From those mare signs it is shock of some sort. The usual cause is blood loss. I suspect what the vet suspected at first. Just because he could not find a rupture doesn't mean it didn't exist.

If that is the case and is my best guess there would be nothing you could have done and you did everything you could.

Sorry for your loss. Are you planning on having the mare examined?
 
#9 ·
im very sorry for your mare. I hope the foal is doing well.
 
#14 ·
I too am sorry for your loss, devastating isn't a strong enough word.
However, DO have a necropsy done, to rule out anything at all, as there are certain "other" conditions that vaguely resemble this scenario. I would want to ensure the foal has nothing carried on...

"If you
don't know what it is, then you can't know what it isn't" (My Father used to say that, rings true once too many times)
 
#16 ·
I would definitely want a necrospy. Sounds like blood loss/shock or possibly a stroke? Maybe a blood clot? No matter what you think it might be, I'd want to know for sure. Our state vet lab charged us $180 for necropsy and disposal (we hauled the horse there, didn't require blood work up or slides). It was well worth the $$.
 
#18 ·
I have nothing to say about the situation. But I'm very very sorry about your mare. :cry:
 
#19 ·
I had brought up the possibility of a necropsy with my mom later on yesterday. She said she would rather have her go with dignity and not all cut up. I think everyone was too much in shock to have acutally made any decisions. Also my grandpa (who owns the farm and who has part ownership of the broodmare, hes 87) said he really doesnt want her body to be disturbed. Seeing as he probably wont make it till his nextn birthday, I left it at that.

The foal is doing well. The surogate mares owner calls us whenever something new happens. He's figured out how to nurse by himself. (this is a standardbred foal with a belgium mare lol). I'm going to be seeing him today with a camera. Hopefully ill get pictures.

Yesterday seems like such a bad dream. Last night it finally hit me of the days events and I dont ever think ive had a break down like that. Today, it all feels like a nightmare. Its very werid. Its very rare that I loose an animal that was so close and dear to my heart. I grew up with her for 14yrs. Rode her in a riding lesson while she was racing, I could do anything with her. After this foal she was going to be my riding horse, and believe me I day dreamed of all the stuff we would do. Now its just, over.

Sorry for my rambling. Most of my horsey friends are off to school so there very few people I know who understand how close you can get with these animals, and how traumatic it is when they leave us.
 
#20 · (Edited)
My sympathies xkatex:cry:. I think we all wish that when our friends do finally leave us, it will be a peaceful event, and that we get to spend as much time as possible while together before that time comes. Sadly, like your girl, cruelly, that time can be cut short. I lost a mare very close to my heart 2 years ago now. She was the same age as yours when she left me (and my folks), and we'd grown up together as well. I only wish we'd had more time together. Unfortunately these things, horrible things do happen. It does sound as if something went wrong during the birth, something we all dread. While it might be of interest if there was the option to determine her cause of death, the fact is that things can go wrong from conception to birth with any living organism. There's an amount of risk with every case. I am very sorry for your loss, and hope that the foal continues to do well. I can't imagine the somewhat odd series of emotions you and your family must be enduring during this time. It sounds a bitterly sweet sad time. :-(
 
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