sad day...has anyone else had this before?

[dalak]

Yesterday was a very sad day for us, we lost our first foal of the year, a polamino filly with 4 whites and a blaze
Sorry to go into the gory details but wondering if anyone else has had anything similar to this. Foal was born dead she was very tiny, born with out eyes, 1 open empty socket and the other side was just a slit and instead of having two nostrils she just had one large hole, she also didnt have much fur?? I know its awful to imagine (and ever worse to see) but curious as to whether anyone else had experience this or other abnormalties?
Mare was full term, didnt foal early and a first foal. She is today off to be a foster mum to a week old orphan who lost his mum ladt night. Glad some good can come from such a sad situation and that she could possibly save anothrr foal and also get her chance at being a mum.

[mirejaal]

I am so so sorry for you. Our section B lost her first foal, although he was born perfect, he was dead when we arrived, we just missed his birth...... completely devastating, vet could see nothing wrong with him, my heart goes out to you. Maybe speak to some of the studs who will have so much experience about first foals and maybe can advise whether to repeat the covering, or if it is ok to put her in foal again, terrible for you

[mirejaal]

pps we repeated the covering, and she foaled the next year all by herself with a perfect (Identical) filly foal.

[sarahp]

No, never had anything like this but looked up in my big vet gynae book which says that facial/eye defects are not uncommon as congenital deformities go, and they don't know the cause, whether it is genetic or the result of something happening in early pregnancy to disrupt the proper development of the foetus. Not very helpful, sorry.

[lovebird]

I had a chestnut filly born 9 years age with no eyes, had sockets, lids etc, it's called micro opthema you normally get it in one eye very rare both eyes, she was perfect apart from that, vet put her to sleep, and she went off to be exammined. Not the first foal, vet said to put her back in foal, which we did to another stallion, she has had 3 perfectly heathy foals.

[dalak]

Thanks..it was very strage never had/seen anythin like it before. She will be left empty this year due to going away to be a foster mum but will be recovered next year

[dalak]

Mar 12, 2013 10:19:10 GMT lovebird said:

I had a chestnut filly born 9 years age with no eyes, had sockets, lids etc, it's called micro opthema you normally get it in one eye very rare both eyes, she was perfect apart from that, vet put her to sleep, and she went off to be exammined. Not the first foal, vet said to put her back in foal, which we did to another stallion, she has had 3 perfectly heathy foals.

Sorry to hear about yours...this was in both eyes and also no nostrills just a large hole above her lip and also very very tiny with out much fur just a very thin coat very sad but glad our mares ok.

[brt]

Nothing helpful to say, just wanted to say sorry for your loss, it must have been a dreadful for you xx

[jakkibag]

Aw Im sorry for your sad loss, Glad the mare is ok!

[lovebird]

Yes it was just her eyes, and she was perfect apart from that, the mare was 17 and it was her 1st filly, she went on and did have another filly who is herself due to foal in June so keeping my fingers crossed for a filly.
I'm sure your mare will be fine in the future, did she have a difficult time carrying the foal ? mine did. Your mare is at least going to give another foal a chance.
It is a very sad time and you will feel very low, my thoughts are with you. K x

[gilbertgrape]

Very upsetting for you but you could see the deformity and realise it happened inside the mare andis one of those things.
Its harder still if an apparently healthy foal is still born because you don't know why its happened.
Often a foetus with a deformity is aborted at about 5 months - the old saying was if you had an in foal mare after Christmas that was a good sign and you could look forward to a foal in the Spring.
In the days when you observed changes and didn't have vets doing scans etc!!
Glad she's a foster mum-brilliant for her and you.

[jeanslater]

We had similar instances twice , once was the year after chernobyl and the next time was when all our mares were sent away to graze on limestone land next to an active limestone blasting quarry, neither time was I suprised when I looked into each instance, its heatbreaking but it happens.

[Deleted]

I had one born the year after chernobyl with no eyes, the sockets were just covered with skin and fur, always put it down to that, unfortunately this breeding job isn't easy.

[rodeorider]

I am sorry for your loss xx

[dalak]

Well doll went this afternoon to meet the new foal. She loaded and travelled great, settled well at the other end after a long journey. She got a little stressed and confused when foal wss taken in to have a feed from her but after a little patience she stood to let her suckle foals now in ajoining stable to her and will be taken in to her every 2 hrs for a drink and for her to bond. Very proud of her as this was herfirst...fingers crossed it all goes to plan.

[lovebird]

Bless her.

[shelliewilson]

Ahhhh so sad xxx

[hatman]

What a shock for you glad your mare is ok and you can take some comfort from her helping another little foal.

[groom395]

my friend had same deformed foal as you a few years ago, no explanation very strange

[EJM]

ooh i think i know where she is now being a forster mum, fingers crossed all goes well its good to see the power of Facebook CAN be a positive one!

[geegees]

So sorry for the loss of your foal, lovely the mare has gone on to help another in need.

A few years ago i was there when a friends foal was born out of a mare i had bred, it too was born with the big hole instead of nostrils, her eyes were ok though as far as i can remember but her back legs were deformed, they were bent the wrong way from the fetlock and rigid, sadly she was born alive so we had to try and stop her from struggling to get to her feet until the vet arrived to put her to sleep, was heartbreaking, it was the mares first foal and she didnt seem to realise what was going on and recovered quickly, she went on to have further foals that were fine but the mating was never repeated with the same stallion. There was no explanation in to why it happened but i remember the friend saying the mare had escaped on to a fertilized field not that far on in her pregnancy and i always wondered if that was the cause.

Sorry again and good luck for another healthy foal from her in the future x

[dalak]

Mar 13, 2013 20:28:24 GMT EJM said:

ooh i think i know where she is now being a forster mum, fingers crossed all goes well its good to see the power of Facebook CAN be a positive one!

Yes you probably do and yes it certainly can!!

Someone has mentioned to me button eye syndrome...has anyone heard of or know anything about this? Cant seem to find anything about it on the net to research??

[dalak]

And thankyou all for your kind msgs

[jeanslater]

King charles cavaliers have the same problems, I used to call it pea eye, that was many years ago, I do believe they still havent bred it out.

[busymare]

I am so sorry for your loss. I have no personal experience to add but I was curious about the button eye syndrome that you mention and did some looking. It seems to be a form of microphthalmos which if you google that it comes up with a lot more info.

"Microphthalmos on the other hand is well recognised in the horse... It is regularly seen in the thoroughbred horse in a wide range of severity from the small non-functional button eye to the slightly small but otherwise normal eye." Barnett & Cottrell (1988) onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.2042-3306.1988.tb01477.x/abstract
This paper is about something else it was just helpful for the 'button eye' definition.

Hope that helps your research to understand what happened.

[dalak]

Thanks ill take a look x

[smartami]

What a horrible thing to have happened, im glad your mare is ok, and helping another baby, and you can get comfort from this xx

[smokeycott]

what a shame .

[refifsneke]

So sorry for you - it's so upsetting when things like this happen but I think it's more than likely just bad luck and a one off. Lets face it humans are born with abnormalities and have perfectly healthy siblings. Put it down to a horrible experience and have another go! Good luck.

[Mari]

I haven't bred anything similar , but I have had a cleft palette foal, there no explanation for this either they simply don't no why it happens, at what stage of gestation it happens at , if its Genetic or not- I was advised not to cover the mare again by some and other said the same it's probably back luck so try again, the mare is back in foal to a Different stallion so fingers crossed this one will be fine.

I have also had a foal born to early who unfortunately didn't have a sucking reflex and would drink from the mother, I tried to bottle feed him for 3 days as the mare rejected him , but he was to weak and I had to have been PTS at 3 days ( another pally 4 whites)

I am so sorry to hear about your loss but a positive note at least your mare is able to help another little one, because I no my mare wouldn't tolerate another's mare foal.

Hug to you and your wonderful mare xx