Miniature Horse Foaling Problems = Dystocia
Painted Sun Miniature Horses is sharing with you what we do to maintain the health of our horses. This is not intended to direct you on how to care for your horse. The intent of this is only to share what we do. We advise you to consult your veterinarian before making any changes in your horse's health care. The information found on our website is not to supersede the advise of your veterinarian. Painted Sun Miniature Horses cannot be held liable for the care of your horse(s).
I can't say enough about the book called, The Complete Book of Foaling. We had read that and then went to Dr. Laura Harris' clinic on Sunday here in Phoenix. She is THE vet in Phoenix that all of the big mini breeders have used for years and years. Some of these mini breeders have had hundreds and up of foals.
One encouragement was that in many of the cases you have a bit of time because the foal's umbilical cord is not being pinched. In the two cases I mentioned above the foal's air supply is gone (or going as in back hooves out) and you are against the clock. She said you have 6 minutes to get baby out, and he takes his first breath of air 30 seconds after his air supply is gone.
The Complete Book of Foaling reviews the presentations and tells you how to maneuver the foal with helpful diagrams. Having twine (or I have shoelaces from the dollar store) on hand is important to tie to one of those pasterns if you have to push baby back in. Having other helpers on hand also seems important to me.
And as a homeschooling mom, The Complete Book of Foaling can also serve as a Biology text!!
by Lisa Dales (age 14)
On February 10th, 2008 a clinic was put on about how to foal out a Miniature Horse. It was hosted by the Miniature Horse Association of Arizona and the guest speaker was Dr. Laura Harris, DVM. This clinic was extremely well done and very educational, especially as we have 6 mares due to foal this spring. Miniatures have many more problems than big horses due to their size and to being bred down. The notes below are the notes that I plan on having with me the night our mares deliver, just incase a mare is having problems with dystocia. Remember that I am only 14 years old and these are only my tips. You should not take my recommendations, but call a vet!!
I. Normal Birth
A. You should see two forelegs and a nose
1. The two forelegs should be staggered 3”-6” apart
2. The nose should be right behind the hooves, about the level of the
knees, with the ears the level of the elbows
3. If the mare has been pushing for 20 minutes and there is no
progress, enter mare to assess problem or call for help
B. Stage I – Positioning
1. Starts with the mare going into labor and ends with the water
breaking
2. This time period can range from a short interval up to 24 hrs and
still produce a live foal
C. Stage II – actual birth
1. Starts with water breaking, ends with delivery of foal
2. Duration from 15 minutes - 1 hour. If foal is
not out in an hour, CALL VET
3. White sac should appear after a couple hard contractions; if
there is no sac, reach in mare and find out why
D. Stage III – Passing of placenta
1. Duration: 5- 45 minutes is normal
2. If placenta is not delivered within 3 hrs, CALL VET
II. Abnormal Presentations of foal (dystocia)
A. Critical Things to Remember:
1. Before putting your hand in the mare, ALWAYS WASH carefully
and LUBE generously!
2. If you know there is dystocia, keep mare from pushing
and straining, all she is doing is jamming the problem tighter;
if a mare is walking, she cannot push!
Pointing the mare downhill may help, too
3. If you pull, only pull with the mare's contractions. You can actually
cause the tissues that line the birth canal to bunch up and make
delivery impossible.
4. Always think about the arc-like pathway that a foal must follow to
emerge from the birth canal. He is delicate as are the inner tissues
of the mare.
B. Presentations where you MUST PULL THE FOAL OUT NOW!
In the following three presentations, you must always get the foal
out immediately. If not, the foal will be oxygen deprived and
will probably die. In all three presentations, the umbilical cord is
being pinched so the foal is getting no air from that source. After
the umbilicus is cut off, you have 30 secs before the foal’s first
breath and 6 minutes before brain damage.
a. You will see red, terry cloth like sac coming out of mare
b. The foal is inside of the red sac and white sac. You must cut
the red sac, go inside that, rip the white sac, go inside that
and pull the foal out FAST! Remember, ALWAYS pull a
foal out downwards, towards the hocks of the mare.
http://www.southernheartranch.com/redbag.html This site has 3 pages about Red Bag babies with great pictures of births.
http://rosaroca.net/redbag.htm This site gives tips on how to break open the sacs and how to pull out baby
2. Backwards Foal (hind legs coming first)
a. You know that you have a backwards foal because the
hind legs come first. The soles of the feet are pointing up, and
not down as usual. The umbilicus is being pinched on pelvic rim.
b. Grasp the legs, and pull toward the mare’s hocks.
3. Hip lock
a. Foal's pelvis is caught, or locked, on the mare’s pelvis. There are
4 different approaches as to how to “unlock” a hip locked foal.
b. First approach – cross foal’s front legs, and while pushing
foal back into mare (only push during a time of no contractions)
twist the front legs in a rotational movement. If the foal doesn’t
“pop” out, cross legs the other way and try again
c. Second approach – Roll mare onto back. Have helpers hold her on
back. Grasp the foal’s forelegs. Even though you are still pulling
towards the mare’s hocks, you are now pulling towards your waist
because the mare is on her back. Baby should pop out
d. Third approach – grasp foal’s front legs and pull down
to the left, then down to the right, slowly trying to
walk foal through birth canal. Alternate the way you are
pulling, down to left, down to right.
e. Fourth approach - Grasp foal's forelegs and attempt to rotate
foal 180 degrees,
C. Presentations to CALL THE VET, don’t try it yourself!!!!
In the following presentations, you could hurt mare and/or foal if
you try to do it alone. While waiting for the vet to arrive, walk
the mare slowly around the stall. A mare can’t push and walk
at the same time. Have your trailer hooked up, deeply bedded and
ready to haul her in.
1. Full Breech (Backwards with no legs coming)
a. You will see a tail and a butt and no legs, emergency!
2. Upside Down Breech (backwards & upside down)
a. It will look like a full breech, but with the tail on the bottom
3. Back (spine) of foal first, also called transverse
a. Mare will be pushing…nothing coming, you stick your hand
in, and hit a solid wall of foal, the foal’s back.
4. 4 feet coming at same time, another transverse
a. All four feet of foal will be trying to some at the same time
D. Presentations that may need my intervention....or a nearby
vet.
1. One forefoot or foreleg deflected back (most common
dystocia)
a. I will see only one leg and a nose.
b. Tie a clean shoe string around the visible pastern. Next,
push the head and leg back into uterus a little ways. Slide
your clean, well lubricated hand into mare, with palm
towards center. Locate hooked leg, slip two
fingers behind knee, pull up, then towards the middle of
foal’s chest, then out. If the leg does not come, try grasping
toe of hoof and bringing it forward.
(If the foal’s left leg is missing, use your left hand with the
palm towards center of mare) Whenever you are moving
foal’s legs in the mare, protect her uterus from the sharp
hooves by cupping the foal’s hoof in your hand.
2. Both forelegs back (second most common dystocia)
a. You will see the nose, but there will be no legs
b. If the foal has a blue tongue, don’t worry; that is normal in this
situation
c. Enter with your palm towards center and do the same process
as written above on both legs instead of just one leg
3. Head caught on pelvic rim
a. The legs may or may not be in birth canal.
b. Tie string to visible pasterns and then reach in mare. Find the
foal’s two mandibles, then run your hand down his face to his
chin. Grasp under chin while having your helper push the foal back
into uterus. (with each contraction, the foal’s head is being
jammed harder and harder into the pelvic rim. That is why the
helper must push foal back to undo the blockage) with your hand
under the chin, gently but firmly pull on it and unhook from the
rim. Once the head straightens, the foal will deliver without
further ado.
4. Head & neck turned to one side
a. This presentation may look like the one above, but when you put
your hand in, on one side of the foal will be a mass of neck. Tie
strings to the pasterns, and, while helper is pushing foal back,
slide hand along neck to chin. Grasp chin and gently straighten
head.
5. Upside Down
a. You will see the soles pointing upwards, telling you that the
foal is either upside down or backwards. Discern position by
entering and trying to find head or hocks. If there is a head,
the foal is upside down.
b. This position may correct itself. Allow time for the mare’s
rotational contractions to turn foal. Allow time for mare to lay
down and roll to position foal before getting worried.
c. If intervention is necessary, first put hand in and re-check foal’s
position to make sure that only 2 legs are in the birth canal. If
hind leg is there, do not push foot directly back in!
(Read section 6 on how to unhook a third foot) Fpal will be tipped
to one side. This is because the rotational contractions are trying
to turn the foal that direction. Work with the pre-established
direction of the foal. If foal is tipped to your left, grasp foal’s
legs and cross right leg over left. Hold the legs crossed, and wait
for mare’s contractions to pull. (mare should by laying down)
When she pushes, pull and twist firmly but gently. Rolling the foal
happens gradually, not suddenly. Don’t pull when the mare is not
having a contraction, but in between contractions, don’t let the
foal slip back, hold all progress you have made.
6. One hind foot coming under chest (Dog-sitting position)
a. Instead of the normal two front feet and a nose, there will be
3 front feet and a nose. The first thing you have to do is figure
out which leg is the back leg. Put hand in and feel for hocks or
run hand down foal’s front legs to find chest.
b. Once you find the back foot, put two fingers behind
pastern/ankle try to LIFT HOOF over pelvic rim while your
helper pushes foal back. As soon as you feel any movement or
release, slide your hand with palm upwards and catch the sharp
hoof tip as it falls, protecting the mare’s uterus.
7. Forelegs over head/ears
a. Foal will be coming out, except for that the hooves will be on top
of the nose instead of the nose on top of the hooves. Lube well
and go in with your palm towards the center
b. Once you locate the knees, which will be hooked over the ears,
gently lift legs from head into normal position
As you can tell by all the information above, I learned a lot at this clinic. I hope that this aids us in birthing all our mares this year! Dr. Harris was very helpful and answered any questions she had. She was very explanatory, and I really enjoyed the clinic.
