retaining placenta

[rosefinch]

Bred a aimbry chester foal from my 16yr old pba in 2008. She retained the placenta and it was quite traumatic for her. After vet treatment eventually she did pass it but the stable lookd like a chain saw masacre had taken place. It was a vert tense 2 days. I am now unable to ride my mare as she had an accident before i got her and now she has quite bad arthuritus. Would like to breed from her again and was wondering if anyone else had experience of this and if you breed again is the same likely to happen??? wouldny want to put her through it again. She is 15hh but would but her to a smaller stallion due to her age she will be 18. She is in good health other than that and living like a queen!!!

[kayjayem]

I've had it happen twice but never had any trauma with it, both times it was sorted easily. First one didn't respond to oxytocin but was manually removed by vet, second one I injected and she passed it after a couple of hours so obviously not as bad as yours. It was different mares and both had had previous foals and have had further foals with no problems.

[holiday]

I wouldnt be overly concerned either, I have bred two healthy foals from a mare who I knew with her previous owner had a retained placenta and also the mare I imported from Germany had also retained, she has foaled down pefectly well this year - We have had her 11th foal in 2009 so I think at some point a mare in her life could have this problem.

A retained placenta is classed as that after about 4 hrs and should be treated by a vet, usually they will jab with oxytocin that will start the uterus to contract again and suggest you lightly weight it with such as a plastic glove filled with water, it should never be pulled away as it could cause a prolapsed uterus which is a very serious issue in horses. This is why a vet should administer oxy only or manually remove it is not to be taken lightly.

However as I said earlier, this would certainly not put me off breeding again from such a mare I would also not worry about the size of the stallion being smaller due to her age, a 15.2hh or 16hh stallion wouldnt be a problem in real terms unless of course you wanted to try for the optimium size of 14.2hh and breed a sports pony!!!!!

There are some fab ponies on the SPSS site who are all graded and licensed it maybe worth a look, and if you are considering her to use as a broodmare why not take her to the SPSS grading? Your Aimbry Chester foal is also be eligible for overstamping with them if you didnt go for SPSS papers!! As Chester is a graded SPSS pony!!!! Although im sure you knew!!! Have you any photos? Im very biased towards Chester and Thursden Vallye Raphael having a super colt by him - the bay colt in my signature!!!

www.sportpony.org.uk/index.shtml

[sarahp]

I've bred for 30 odd years, had some retained placentas over the years and would second all the above - it should not be any problem at all with appropriate vet treatment - my lot like to be told if not passed within two hours, but as my mares foal outside unobserved I've usually got no idea of the exact timing! The vet may give antibiotics if it could have been a long time just to guard against infection.

[applepie]

I have been breeding ponies since 1980 and worked on stud before that- I have had retained placentas too- oxytocin usually sorts it and they have then gone on to foal normally the next time- seek veterinary advice if you are worried.

[rosefinch]

thanks guys that has put my mind at rest another foal it is then. Yes vet did come out several time injections didn't work and he manually removed it, very carefully as previously stated.

My chester foal is a real sweetie and i am hoping he does good things in the future. Unfortunately after my mare miscarrying and the concieving twins twice buy the time she got caught it was late in the breeding season and he didnt arrive till beginning of August so he is a little immature but i know he will catch up.

I would definately send her to aimbry chester again trudy and her team are fantastic

thanks again

will try and get some photos of him on her i am terrible at it though

[Guestless]

I've got a mare who has done it both times she has foaled. First time came out within a couple of hours after Oxytocin, but it took much longer second time - vet tried the glove filled with water, but she burst it on the stable wall

Someone suggested to me that I give her a couple of arnica tablets next time immediately after she has foaled so I will probably give that a go if I do breed from her again.

[rosefinch]

thanks guestless thats interesting advice very disturbing to watch them go through that. To be honest she foaled outside and i brought her in as foal had no ida about suckling - he isnt the brightest star in the sky!!! perhaps if i had left her alone it might have been different - you just never know.

[lancs]

My mare has had three foals last 3 years and retained each time and needed oxytocin, she gets in foal at first covering, carries her foals without problem, foals easily, then I call the vet to give her a jab.

[Guestless]

Jan 27, 2010 20:12:38 GMT rosefinch said:

thanks guestless thats interesting advice very disturbing to watch them go through that. To be honest she foaled outside and i brought her in as foal had no ida about suckling - he isnt the brightest star in the sky!!! perhaps if i had left her alone it might have been different - you just never know.

Mine foal outside too I brought my mare in as we were worried we wouldn't know if she had expelled the whole placenta due to the length of time it was taking.....we would have had to search the field to find it and a fox could have beaten us to it in the meantime.

I'm quite a squeamish person but managed to get round that by telling myself it was a pair of tights, lol!! My mare wasn't overly bothered though

Foal No 1


Foal No 2

[rosefinch]

Oh my god they r amazing pictures my foal looked like a mousse!!!! i was like what the hack is that - really must get pictures on here thankfully he doesnt look like a mousse now. amazing really how this happens we need every drug going and they just get on with it and dont ever hold us against us x

[Guestless]

If it makes you feel any better, 2 hours earlier the 2nd foal looked liked this ------->

[eskvalleystud]

be very careful with the trailing placenta, vet advices to tie it up so can't be trodden on and ripped or have it pull on the inners!

my vet wondered about a calcium deficiency in one of my mares as she had had hypoglycemia (sp) in 2007 and was very very ill, but we have never had a prob before or after last years foal and no change in diet etc so unsure about a deficiency but I do wonder if this has any baring on retained placenta's, I am sure I asked my vet but me being me I have already forgotten the answer, still if I do decide to breed again in the future I may look into calcium supplements to their hard feed diets on vets advice, anyone else heard about a link to this deficiency and retained placenta's?

[Guestless]

It would have been tied up if I could get a hold of her, but it would have been more of a risk if I had started chasing her around the field... it was tied up once reinforcements had arrived. She's a funny mare - you are allowed to handle foal very quickly, but only on her command (she pushes you into it!) and she decides when you can check her over

[eskvalleystud]

totally agree that could end up in disaster, I have to foal mine inside for this reason, just incase mare decided to be too foal proud!

[sarahp]

Mine always foal outside - I believe that doing so they have fewer problems. If you've seen how big an area a mare uses when foaling you'd understand how they can feel stressed and hemmed in in a box, not to mention bashing the emerging foal on the walls which can happen, as well as something hung off the placenta. My old vet always foaled his own outside, even the TBs, and said that if things got a bit slow the mare would take off for a gallop round the field to shake it around into a different position before trying again. I must admit I took this with a pinch of salt until one of my ewes had a very oddly presented lamb that I couldn't deal with, every time I got it in the right position and then tried to get it out it would slip back to the original malpresentation again - so had to go the vet. We put her in the back of the LR and drove 10 miles to our then vet - to find it perfectly presented, nose and two front feet, when I got there. Since then, all mares foal out! I do have a tiny paddock I use for maidens and those that take off at full gallop with foal at the sight of a human though.

That is not the placenta hanging out of Guestless' mare by the way but just the membrane surrounding the foal at birth, and I'd never ever thought of tying that up, isn't it a technique for use with a retained placenta? Most of the time they will very soon give a heave or two and the whole thing will plop out

[lils]

agree re tieing up when practical,as it can pull internally if trodden on and cause haemorrage. I fed all my mares raspberry leaves from 6 weeks prior to foaling date, and the only 2 times ive had retained placenta, where mares who foaled early and hadnt had 6 weeks of raspbery leaves, whether that be luck im not sure, but i keep feeding the leaves!!

[Guestless]

Jan 29, 2010 16:03:56 GMT sarahp said:

That is not the placenta hanging out of Guestless' mare by the way but just the membrane surrounding the foal at birth, and I'd never ever thought of tying that up, isn't it a technique for use with a retained placenta? Most of the time they will very soon give a heave or two and the whole thing will plop out

It is the placenta in the pic of the first foal, but the membrane in the pcs of second foal. Unfortunately though the placenta didn't follow it out - took a full 24 hours for it to happen despite 2 jabs of Oxytocin.

I've always used raspberry leaves as well lils (already got them in for my mare due end of April) - hasn't helped this particular mare since she's had 2 foals and 2 retained placentas but I will try arnica tablets next time.

[sarahp]

Sorry, difficult to see in first photo but obviously membrane in the second.

Never tried the raspberry leaves (but do grow raspberries so available!) but haven't had a retained one for some time. I have heard from various directions but just hearsay, not proper scientific research, that Ds are particularly bad at retaining, and that it can be caused by mineral imbalances. My vets unpick it and remove manually if the oxytocin doesn't work, they aren't keen on leaving it in as long as 24 hours.

[eskvalleystud]

yes my vet isn't happy either leaving it, both mares still got help even after their jags as too risky to leave inside for any length of time, I would probably foal outside and have had a few do so, but I am worried about foals being dropped off near the fencing and have heard about ones ending up in the next field! if I had post and rail so no chance of that I would but its also difficult to monitor them in the field and where we are its blinking cold til about July, we had a mare foal early or at least with no impending signs of foaling outside in middle of March, foal had no chance in that cold, mare had been stabled at night but must of done it early morning after being turned out and I had not been there when it happened, everything must of happened so quickly but still kick myself over it

if I breed again I will add supplements to the stud mix for the girls as I guess could be mineral imbalance, in my case possible calcium

[sarahp]

I have sheep netting so no chance of them getting under but I can see your point!

[Guestless]

Jan 30, 2010 9:07:56 GMT sarahp said:

My vets unpick it and remove manually if the oxytocin doesn't work, they aren't keen on leaving it in as long as 24 hours.

Mine aren't either, but in Hetty's case it was gradually coming out just very slowly and they don't like interfering unless necessary.

[jofi]

Some great comments
Our mare aborted yesterday, which i've never had before. As she was weeks early the placenta wasn't ready to release & even after 6 hrs & several shots of oxytocin still nothing.
Had to take her to vets (still partially sedated & placenta slightly visable - not a nice trip), where last night after manipulation they have removed most, hopefully rest being removed today
am sure she'll be fine & we will cover her again this year, sure to have better luck next year??

[Guestless]

Sorry to read that jofi. Breeding is such a lottery. I hope your mare recovers with no issues and goes on to have a fabulous foal next year.

[holiday]

Im so sorry to hear that too, we had a mare abort two seasons ago, we were lucky she cleansed properly but still a big disappointment for us all. She has gone on to have a super foal with no problems and is back in foal again for this season.