Questions..............

It's been a long tough day and my post is just not coming together so instead of serving up that mess I thought I'd ask a couple of questions. Hopefully some of you will have the answers to these.

Do you know what Acid Detergent Fiber is?

What about Neutral Detergent Fiber?

I know these are terms I could sure benefit from knowing more about. What about you?


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A Baby Boomer Dreams of Arabian Horses Part 10

Part 1

It's still amazing to me how fast foals grow and change. Within a month, a foal outgrows that newborn look. I read a statistic that said a horse does 70% of its growth in it's first year of life. I've never really tracked it to see how accurate it is against my own herd. I know that baby horses change so much that first year that it never ceases to amaze me.

My very first Arabian foal was no exception. He appeared to grow so fast sometimes it seemed he'd grown inches just over night. Luckily, I did know about growth issues in foals and I monitored him like a hawk making sure there were no problems with epiphisytis feeding him based on what I had learned working at the Arabian training and show horse barn. ( I also knew that foals were more susceptible to parasites than mature horses, so I did a good job with that.)

Today, I groan when I think about those days. Even with all the reading I did, there was so much I did not know. For example, I had no clue that baby horses don't see all that well. They come into the world seeing shadows and forms but not much clearer than that. It's days before they see as clearly as adult horses. In the meantime they rely on their mothers to see for them. When startled a newborn foal will instinctively push into its mother. If the horses are outside where they can run, the newborn foal will run right next to the mare's hip bumping into her from time to time. This assures the foal is on a safe route picked out by mom.

Now I know why breeding farms that use horse wire fencing still tend to have boards that run across the mid line, just about foal height. Newborns can't see wire fencing. About every vet I know has euthanized a newborn foal that's run into what's touted as horse safe wire fencing and broken its neck. Don't ask my why I didn't have a problem with my fencing with that first foal but I didn't. I didn't learn I had a problem until later.

In addition to my fencing, I also had a pond and a creek on my property. That first colt survived those things as well. To my knowledge he never took a swim as a baby in either one of those, but years later when I took him to a hydro tread for horses, he stepped off the ramp like a horse that knows how to swim. My guess is he learned it in that pond. Thank God, I didn't see his first swim in that pond, I would probably have had a stroke. With all the things I know I did wrong, it's amazing that darn colt turned out as well as he did.

Whatever happened to that first colt? Well, he's the gelding that my granddaughter, Rachel, is hoping to take to Youth Nationals this year. It still seems kind of surreal to me that the very first horse I ever bred turned out not only to be a top quality Arabian show horse but tall enough for me. I am nearly 6 feet tall and Dandy grew to be one quarter inch shy of 16 hands.

Next week my first foal ( now 17) is going to carry my first grandchild to learn to ride (Rachel) into the show ring at the Daffodil All Arabian Spring Show for her very first class A breed show. They will be showing in the 13 and under division. Wish I had my stall drapes done for Rising Rainbow Arabians. We're still working on getting her show clothes together and the finishing touches on her riding before the big event. It seems like a lifetime ago when I first saw his face and lamented he didn't have a star.

To be continued......

Part 11


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Mare Reproductive Loss Syndrome - Tent Caterpillars

Spring is here and as the new foals begin to arrive, they are not the only new young creatures showing up on the scene. Also beginning to hatch are the larvae of the Eastern Tent Caterpillars and Forest Tent Caterpillars. What does this have to do with your horse or my Arabian horses?

You may remember in 2001 there were a large number of thoroughbred foals dying in Kentucky and no one knew why. The problem was threatening the racehorse industry and it was imperative to the economy of the state that the reason behind the deaths be identified.

I remember hearing the stories about the dying foals and updates as the numbers of foals increased but don't recall ever hearing what was being done to solve the mystery

I also didn't hear that it wasn't just the thoroughbred farms but 17 other breeds of horses affected. At least one report states was not just limited to the one area of Kentucky. It spread over a number of states. By the time the epidemic ran it's course 4,000 mares had aborted with economic losses reaching $500 million.

The outbreak was catastrophic. The new stories covered the globe as concerns spread about threats to the world horse industry. The state department and FBI were involved wondering about the possibility of contagion associated with agri-terrorism

Mare Reproductive Loss Syndrome was the name given to the phenomenon that included death to fetuses in all stages of development and even foals born alive but dying. What does this have to do with Eastern Tent Caterpillars. Unveiling a Six-Legged Equine Assassin: Mare Reproductive Loss Syndrome describes how the caterpillar became suspect.

Studies were done that proved the caterpillars were the problem but still no one knew specifically why the caterpillars were killing the horse fetuses and foals.

"A series of studies over the next five years has subsequently revealed that horses will inadvertently eat the caterpillars and that the caterpillar hairs embed into the lining of the alimentary tract. Once that protective barrier is breached, normal alimentary tract bacteria may gain access to and reproduce in sites with reduced immunity, such as the fetus and placenta. Fetal death from these alimentary tract bacteria is the hallmark of MRLS. " Quote from MRLS: Eastern and Forest Tent Caterpillars Currently Feeding

The time is right for spraying for caterpillar larvae and keeping these pests out of horse pastures where they might be ingested. While the epidemic was restricted to the Kentucky area where the wild cherry trees this particular species of caterpillars thrives, it would seem to me that making sure that any kind of caterpillar larvae in any part of the country might be wise.

The Kentucky outbreak was what it was because of the large numbers of horses it affected and the economic impact to the horse industry. That's what spawned all the research. The numbers of the larvae were also larger than the norm which contributed to the disaster.

To date, no one's really looking at the effect across the board to horses in general that might ingest caterpillar larvae of any kind. It seems to me that MRLS could easily be the explanation for odd abortions across the country. While it may be a while before science catches up, I think spraying for caterpillars this time of year is a simple enough precautionary step to use to protect my Arabian horses just in case MRLS isn't just restricted to these two forms of caterpillars.
arabian horse arabian horses horses horse breeding

Sheath Cleaning for Geldings and Stallions - Arabian Horses

There's lots of discussion about whether the sheath of a male horse should be cleaned on a regular basis or not. And lots of people just have no clue that such a task should even be considered. So here is my two cents worth on the cleaning of sheathes in Arabian horses or any other male horses for that matter.

I think that the question of to clean or not to clean can be directly affected by the enviroment of the horse. My horses are all stalled so I don't know anything about the status of outside horses, but I find the tidy horses don't need cleaning like the untidy ones. I also found that for the brief period of time that we used pellets for bedding, I had more sheath related problems than on white shavings. Cedar shavings also cause problems here. That leads me to believe that the status of irritants withing the horse's sheath is directly related to what he lays down in.

A squeaky clean penis at all times is not good for the horse. He needs the natural lubricants provided by smegma. However dirt, sand and other debris are attracted and trapped by the smegma and are as big a problem as a lack of natural lubricants. Foreign matter in the smegma can also alter it's usefullness. What that means is you have to judge each horse on it's individual circumstances. All male horses should probably be checked once or twice a year to see what their individual status might be.

Some horses are more sensitive to cleaning than others. Usually the light skin is more sensitive than dark skin. Red skin in an area that should be light skin indicates irritation and should be cleaned but gently.

To minimize soreness and swelling, use a good sheath cleaner and let it set and soften up the smegma. If the smegma is stuck forcing it to come loose will make the horse sore. It takes longer to keep applying the cleaner and allowing it to sit but in the long run the horse will be more comfortable.

When cleaning the sheath it is important to look for a bean. The bean is a pale, kidney-shaped accumulation of smegma in a small pouch just inside the urethra. So looking at the end of the horse's penis you will see the opening (urethra) in the center. All around it is a small pouch, the bean will be in there. Pushing gently with the end of your thumb into that pouch will usually push it up and out.

Some horses will drop to be cleaned, others will not and some will only drop partially. Some people let their vet do the cleaning. Others get a tranquilizer from their vet so they can do the cleaning themselves. I prefer to teach my horses to drop and do the cleaning without the use of tranquilizers. When using tranquilizers on male horses it is important to know that some relaxants can permanently cause the horse to no longer be able to retract his penis up into the sheath. This is rare but it does happen, so you need to be informed of the risks with the particular tranquilizer you might use.

There are some horses who might experience pain and swelling after cleaning the sheath. Symptoms like this should resolve within a few days, if not contact your vet. for more information on sheath cleanining

Red Bag Delivery in Arabian Horses

Since I wrote my series of blog articles on Sassy (the mare carrying her fourth set of twins) and Laurietta's story, my Arabian horse blog statistics indicate there are a considerable number of searches being directed towards my horse blog around the issue of red bag deliveries in (Arabian) horses. So many in fact it appears to warrant a post and an image link about this particular complication of foaling in the Arabian horse and other breeds of horses .

While I have never had to deal with a red bag delivery in my Arabian horse business. I have studied extensively about it's occurrence in horses. I have also witnessed red bag deliveries on the live foaling cams on Mare Stare.

Red bag delivery is a layman's term for the foaling complication known as premature placental separation in horses. Under normal foaling conditions this red structure (known as the chorioallantois) ruptures at the cervical star (portion of the placenta where all the blood vessels merge together and form the umbilical cord) and the foal within the white sack (amnion) present through the birth canal. Occasionally, the chorioallanatois is too thick and the foal (Arabian horse) is unable to break through. This causes the structure to separate from the mare's (horses) uterus and it precedes the foal through the birth canal.

The reason this is unsafe is the red structure provides the foal (horse) all of it's nutrients, oxygen etc to stay alive. Once this separation begins, the foal is oxygen deprived and can die or suffer extensive damage if not delivered immediately.

If red bag (see red bag image) presents it should be immediately (but carefully) cut with scissors and the foal should be gently pulled from the mare. Before pulling the foal, it is also important to remember that it is possible to have other foaling complications in conjunction with a red bag delivery. Once the membrane of the red bag has been cut, the position of the foal should be determined before pulling on the foal. If the foal is in the proper position (two front feet with bottoms of hooves down and nose following closely behind) It is important to pull the foal in conjunction with the mare's contractions. Pulling against the contractions can cause the mare's (Arabian horses) uterus to prolapse (come out and turn inside out)

Also, when pulling a foal (Arabian horse), keep in mind that one foot should be positioned slightly ahead of the other foot. This allows the shoulders to come out at an angle instead of straight across. The shoulders will be able to move through a narrower opening that way making it easier on the mare and the foal (and the person pulling).

You want to get the entire foal out as quickly as possible. Some people think once you are past the shoulders the hard part is done, but a foal is still vulnerable when it is only out to that point. The constriction associated with the mare's contractions can suffocate a foal that is halfway in and halfway out. This is not a time to stop pulling, just keep it in time with the mare's contractions. Once the foal is out it should be watched closely for signs of hypoxia (oxygen deprivation or dummy foal syndrome).

In the event of a red bag delivery with a malpresenting foal, it will be necessary to reach inside the mare to ascertain the position of the foal. I keep the long examine gloves (I get them from my vet) on hand in my foaling supplies along with the scissors needed to cut a red bag. I also keep my finger nails cut short and keep them as clean as possible when I'm anticipating a foaling. This way the risk of infecting a mare can be minimized.

Anytime I have a problem with a foaling, I get my vet on the phone immediately. If the problem is a malpresentation, I keep him on the phone so I can describe to him what's happening and answer any questions. Then he walks me through what I need to do and answers any questions while he heads to my farm. It helps a lot with my confidence. I think adrenaline works a lot better with confidence than with fear.


For more complete information on red bag deliveries and the causes.


Arabian horse Arabian horses horses horse foaling complications red bag delivery

More Reflections on Twins - Arabian Horses

The beginning of the twins story starts here

While we awaited the biopsy results on the growth we'd removed from the Arabian mare's (horse) nose, the horse was getting antibiotics and having her wound flushed twice a day. The Arabian mare had taken the twins (horses) in stride and all of the care and visitors that had gone along with it. But the mare (horse) was not taking kindly to having her nose messed with anymore. It was obviously very sore and the horse didn't want it touched. Flushing the wound was a tricky operation complicated by the presence of the twins (horses).

It wasn't just about not running over the two small Arabian horses, it was about keeping them out of our hair. Trying to do anything in that stall that didn't involve the twins (Arabian horses) meant you were fair game for their antics. Just because the mare (Arabian horse) was bouncing around the stall trying to avoid treatment wasn't enough to deter the twins (Arabian horses). The two small foals (horses) were bored being cooped up and anything at all that looked like it could be entertaining was top priority on their list.

Normally, I can do almost anything with any of my Arabian horses without a halter. I groom, pick feet, worm and even do some treatments without any restraint. But in this circumstance I needed a halter and help. There was no way the Arabian mare (horse) was going to stand still for getting her wound flushed.That meant two people to do the treatment and two people for the twins (Arabian horses) to pick on.

Untying shoes has always been one of their favorite tricks but they also enjoy biting on clothes, removing things from pockets, pulling hair, sticking their head between your legs or under you arms (the what's ya doing ploy). If you happen to be closer to the ground, sucking on ears is a real delightful treat for the little monsters (Arabian horses). There's nothing they like better than playing with their human friends, whether the friends are in the mood or not. And one thing about the twins (Arabian horses) they are smart, smart, smart. Defensive maneuvers against them are fruitless. Didn't take them long to learn how to tag team to keep things interesting.

You might think that you could avoid two little horses trying to be annoying and just get the task at hand done. But it was definitely one of those situations you had to see to believe. It probably resembled a three ring circus as we tried to keep the mare still enough to flush the wound while the twins attacked us. And attack us they did. Their first plan was to separate us from our target. Trouble pushed between Dave and the mare while Surprise wormed her way in between me and the mare, leaning against me trying to push me over. Trouble kicked his mom to get her to back up and Dave started laughing, so things went downhill from there. The twins (Arabian horses) have learned that they are cute and laughter eggs them on. What should have taken a couple of minutes ended up taking ten and I was a sweaty mess. Wrestling with the twins (Arabian horses) and Vee (Arabian mare) trying to get her wound flushed while Dave spent most of his time howling in the corner.

It was a long five days treating that wound. Each time I came into the stall, the twins (Arabian horses) had a new plan. They would look at what I was carrying and know the drill. The game was on. I gave up on getting any help from Dave. I got farther by putting the mare up against the wall with her butt in the corner than I had with him holding her. I learned to empty my pockets before coming into the stall, wear footwear without laces and keep all zippers zipped up out of the twins (Arabian horses) reach. The fewer clothes I had on the better because sweating was a given (don't most people sweat when they wrestle?) and the twins really liked playing with my clothes. The more I was wearing, the more the twins (Arabian horses) had to entertain themselves. Anything with buttons could end up button less and the list goes on.

Somehow I did get antibiotics down the mare and keep the wound flushed and medicated as well. The results of the biopsy came back and the growth was non cancerous. When the drain was finally removed from the wound, Vee (horse) must have felt better because the mare soon quit being so sensitive about her nose. But I think the twins (Arabian horses) were probably disappointed, their twice a day play sessions had come to an end.

To be continued..... here


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A Baby Boomer Dreams of Arabian Horses Part 6 GS Khochise & Scandalous

The beginning of the Baby Boomer Dream starts here

Before I begin on the adventure of breeding my dream Arabian horse, Scandalous, to the son, GS Khochise, of the legendary Khemosabi, let me give you a little background both Arabian horses, Scandalous and GS Khochise. I've always like to have the names of my horses reflect their personality in some way. While I didn't name this horse, Scandalous definitely suited the mare. The breeder, Shannon Armstrong, had settled on that name because as a young filly, she had come into heat very early and well, her behavior was pretty scandalous. As the mare matured, her behavior in heat didn't change much. She was very vocal and the horse did a lot wall kicking.

In the big training facility, the trainers had an apartment up over the front part of the building. Below them were the office, groom rooms, tack room, wash rack and laundry rooms supposedly so the Arabian horses wouldn't be keeping them up at night. The stalls themselves were the big Barnmaster metal stall, which can be pretty noisy with kicking horses. So in the far back of the barn there were a number of stalls with rubber mats on the walls. Scandalous was relegated to one of those, and she could still keep a person up a night when she was in heat.

Scandalous had one foal before I bought the mare. She was only covered by the stallion, Aikon once. Everything went smoothly. The only exception was she did experience a small tear in delivery that required a couple of stitches. The mare had a large, flashy bay colt with four white socks, star, strip and snip and a huge attitude. Aidol thought he was the king of the hill. The colt had just been weaned when I began working at the show facility and the mare was 'recuperating' from the little monster chewing all of her mane and tail off. (He matured to be 15.2H and did awesome in the show ring as a western horse at age 3.)

While GS Khochise was relatively an unknown in the breeding shed as a sire of winning Arabian get. His half-Arabian get were tearing up the show ring in western pleasure and already included national winners. GS Khochise himself had a limited show record with a regional championship in a 3 year old halter futurity and other local and regional wins. Later in his life however, Khochise would change owners and his star would begin to rise. GS Khochise would become the winningest Arabian show horse in history with 38 national titles and over 70 regional awards in various disciplines including halter, show hack, hunter pleasure, western pleasure and trail.

Fast forward two years, I was still working at the Arabian horse training/show barn but most of the horses there were show horses. A couple of the stallions there were breeding mares but not a lot. I was getting a little bit of experience understanding breeding, mares cycling etc. but still had a lot to learn. When it came time to breed my own mare, I was asking lots of questions but mostly doing what I was told.

We had the Arabian mare (horse) cultured in preparation for breeding. Once the results confirmed the mare was clean, she was bred. The stallion had a heavy show schedule but the mare's 'scandalous" nature adapted well to his limited time at home. All we had to do was tease her once or twice and the mare would come right into heat. The mare was covered once and the stallion was off and gone to another Arabian horse show.

About fourteen days after the mare was bred, I came into work one day to find my mare had been examined by the vet via ultrasound.(unbeknown to me or I'd have been there) Scandalous had settled twins. They hadn't pinched one of the twins because I wasn't there to authorize the procedure. But the following day a different vet was at the facility and the trainers had him pinch off one of the follicles. Then the trainers packed up Arabian horses and equipment and off they went to another Arabian horse show while I stayed at the farm, barn sitting. While they were gone the first vet came back one evening to deal with Scandalous's twin pregnancy and I had my first experience with an irate vet (and I do mean screaming at me irate) because he'd come out of his way to take care of my mare. I guess it's ironic that my very first experience in breeding Arabian horses started off on a rocky road with a mare that settled twins. I quickly learned the way not to get stuck in the middle was to be in charge. To do that meant I had to do a lot more reading and so it started.

When the mare was checked again, I was there. Scandalous was open. The mare had absorbed the second pregnancy as well. Again she graciously accommodated us by coming right back into heat when we teased her with the stallion. It was a good thing too, because the show string was leaving in just a couple of days and this time they were to be gone for three full weeks. GS Khochise was one of the horses going to be gone that full duration. So the mare was covered once by the stallion and then he went off to the Regional Championship shows. There he won one of his first regional championships in western pleasure.

Scandalous stayed in heat for four more days after the stallion left. I counted every day knowing the longer she stayed in heat the less likely we were to catch her. By the time we hit day four we figured there was no way that the Arabian mare was bred. There was no way a stallion's semen would live that long. Or would it? When the mare (horse) was ultra sounded fourteen days after she went out of heat, Scandalous was checked in foal with a single pregnancy. GS Khochise had inherited the fertility (and motility) of his legendary father, Khemosabi who was still settling mares up until he died at 33. My dream of being a horse woman and breeding Arabian horses was off and running, I had a foal due in June of 1990. No farm, but I was on my way!

To be continued....

Part 7


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Sassy and Laurietta's Story - Tragedy or Miracle - 4th Twin Pregnancy in Horses Part 5

Part One starts here

Later on Mare Stare we were to learn that the delivery had started off badly with a red bag. Laurietta (horse owner) had indeed taken something to the back corner of the stall. It had been the first foal (horse), small and mummified. She had told us earlier on in the tread if there was a mummified foal, she would wisk it away because mummified foals (horses) are very disturbing in appearance. The second foal (baby foal) had its head and neck turned back, wedging the foal (baby horse) and preventing it from moving into the birth canal. The care givers had tried everything they could to get it into the correct position but it kept slipping back to the original postion.

At first the large foal (horse) had been alive but as time went by with the lack of oxygen caused by the placenta detaching prematurely, the foal (horse) died. It had actually died a short time before the vet arrived. I've heard before that dead foals (horses) are much harder to remove from a mare (horse) than live ones.(Supposedly, a live foal will work with you and the dead one can't.) Maybe that partially explains the duration of this dystocia. The other factor was the size of the second foal (baby horse), a beautiful filly, weighed a whopping 148 pounds. Sheer size alone would have been enough to cause a delivery as difficult as this, let alone having it's head and neck turned backwards. This tragic foaling had nothing to do with twins (horse) and everything to do with an abnormally large foal (horse) and a very bad malpresentation. Life and it's quirks had dealt Sassy and Laurietta another devestating hand.

Was this a tragedy brought on by a thoughtless owner or a miracle perpetuated by a woman's devotion to her mare? I think that everyone will have to decide for themselves. But for me, I know what I think. I know that veterinarians encourage breeding mares(horses) that have had twins. They believe the circumstances can be managed. The success rate for delivering healthy single foals (horses) from mares (horses) that settle twins are actually considerably higher than for those that don't double ovulate and settle twins. I have experience with both twins (horses) and foalings. I know lots of horror stories. Most of them, like this one, have nothing to do with twins (horses).

I didn't need a vet to tell me this mare shouldn't have survived this delivery, yet that's exactly what Laurietta's vet said. the odds were against this mare, the dystocia was that extreme I watched in awe as 5 dedicated people gave every thing they had to save this mare (horse). Pulling a foal that doesn't want to come is exhausting work for even a few minutes, let alone 3 hours. . Even when under attack from a phone call by a heartless intruder, they did not allow the assualt to interfere with their determination to save this mare (horse). Despite the odds, they never gave up.

Neither did the mare. This mare who had a history of abuse and neglect causing her to distrust people when she was first purchased by Laurietta had hung in there and trusted her humans to save her life. They didn't let her down. To me the fact that this mare (horse) survived this delivery is a miracle and directly related to her owner, Laurietta, and her care and planning for her mare (horse).

For me the tragedy of this event was caused by the few ignorant people who took advantage of the accessibility of the internet and attacked a mare (horse) owner who was just trying to do her best for her horse. They decided she didn't have the right to breed her mare and everything after that was a result of stupidity. They appointed themselves judge, jury and executioner and administered their sentence at the most inopportune moment possible as the owner was in the throws of trying to save her beloved mare. The results of this behavior had multipe effects on the the internet community and the owenr. Those are the real tragedy here.

While the experience of watching Sassy's dystocia was horrifying it was equally educational. How brave for the owner to allow it to continue to be broadcast across the internet so people might learn. It would have been much easier to turn off the cam and not give any more fodder to the vultures. Because of the attacks levied upon the horse owner, there are mare owners who have made their web cams private, afraid of being attacked like Laureitta. Who can blame them? The result is those webcams are no longer available for the public to share in the triumphs or the heartbreaks of mares foaling, an incredible learning experience that only a media like the web could provide.

The effect of this trash talking has spread past the internet and spilled out into the community as well. I was at a small horse show last weekend and the ordeal was being discussed even there. Of course, the facts were not correct, a well meaning person was repeating what she'd read on a horse thread on the internet and trashing Laurietta. Not one to tolerate injustice, I set the record straight there, like I'm setting it straight here. The woman doing the talking had no idea she was spreading gossip. She had relied on people she trusted to be honest yet nothing was farther from the truth.Their remarks were based on personal opinions and assumptions with little regard for the truth. My guess is that Laurietta will be bumping into this for a very long time. As a breeder she takes her horses to shows as part of her program. With the large scope of coverage on the internet, the damage has been done and the attacks are far from over. I expect she will continue to be assaulted by uneducated people believing they know what's right. I hope I'm wrong.

The people who know me would tell you I"m a tough critic. My standards are high and I hold my horses in high regard. With that being said, I respect Laurietta as an owner. It was her right to decide whether to breed this mare or not. Once she made that decision, she relied on the experts to help her take proper care of the mare. Whether or not those people were as knowledgeable as others out there, we'll never know. It is my opinion that she did everything that was humanly possible to protect her mare and keep her happy and safe. My hat is off to her.

And to those people who expended such energy in trashing Laurietta and exploiting the story of the mare in foal with her fourth set of twins, I feel sorry for them. Not even a post by one of their own consitutiens who said " It seems the tragedy of the lost foal and the earlier diagnosis of twins are unrelated." was enough to stop their rantings. People who expend such energy trying to destroy other people and their reputataions are not only pathetic but usually miserable themselves.

As of today, Sassy is doing well. She has been depressed over the loss of her foal but her health is good. With the help of viewers on Mare Stare, Laurietta located an agency that takes orphan foals. She went to find a foal for Sassy to replace the foal the mare is pining for. (Laurietta came home with 5 foals because she couldn't bear to leave their fate to chance, that's the kind of person Laurietta is.)

Two of the orphan foals are living right next to Sassy and the mare is beginning to warm up to them. She's no longer standing depressed in the corner wondering where her baby is. She's visiting the foals. Some mares are happiest when they're mothers and Sassy seems to be one of those horses. But then that's obvious, she happily raised two healthy sets of twins. Whether or not Sassy takes one, both or neither of these foals is up to Sassy. Laurietta is again just trying to do what is best for her mare, to see her happy. Today, Sassy was happy out in the field with both foals.

In the meantime unscrupulous people harassing Laurietta gleaned the information from the mare stare thread about the ophan foals. Then called the adoption agency the foals came from and tried to make trouble for her there. There seem to be no limits to their cruelty. So unfortunately the tragedy continues.



Arabian horse Arabian horses horses horse twin foals twin horses

Sassy and Laurietta's Story - Tragedy or Miracle - 4th Twin Pregnancy in Horses Part 4

Part One starts here

By 12:30 PST some postings on the thread on Mare Stare about the mare(horse) in the midst of her fourth delivery of twin foals (horses) had gotten ugly. There were at least 3 people openly attacking the horse owner while others came to Laurietta's defense and her right to make her own decisions for her horse. After several warnings moderators locked the thread and then deleted it. The parties responsible for trash talking about the horse owner were banned from the site. A new thread about the mare (horse) foaling twins was started with warnings to keep things positive or leave.

On another well trafficked horse site, the vultures circled their prey, then swooped in a feeding frenzy attacking the overwhelmed horse owner. One woman went so far as to send Laurietta an email and even to call her on the phone attacking Laurietta while the woman was in the midst of fighting to save the life of her mare (horse). Although no one on the horse thread openly took responsibilities for these actions, word for word the email and phone call mirrored a particular outspoken individual's posts from the locked thread at Mare Stare and those written on the other horse thread.

Watching on the Internet, onlookers speculated on the sights and horse before them. Some individuals on other horse sites posted like they had an inside track to the gospel truth, when in fact their "information" was purely conjecture. No one really knew for sure the details about the horse or foaling. All anyone knew was what they could see with their own eyes. The lighting was poor, the stall crowded and the mare (horse) turned facing towards the web cam.

Along the way viewers thought they saw things but couldn't be sure. Did Laurietta take something and put it in the corner? Maybe, maybe not. Was the dedicated team taking a break or giving up on the horse? Were the lights that crossed the stall really a truck and trailer preparing to take Sassy (horse) to OSU? The questions were as varied as the possibilities. No one knew, it was all speculation.

Many of the Internet participants had no idea how critical the sight they were witnessing really was. Those of us who did know on Mare Stare kept our speculations to ourselves. The focus was on sending as much positive energy and prayer as possible to help save this valiant mare (horse). Many held out hope that the foals(baby horses) would survive as well.

Finally, approximately three hours into this drama, something looked like it was pulled from the mare (horse) and placed on the ground behind her. The speculation immediately began again as the workers returned to the backside of the mare (horse), doing what looked like checking her internally again. Many watchers tried to figure out what was happening with the object on the ground but their vision was blocked by the position of mare and the people in the stall. However, at one point a portion of the object was visible. It was definitely a foal (baby horse). No one was tending to the foal (horse) and before long it was obvious why. A wheel barrow was brought into the stall and a very large limp foal was placed into it and removed from the stall. The foal (baby horse) was dead.

Soon the people in the stall were cleaning out the soiled bedding and putting down fresh straw. It was over. The people who had followed this mare faithfully on the Mare Stare site were going to have to wait for answers. There was more speculation, even some that there had never been twins at all because of the huge size of the dead foal (horse). Probably a lot of tears were shed for what could have been. Me, I was too numb to cry. For 3 hours I had re experienced the feelings of helplessness that had overwhelmed me last May as my own mare (horse) had labored with twins. All of the terror and desperation I'd watched on my computer I knew intimately. Now knowing they had only been able to save the mare (horse), I could only imagine their grief.

While the "Mare Starers (as they call themselves) tried to make sense of the event, they decided to set up a fund to help Laurietta pay for Sassy's (the horse) vet bills. The people back at Laurietta's barn took care of Sassy (the horse), having no idea what was being done in the heroic horse's name.

Meanwhile the other thread boiled over with rage attacking the horse owner and even Mare Stare spewing their contempt about something they never really understood. Even after the fact, continuing their rant, they kept the anger alive posting that Laurietta had had the gall to ask for help with the horse's vet bills

I can only imagine they did this to keep others on their horse thread angered and away from Mare Stare to avoid exposure for their own heartless behavior.(the email sent to Laurietta is posted openly on Mare Stare) By convincing their peers what a terrible, greedy, heartless person the horse owner was and how unreliable a source Mare Stare was, they wouldn't have to fear being exposed. From what I can tell, they didn't ever make an honest attempt to understand the situation. Instead they exploited it to build their own status among their horse community.

To be continued............

Part 5

For a upward lift on the subject of twins in Arabian horses read
Rare Twin Horses Born in Graham

Arabian horse Arabian horses horses horse twin foals twin horses

Sassy and Laurietta's Story - Tragedy or Miracle - 4th Twin Pregnancy in Horses Part 3

Part One starts here

Laurietta was undaunted trying to provide the best possible care for her mare. She knew it was not humanly possible for her to watch the horse as closely as this difficult situation warranted. She knew that her own fatigue and the fatigue of her staff were also enemies so she put her trust in those faceless observers on the Internet who expressed a willingness to participate and be relied upon in monitoring the mare(horse). Laurietta was motivated by love and concern for her mare (horse). A point the naysayers unfortunately continued to overlook. Despite a boatload of snide remarks Laurietta and Sassy pushed on getting closer and closer to the mare's foaling.

As the mare's due date drew closer, there were examinations by the vet as well as consultations with the veterinary experts at Ohio State University. Contingency plans were made for a multitude of possibilities including the extreme of transporting the mare to OSU if needed. Each consultation seemed to fuel the excitement and drama of the impending foaling. Although the exact extent of the consultations and contingency plans were never posted, they were mentioned in generalities by both Laurietta and an associate. A fact that should have soothed some people but only seemed to be used later for more fuel.

By the time the mare (horse) finally would go into labor the only thing anyone on the Internet knew for sure about Sassy's current condition was there had been two viable foals at 6.5 months. One foal was alive and seemed to be facing the correct direction. The fate of the second foal was in question. The weather had turned horrible complete with ice storms. They were trying to stall the mare's labor, if possible, so they could transport her to OSU if needed. The mare (horse) was looking tired and uncomfortable but always perked up at the sight of her owner. It was clear that Sassy and Laurietta had an amazing bond.

March 16, 2007 at approximately 11 am PDT I tuned in to find that Sassy was in labor. There were people in the stall and the vet had been called. The thread on Mare Stare was growing by leaps and bounds as anxious people tuned in to watch the now infamous mare foal. At one point there were 221 users online at Mare Stare alone. The web cam was not hosted by Mare Stare so the numbers didn't reflect the number of people tuned into the cam. With the other threads devoted to the subject there is no way of telling how many people were actually witnessing the drama unfold.

Most people, even most veterinarians have never seen twin foals (horses), let alone be present at their birth. The servers were clogged with horse people and non horse people alike anxious to witness the historical event. Many were praying for a favorable outcome, others were lurking for an opportunity to strike while their target was the most vulnerable. To say it was a three ring circus would be a gross understatement. The comments on threads were flying fast and furious as the scene unfolded and the anticipation built.

Unfortunately, for the mare (horse), her labor did not progress quickly. It soon became obvious to me that the situation was dire with what I guessed was a badly malpositioned foal. An hour turned into two and two drug into three and there was still no resolution. I couldn't even tell you when the vet arrived for sure, it all runs together.

At one time there were as many as five people in the stall, each taking turns adjusting, turning and pulling on the foal. In freezing temperatures, the incredible crew was down to their shirt sleeves as they tried every possible thing they could think of to the get the foal out of the mare(horse). There were multiple phone calls for input from the experts since the roads were too treacherous to take the mare to them. I was never even clear on exactly which person on the cam was the vet. Each and every person took their turn trying to reposition the foal and find a way to get it out of the mare (horse).

One of the things I've learned over the years is you can trust the mare (horse) to tell you if she's in trouble. If the mare is taking things in stride you're ok, you can deal with the dystocia. I watched in amazement as the time ticked by and the mare (horse) continued to tolerate the pain of the contractions and the interventions on her behalf. The major thing the mare seemed to have going for her in this devastating situation was her relationship with her owner, Laurietta, and the dedication of the people trying to save her. That bond with Laurietta seemed to continually feed the mare with strength, confidence and trust through an ordeal that would have killed most mares (horses). Every time Sassy would look back at the people trying to save her, the horse's ears were up and her demeanor relaxed, as relaxed as a mare in labor can be.

To be continued......

Part 4

For a upward lift on the subject of twins in Arabian horses read
Rare Twin Horses Born in Graham or visit my webcam and see the newest addition to our herd on live webcam now. He's still nameless but we're working on it.


Arabian horse Arabian horses horses horse twin foals twin horses

Sassy and Laurietta's Story - Tragedy or Miracle - 4th Twin Pregnancy in Horses Part 2

Part 1

There was never enough information on the threads to know for sure how long Laurietta has owned this mare. The only things I knew for sure, Sassy (the mare) had not had twin foals born since she had been with Laurietta. All three of the previous twin pregnancies had occurred in the care of another owner. Also, there was information that the mare had come with a lot of baggage. She had been neglected and abused and had very little trust in humans. In addition the mare found it very difficult to cope with being moved to new circumstances. Changing her location and/or routine would easily send the mare back to her unsure and highly stressed behavior.

Laurietta had bred the mare once before. The result had been a healthy singleton birth, a colt. The colt was the result of a twin pregnancy with one pinched off. The mare retained the other embryo successfully resulting in the singleton birth of the colt. Exactly what the vets and any critics out there would call proper management.

Last Laurietta bred the mare and carefully followed all of the steps she had done the previous pregnancy. The mare was ultra-sounded repeatedly at all of the appropriate times so that a twin pregnancy could be avoided. This time Mother Nature (and that good ole boat rocker, life) didn't co-operate with human intervention. Despite three, possibly four (the uncertainty is my memory, not Laurietta's care), ultra sounds at the beginning of her pregnancy, the mare settled a twin pregnancy that went undetected by the professionals.

Unfortunately, the twin pregnancy was not discovered until six and a half months into the horse's pregnancy. Some have suggested that the only smart thing to do was to abort the twins (horses) at that point. I don't know what Laurietta or her vets thinking was on this subject, it was never posted on the threads that I could find.

It was suggested on another thread that the responsible thing to do would be an abortion as soon as the twin pregnancy was detected. However, I'm not sure that even is a viable option. I have never heard of a veterinarain suggesting or performing such a procedure on a mare. I do know a couple of owners who are in the predicament of discovering mid term a twin pregnancy. Neither of these parties veterinarians have even considered abortion as a viable option. The plans are to monitor the mares as closely as possible to manage the best possible outcome.

Certainly with a mare's history like Sassy's there is considerable evidence to support that the twin pregnancy could end with a favorable outcome. Having successfully carried two complete sets of twins to term is pretty amazing and speaks highly of the mare's ability to deal with this unusual circumstance. While there might be discussion about what exactly a favorable outcome might be, for me it would mean the mare coming through the pregnancy healthy and intact.

Laurietta and her vet decided to monitor Sassy (horse) as closely as humanly possible. They paid particular attention to her nutritional needs including vitamins and supplements to assure the mare would be as healthy as possible at the time of foaling. Whether or not Sassy's body would abort the twins at around nine months or carry them to full tern was in the hands of Mother Nature, the same hands that had slipped these twins by the watchful eyes of knowledgeable professionals.

As Sassy (horse) got closer to foaling, Laurietta installed a webcam and enlisted a hosting service for foaling mares. From that, the word spread quickly, but not necessarily accurately, about this mare carrying her fourth set of twins. Many people tuned in to watch the drama unfold as the mare's belly grew larger and larger and the foaling date loomed closer.

Threads about the controversial pregnancy sprang up all over the Internet and armchair critics hashed over the story with righteous indignation about a subject they knew little or nothing about fueled by the inaccurate postings of excited followers not keeping their facts straight.

Through all of the criticism Laurietta continued faithfully to post updates on the condition of her mare (horse). She answered any and all questions trying to help people understand the situation and hoping to keep the people watching well enough informed so they could do of some service to the mare (horse). Repeatedly over the weeks, Laurietta requested help in watching the mare (horse) in a constant watch 24-7. Some of the onlookers took that responsibility quite seriously following the progress of the mare closely. Learning her behaviors so they would know when her behavior changed. While others passed on an assortment of misinformation around the web which was then used as more fuel by the critics to feed their already smoldering rage.

To be continued......

Part 3

For a upward lift on the subject of twins in Arabian horses read
Rare Twin Horses Born in Graham
Arabian horse Arabian horses horses horse twin foals twin horses

Sassy and Laurietta's Story - Tragedy or Miracle - 4th Twin Pregnancy in Horses

Normally I write about Arabian horses because they are my passion and my joy. The stories, themselves, are usually about Arabian horses and what affects my dream of raising Arabian horses first hand. The lessons available in what I write usually apply to all breeds of horses and all types of horses. And that's why I write, for the lessons that can be learned.

Yesterday's post about the fighting stallions in China came about because I needed a picture for my post about my Arabian stallions fight. I needed a picture that portrayed the degree of violence when stallions fight, a pretty tall order. Explaining what was behind picture I used was just tying up loose ends since there was obviously a story there.

The reason I have chosen to write about this mare, Sassy, and her owner, besides it being such a compelling story, is because this is a scenario that I could live someday. I am drawn to be as educated as I can be so that I am better prepared to deal with life's little curve balls. I have already been thrown the pitch that was Arabian twin foals, the aftermath of that and what it means to my breeding business is still unfolding. I'm looking for all the help I can get to be prepared ahead of time for whatever dealing with a mare who has had twins might mean in the future. Thta makes this story personal for me.

It was hard not to be drawn into the story of this mare carrying her fourth set of twins. The phenomenon of twin foals in horses is so unusual, it can't help but intrigue. Then to add the fact that this particular mare had given birth to two viable sets of twin horses out of the three sets she carried. The surviving twins had grown to adulthood and are successful riding horses. Then the final hook, the mare herself is a twin. An incredible story with unbelievable odds presented to the viewing world on the Internet. It couldn't have been anything but a magnet for controversy and that it was.

I first became aware of Sassy (the mare) and Laurietta's (the owner) story on Mare Stare a couple of weeks ago. I don't remember the day I first noticed the thread. To be honest, I avoided it at first. The wounds of last year's foaling of twin horses are still fresh. While my twin horses have survived and seem to be thriving, the ordeal of their survival still weighs heavily upon me. So I avoided the thread for at least a week, maybe two, before my curiosity got the better of me.

I wanted to know everything everyone else did and maybe more. The how, the why, who, what, where and when that made this story. For me, because it's a part of my life, I need more information. With a mare that gave birth to twin horses, a beautiful twin filly that some day will be breedable, I needed to know more. I have decisions to make in the future. There are so few sets of twin horses that answers are hard to come by, it's a guess as guess can kind of game. Maybe that's part of the intrigue for some about twin horses, for me, it's the knowledge. With it I have hope that I can safely breed my mares and not live this nightmare again.

So I began digging through the many pages of the thread looking for the truth. I didn't want people's interpretations of the truth, but the real truth. Reading through threads is a great place to learn about a person's listening skills. Most people don't listen or even read the facts, they interpret them and then they post their interruption stating it as fact. That's how things get screwed up and end up with Joe Blow's brother's friend's wife had a fight and by the time ten people read or heard it it ended up in divorce when really they just had a little disagreement.

Such was the case here, as people came and went and made their posts on Mare Stare and other forums on the Internet. Some people had the facts, some people didn't have a clue, some people had questions and some had answers but few had experience from first hand knowledge. AND nearly everyone had opinions. The result was a horrible mix of well meaning people doing some real damage to the reputation and heart of a very valiant owner who was just trying to do the best for her mare and the twin foals she was carrying.

To be continued.....

Part 2

Arabian horse Arabian horses horses horse twin foals twin horses

The Twelve Steps of Mare Starers Anonymous - Arabian Horses

I was gone all weekend to an Arabian horse schooling show with my granddaughter and missed a mare foaling on Mare Stare that I've been following for quite a while. Fortunately, her stable mate, who I've also been watching didn't foal while I was gone, so I checked the threads to see what the status was and found a group of Mare Starers discussing their (and my) addiction. I couldn't resist compiling this! God please don't strike me dead! And for all horse lovers and lovers of horses (search engine fodder) enjoy. Then go check out the mare's foaling on Mare Stare live cams.

12 Steps of Mare Starers Anonymous

1. We admitted we were powerless over staring at mares - that our lives had become unmanageable because there just aren't enough hours in the day to watch enough mares..

2. Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity. The mare if she would just foal.

3. Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood Him so He can encourage the mare to foal during peak watching hours and of course, keep her safe.

4. Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves of our horse watching skills so maybe we can get better at predicting when the darn mare will foal, so we don't have to spend so much time watching mares and spend a little more time taking care of our families.... or we could watch more mares.

5. Admitted to God, to ourselves and to another human being the exact nature of our addiction to mare stare so we can encourage them to join us. Misery love company. And sometimes we really enjoy the mare takes her time, letting us post more and met fellow addicted mare-strarers. And we could feel less guilt if they joined us.

6. Were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character. You know the ones where we miss a foaling, screw up our computer so it freezes us out of a foaling or anything connected with missing the mares.

7. Humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings. This one too would be where we miss a foaling, get caught watching another mare while our favorite one foals undetected. Have to go to the bathroom at an important moment in a delivery. Can't go another 24 hours without sleep...You know the stuff!

8. Made a list of all persons and horses (especially our own msres) we had neglected and became willing to co-erce or bribe them into forgiving us and accepting our mare stare behavior so we can spend even more time watching mares and less time taking care of them.

9. Made direct amends to such people when nothing else would work, except when to do so would jeopordize our mare watching time and keeping up on the boards and chats. Amends to such horses made in the form or hugs, pats and carrots (double for our mares) when we do stumble out to the barn, dazed and blinded by hours at the computer.
10. Continued to take personal inventory of our mare foaling prediction skills and when we were wrong promptly admitted it, then learned from that mistake so we can get better at catching the mares foaling next time. Also, we promise to pass that information on to other mare starers on the boards so they might not make the same mistake and miss a foaling.

11. Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God, as we understood Him, praying only for knowledge of His will for the mares and foals and the power to catch them foaling and not miss any cute moments provided by the new foals. Also praying for the ability to survive on less sleep so we can spend even more time watching mares, foaling and cute new foals.

12. Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these steps, we tried to carry this message to mare-starers, and to the general public to practice these principles in all our affairs and encourage the growth of Mare Stare and appreciation of the horses we love.


See my cam currently on Krugorrs Heiress and her new colt born March 12. He is a character to watch.

I will post about the schooling show and how my horses and Rachel did. Also have a post I'm working on about the mare that I found through Mare Stare who was pregnant with her fourth set of twins. It's a compelling story of great heroisn and horsemanship. Hope to have that up soon. I'm taking my time making sure I do these wonderful people justice. It's a read you won't want to miss.


Arabian horse Arabian horses horses horse twin foals twin horses

First Arabian Horse Breeder's Foaling of the Season - Dystocia! Part 4

Patricia, this picture is especially for you!

Act Three

While waiting for the oxytocin, I decided to work on teaching this young Arabian horse (colt) how to use his mile long legs. Having had a few experiences with dummy foal syndrome it was clear that I was dealing with some aspects of that as well. The foal was bright and energetic so that was a good sign. But he was slow to respond to stimulus to rise. He was sucking on inappropriate things, he was having problems regualtion his body temperature and occassionally he had some twitching.

I learned with my very first foal that I could run my fingers down the spine (thumb on one side and rest of fingers on the other) pressing firmly. This would stimulate a newborn horse to get up. This colt is the first horse I've had born here that didn't respond well to this stimulus. That made teaching the horse to stand a challenge. Without the (horses) foal's own impulsion getting foals on their feet is practically impossible.

I had already put a blanket on the Arabian (horse) colt because he was shiviring so badly. The great thing about the blanket is it doubles as a handle. A firmly gripped handful in the middle of the back is great for helping to steady a foal and help them find their center of gravity. If you hold the (horses) newborn foals in your arms to steady them, they (horses) lean on you instead of finding their center of gravity. It takes those horses that much longer to figure out standing on their own.

I spent a considerable amount of time trying to stimulate the (horse) colt to stand. I added tickling him, scratching the top of his tail and anything annoying I could think of to make the horse want to get away from me. Annoyed enough the horse would try to get up. I then used the momentum to pull the horse to his feet by grasping blanket handle. Then I'd hold the horse by only that "handle" until the (horse) foal got his legs in the right place to support himself. The (horse) colt figured out very quickly where that right position was. Before long the young Arabian horse was standing on his own. The Arabian (horse) foal fell a couple of times and had to be helped up but once on his feet, the young Arabian horse locked into the correct position.

The next thing I knew the Arabian (horse) colt was trying to run. I wanted to teach the horse to nurse. The horse wanted to buck and play. We setteled on a compromise. The horse bucked and played all the way over to the Arabian (horse) mare. Then we tried the nursing thing.

The young horse did the usual suck the flank, the leg, grab the tail, suck my arm, everything around and near but never on the udder. I let him suck on my thumb a lot and used that to lure the colt in the right direction. I did a lot of deep breathing to help with my lack of patience. We both got through it ok. I didn't kill him for being a stupid colt and he didn't kick me for being a bossy, pushy thing. When the young Arabian horse finally did find the udder, he sucked on the side of that instead of the nipple but eventually we got it figured out.
The young horse did finally latch onto the nipple but it was hard to keep him interested since the mare's milk hadn't come in and there didn't seem to be a lot of colostrum. But there was a little and the taste of the sticky, sweet colosturm was enough that the horse didn't totally give up trying. He'd "fall" off the nipple, shake his head, stomp his foot and then grab it again. I petted on him telling him what a good boy he was and the young Arabian horse seemed to enjoy that too.

By the time we got this nursing thing really figured out, the vet's assistant showed up with the oxytocin. The Arabian (horse) mare was started on shots of oxytocin, 4cc every 30 minutes. The first shot I did by myself. By the second, I had to tie her up and barely got done. By the third injection I needed help and had to awaken Dave to get it done. Within a half hour of the last injection, the mare finally laid down due to contractions. Within 30 minutes the placenta was out. That was a huge relief. The thing we still needed was for the Arabian (horses) mare's milk to come in.

The young Arabian horse still was having problems figuring out how to get his legs working to get up, but he was rock solid once the horse got there. I couldn't knock him down if I wanted to.

The mare had been laying down for a while now with the strong contractions induced by the oxytocin and for a while the foal laid with her. The young horse must have goteen hungry because he began struggling to get to his feet. I helped the horse up and he went straight over to his mother. The horse began jumping on the (horse) mare trying to get her up so he could nurse. The Arabian (horse) mare finally gave in and got up. The youong (horse) colt went right over to nurse and I could hear the slurping that said her milk was really in. The horse slipped off the nipple for minute and looked over at me with foam milk running out both sides of his mouth and a content look on his face. One of many Kodak moments missed...........

The colt was born at 8:30 in the morning. This magic moment was at 4 in the afternoon. Finally after a long night and a gruelling delivery, all was right with our world. The colt's IgG scores came back last night. They were through the roof despite what looked to be not enough colostrum. It must have been power packed with antibodies. Gratefully, everything is going great. He's a little monster. If you haven't watched him play on camera, you're missing a great treat. When he's up, he is going non-stop and he is an incredible character, not to mention a darn nice Arabian horse.

I apologize for keeping everyone hanging. The search engines don't like really long posts I'm told, so I've been trying to stay in the guidelines. Besides, you wouldn't want me to run out of things to say, would you? Don't laugh, could happen....


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First Arabian Horse Breeder's Foaling of the Season - Dystocia! Part 3

Since this colt can't figure out how to stand, he's sucking the wall looking for food.

The first part of this story begins here.

Act Two

Just getting the foal on the ground is not all there is to foaling. Still critical to the health and safety of the horses (the newborn foal and the mare) are the following issues. The mare must pass her placenta within 2-4 hours. The foal needs to stand and nurse to receive colostrum. The foal needs to be monitored to be sure all the appropriate plumbing is working and the foal's umbilicus needs to be treated. There are other things to do as well, but these are the big issues.

I'm a type A personality and probably a worrier especially when it comes to my Arabian horses. I get the most stressed about getting the foal to nurse and the mare dropping her placenta. I don't know if it's because I've ended up having to transfuse foals and had a couple of newborns that ended up in the hospital along the way and a couple of proplems with retained placentas. But I just can't relax until these things are taken care of. To complicate this when I get stressed, I get short on patience. This isn't good working with horses! Number one rule working with horses, patience, patience, patience....with foals multiply that by about one thousand.

It was obvious from the start that this colt was going to have a lot of difficulty figuring out how to work his mile long legs. Since how well foals utilize colostrum is directly related to how soon they ingest it after birth, I decided to take some pressure off both the Arabian horses and me. I was going to milk the mare and hand feed the colt his first colostrum since it didn't look like the young horse was going to figure out his legs anytime soon.

Before doing this I thoroughly cleaned the mare's udder with warm water and a very mild soap I then rinsed the horse's udder with more clean warm water to be sure there was no soap residue remaining. I was careful to get deep in between the crevice down the middle of the horse's udder so that no "crude" was missed. I've learned over the years foaling out many horses that the thoroughness of this washing can really help ease the diarrhea the foal experiences during the mare's foal heat.

Once that was done, I tried milking the mare. Thanks to the twin Arabian horses of last year, I have a lot of experience with milking mares. It only took a couple of seconds to know that I was in trouble. The mare's milk had not come in. I was getting a little bit of sticky colostrum but not much and no milk.

I applied hot packs to the mare's udder to help let her milk down and then tried again. Working very hard at milking the mare I managed to get only 60cc of the valuable fluid. (For comparison, last year that same effort produced 3 cups) I poured the colostrum into a large dose syringe and gently force-feed the colt, being careful not to injure his soft palate with the hard plastic tip of the syringe.

The young Arabian horse (foal) actually was very receptive to the hand feeding and only had one trickle of the sticky colostrum run down the side of his little horse mouth. The rest he swallowed greedily getting it all to his stomach. The fact the Arabian horse foal had gotten some colostrum was a relief but I had no way of knowing if this was enough colostrum to provide the antibodies so necessary for the foals survival. Try as I might the Arabian mare wasn't giving up any more. I wasn't going to get any relief from stress ing over this young Arabian horse getting enough colostrum. The clock was still ticking.

The other problem becoming rapidly more obvious was the mare was not shedding her placenta. Even now almost two hours after the horse had foaled, the only thing protruding from the Arabian horse (mare) was the umbilical cord and the sack.

I had tied the sack into a knot with the still dripping end of the umbilical cord, hoping to add a little weight to encourage the placenta to begin to break lose. It's tricky to do because it's important to not pull on the cord or placenta since that can cause permanent damage to the mare's uterus. The knot wasn't working on the Arabian horse. There wasn't really even enough available to try and tie in a small towel as another safe method of adding weight and gravity to remove the horse's placenta. There was nothing else I could do for the Arabian horse (mare) without oxytocin.

Fortunately, oxytocin is the answer for both of these problems. Oxytocin causes contractions in the mare. Contractions are what is needed to help the mare shed the placenta and the letdown of mare's milk is directly related to the contractions. So it's not surprising to have these two problems occur together. Although they do occur more often individually, thank God for us mare owners one of these issues is stressful enough. In this case it tells us this horse's body did not produce enough oxytocin naturally which also explains her weak contractions and not laying down for the foaling.

So I put a call into the vet to get oxytocin. He was all backed up with a critically ill filly. It was going to be a while before anyone could get to us with the hormone needed to fix these problems in the Arabian horse (mare). The temperatures here were cool so that gave us a little more time in regards to shedding the placenta but there was still the issue of colostrum in the foal. The clock continued to tick....

To be continued....

Part 4

First Arabian Horse Breeder's Foaling of the Season - Dystocia! Part 2

The first part of this story beings here.

Act One

Arriving at the Arabian horse's (mare's) stall, I assessed the situation. The bulge of fluid had dropped down lower and was hanging halfway to the Arabian horse's hocks. It was clear this was dystocia (difficult birth).

By this time Dave had arrived to help. He haltered the mare (Arabian horse) while I rolled up my sleeve and put on a palpation glove (grateful I had remembered to cut all of my fingernails), grabbed the KY jelly (the none warming type for you Mare Starers who might be wondering see comedy on foal watch ) and reached inside the mare to find the foal. Unlike my unsuccessful attempt to do this last year with the Arabian twins' foaling, my arm slipped in easily. I was able to find the foal's nose, relieved that at least the horse was turned in the correct direction. I had difficulty locating the foal's (horses) feet, however, not a good sign. The Arabian foal (horse) was not in the correct position.

Feeling around I finally located the horse's first hoof. I could feel the rough texture of the gelatinous pad of the hoof bottom facing up. The (horse) foal's foot was behind and under the location of the (horse) foal's head. In the normal position the (horse) foal's feet would be emerging in front of the head with both legs under the foal's chin.

I called the vet to let him know the (horse) foal was facing the rear of the mare but upside down. He asked me to flex the first joint (fetlock) of the (horses) foal's leg to confirm the position. It definitely flexed towards the sky, The (horse) foal was upside down. The (horses) foal's nose was trying to enter the birth canal but with the (horses) foal's legs out of position behind its head they were wedged against the Arabian mare's (horses) pubic bone preventing the (horse) foal from entering the birth canal. It was going to be necessary to manually reposition the (horse) foal.

Dave was having problems controlling the Arabian (horse) mare who wouldn't lay down or stand still. Thankfully, the vet had just turned onto our street. Upon his arrival, I took over holding the (horse) mare and tried to get the (horse) Arabian mare to lay down while Jack got ready to turn the (horse) foal. Unable to convince the (horse)Arabian mare to lay down, I put her nose into the corner using the walls as a barrier to help keep her still while the vet attempted to reposition the (horse) foal.

Reaching through the birth canal into the (horses) Arabian mare's uterus, the vet located the the (horses) foal's head and both legs. Putting his arm under one of the (horses) foal's legs and grabbing onto the other leg firmly, he used leverage against the first leg to help turn the (horse) foal. He turned the (horse)foal enough to get the (horses)foal's leg into a position that he could pull it out.

Once he had the leg protruding from the (horse) mare he instructed Dave to hold it in place while Jack reached in and located the other (horses)foal's leg. Once he was able to manipulate the second (horses) foal's leg into a safe position, he pulled it out as well.
With both of the (horses) foal's legs now protruding from the (horse) Arabian mare, the men lined up the (horses) foal's legs with one leg slightly behind the other.(This puts the (horses) foal's shoulders at an angle making it easier to pass through the [horses] Arabian mare's pelvic bone.) Then Jack guided the (horses) foal's head into position resting on the legs.
At this point, the (horse) was not turned at about a 45 degree angle from where it should be, facing sideways to the right side of the mare. With the (horse) foal in this position both men began to pull with the mare's (horses) contractions, continuing to rotate the foal in the process.

The (horses) Arabian mare's contractions were very weak. It took several contractions to get the (horse) foal out even with the men assisting the (horse) Arabian mare. When (horse) foal's hips passed through the (horses) mare's pelvic bone and the last resistance within the mare, both men adjusted their positions to catch the falling (horse) foal breaking it's fall to the ground.

Finally, we had the (horse) Arabian foal safely on the ground. The little varmint (horse) popped its head up immediately and began whinnying. The tired mare (Arabian horse) turned quickly, walking over to the newborn horse nuzzling it.Dave asked what it (sex) was and we all laughed at his priorities. Jack lifted its tail and told Dave he didn't get what he ordered. It was a colt. So round one of the foaling experience was over. The vet left. Dave went to bed and MiKael, I did what I always do, I cleaned up the mess. Round two was yet to come.

To be continued....

Part 3

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First Arabian Horse Breeder's Foaling of the Season - Dystocia!

Setting the Stage

After my foaling experience last year with the twin Arabian horses, I was really dreading foaling season this year. I had this nagging feeling that something would go wrong foaling with my Arabian horses. Try as I might, I just couldn't shake it. So when the time came closer for Krugorrs Heiress to foal, I watched the Arabian horse even more closely. With the help of Mare Stare and its many viewers on the Alerts Board , the Arabian horse was watched 24-7.

By late Sunday evening, the mare's (Arabian horse) udder was swollen like a surgical glove with the fingers all blown up but the horse still did not have milk. The mare (Arabian horse) was irritable, flipping her tail a lot and doing some gesturing towards her sides. Close to midnight I went out to check the Arabian horse again physically. There were still no signs of milk in the Arabian horse but the foal had definitely changed position. The mare was having intense contractions, I could see the pressure on her vulva during them. Also, the rest of the Arabian horses were very quiet. A sign, I have noticed over the years, I can count on for impending foaling within this herd of Arabian horses. Somehow, all the horses know what is happening.

I was concerned enough that I cleaned the horse's stall and laid down straw for foaling. Something I only do when foaling is imminent. Then I went back into the house and watched the Arabian horse for a couple of more hours. I also watched the posting on the Alerts board about my Arabian horse. There was lots of activity and a good number of people were following her progress. The horse's contractions seemed to have backed off considerably although she was still switching her tail some.

I suffer from allergies and asthma. I'm allergic to horses, dust, mold, straw, hay, and most everything else to do with horses and farms. For a couple of days I'd been having more problems than usual with headaches and an upset stomach. I also felt like I had an elephant sitting on my chest. So at about 2:30 am PDT I decided to lay down for a while. I felt comfortable enought that I could post on the mare Stare boards that I needed help and they would keep watch for me. So I left my post and laid down for a while, asking the Mare Starers to keep watch on my Arabian horse. I knew I could count on them to call if anything changed with my horse.

I woke up about 5 am and went back to the cam to check my mare. I also checked the and the Mare Stare alert board to read the updates on my Arabian horse. Posts on the board stated a low alert had gone out on the mare (horse. I watched for a while, although I didn't do any posting. I pretty much agreed with the status on my Arabian horse. The mare looked to be in labor but there was no evidence the horse had reached the second stage (pushing the foal out) yet.

My husband called to say he was on his way home from work. I went to take my medications for my allergies hoping I could shake my headache before the Arabian mare (horse) kicked into full gear. I lay down for a few minutes to give the meds a chance to work when the phone rang. It was Dave saying Mare Stare viewers had called and the horse was foaling. The wrong phone number was posted on the web cam.

I raced to the computer to check the horse. The connection had been dropped but the picture of the Arabian horse frozen in the background was not good. I could see a portion of the foal's sack hanging with a bulge of fluid but no signs of a foal. In a normal foaling, the sight should have been a bubble of the foal's sack around both feet appearing out of the mare's (horses) vulva.
Throwing on a coat and pulling on my boots, I headed for the barn calling the vet on my way. Unlike last year, getting a vet was not a problem. I was grateful to have established such a great relationship with Dr Gillette because of the twins, Arabian horses. I knew I could count on him answering my call. Jack answered right away. He gave me instructions to get started while he was on his way. I was equally grateful he was only a couple of miles down the road. Time is of the essence in dystocia.

To be continued......

Part 2

OK, I apologize for the suspense. I alwlays feel like the more I know the better prepared I am. I see these posts as not only a way to tell the story but as a tool to educate people to do that takes details, details, details..........

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Life & the Arabian Horse Breeder - Foal Story

It was a long night, last night and even longer day in the life of this particular Arabian horse breeder. My first foal of the year is finally on the ground.
Thank God! I'm too exhausted to write a post so this picture will have to do. His mom (Arabian horse) didn't like the camera much so that explains the cut off ear. More on this new young Arabian horse and his trip into this world tomorrow.
To be continued.........

More Reflections on Horses - Twin Arabian Foals

To begin at Part 1 of this Series

To this point, the rare Arabian twin foals have made it through some tough times. With even greater odds stacked against the twin horses because of a difficult and protracted birthing process, septicemia in the filly, and a suspicious tumor in their mother, It is a miracle these Arabian twin foals have made it to four weeks old. But they have and things are beginning to look hopeful for the horses.

The filly has made it through her round of medidcation and the infection has not come back. The colt is improving every day, although he still is too quiet for an Arabian foal. All three Arabian horses (the mare and both foals) have finally got to go outside for the first time. That seemed to be an uneventful session and I'm beginning to think that life is going to now be normal. Thank God!

That peace didn't last for long. The next day as I turned the three horses (the mare and both twin foals) out again, someone noticed that the filly, Scandalous Surprise, was favoring one leg, her right hind. Checking the horse closely, I found heat in her hock. My heart dropped. Heat and joint swelling are symptoms of joint ill. It time for another frantic call the vet. Even though in my heart, I didn't think this filly was relapsing, I was not willing to gamble with her life.

Jack Gillette would be there as soon as he could. In the meantime I returned the three horses (the mare and twin foals) to their stall. I stood outside the stall studying the filly closely. While the tiny twin horse was lame, the filly just didn't look sick to me. The last time her behavior had changed. All that outward spunk and Arabian horse attitude had gotten pretty quiet. This time it was all right there busting out at her little seams. This Arabian twin foal was feeling good despite her sore hock.

By the time the veterinarian arrived, I was concerned. I didn't want to put this vulnerable Arabian twin foal back on antibiotics if she didn't really need them. But I didn't want to loose her because I was wrong either. Trusting your gut can be a really scary thing sometimes. This was about as scary as it gets for me, this life of this horse was in the balance.

Jack felt the same way about the horse's condition, I did. Putting the Arabian twin foal back onto antibiotics meant putting a cathater back into her vein. Each time that is done, it causes scaring to the horse's vein making it more difficult for the next time. As small as the vein in this tiny Arabian twin foal was, we didn't want to be causing scarring that could lock us out from that avenue of treatment later. One more thing to complicate the decision about treatment for this very vulnerable twin horse.

So Dr Gillette called Pilchuck Hospital for input. Dr Fehr recommended we start the Arabian twin foal on antibiotics and do a full panel of x-rays. If the x-rays showed any reason for the lameness we could take the twin horse off of the antibiotics. Dr. Ferr was convinced that the septecemia had flared up but she couldn't see the condition the filly was in.

Standing there watching that filly, neither of us was convinced that the Arabian twin foal was sick. The goofy filly was bucking and kicking in the stall, pissed off that the three horses play session had been cut short. Even with her now swelling hock, the horse just didn't look sick.

Relying on how the Arabian twin foal had behaved before with her illness, we decided to risk going against Pilchuck Hospital's recommended treatment for the filly. Not something either of us was doing lightly, we knew if we were wrong the precious Arabian twin foal (who had by now stolen our hearts) could pay with her life. But the nagging doubt that she might pay anyway if we treated the horse for something she didn't have weighed just as heavy. We would do the x-rays asap. Expedite them to an equine neo-natal expert and pray while we waited hoping that we had made the right decision for the Arabian twin foal.

To be continued....

Next chapter in the Arabian Twins Foals saga


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