Foal season is in full swing again this year. It reminds me of the first foal I had the pleasure of witnessing at birth. His name was Tana and he was a very special boy. He was his second foal on our original race mare, so was always to be treated like royalty on our ranch.
Tana is definitely special and has taught us a lot about foal health. Tana is a so-called dummy foal, medically known as neonatal maladaptation syndrome, neonatal encephalopathy, or hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy. This occurs when the foal’s brain is deprived of adequate oxygen supply at some point during pregnancy, birth, or immediately after birth. Tana’s mother suffered severe placentitis during her pregnancy, which was probably the cause of Tana’s lack of oxygen, causing complications as a foal.
Tana’s birth and delivery were normal, but within the first hour of life it was evident that Tana was not a normal healthy foal. It took Tana a long time before she tried to get back on her feet, and her attempts were mostly unsuccessful. After he found his feet (which helped us balance a bit), he couldn’t find his mare’s udder and circled around like he was lost. I spent a lot of time walking around. We tried to pick him up and direct him, but he didn’t seem to be able to hold or suck, even on his breasts. Certainly he wasn’t right and clearly needed intervention to get his life going.
Tana was only a few hours old and was clearly not going to feed herself, so she needed gastric tube feeding. We expected him to gain some strength and learn how to suck after one feeding, but he didn’t. Tana was fitted with a nasogastric feeding tube (a tube that goes directly from the nose to the stomach) to facilitate feeding times. We tried bottle-feeding, but lacked a sucking reflex, so we didn’t get the hang of it.
The next hurdle he had to overcome was the IgG test, also known as the immunoglobulin G test or gamma globulin test. This is a simple blood test that measures the amount of antibodies in the foal’s blood to see if the foal is getting enough colostrum from the mare’s colostrum. Tanus’ IgG test results were so bad that he actually needed two plasma transfusions. Tana didn’t seem to be out of the woods just yet, but he developed a respiratory infection that required antibiotic treatment. Luckily for us, Tanas’ mum is one of the best mares we’ve ever had and she trusted us completely. , never had a problem handling the foal. In fact, she didn’t mind at all.
After three days of tube feeding, two rounds of plasma, antibiotic treatment, and endless monitoring, Tana learned how to suck from her mother. Finally he grew up right and our special little son was about to become an almost normal foal. Tana was so used to the veterinarian that for months he whined to the veterinarian in his blue overalls. I think he thought of them as mothers.
Tana has always been special to us and spent her entire life on our farm. He grew up like a normal horse, but he was indeed quiet and very manageable. One of his ears was never the right size and actually fell down like a dog. He was never a big horse, though it is unclear if it was from in vitro growth or a problem with the dummy foal. He had been run-in, but he had never raced. He had neither the physique nor the ability. So we didn’t push him. Instead, he lived his life as a spoiled, grass-eating pony alongside other retired players. Tana always came to kiss the fence and he actually wrapped around your neck like a hug. He was a really loving person. Tana recently passed away at the age of 15 and we are so grateful to have this special horse into our lives. Tana taught myself and everyone on the farm a lot about foal health and dummy foal care.
Each foal season brings new challenges, new knowledge, or new experiences. What will happen this year?
Until next time,
Beck
For more information on Dummy Foals, please visit the vet-n-pet DIRECT Help Center. here.