Our first miniature horse foal of the year was born early this morning. A pretty buckskin colt with overo markings. Unfortunately, his back legs are badly twisted. This is a first in our fifteen years of breeding minis.Some quick googling found lots of results, apparently uterine malposition is the most common reason given.
Sometimes the foal become twisted or "stuck" in an awkward position in the limited space of the uterus, and they can't stretch their limbs and move about. These abnormally positioned legs develop tightened or shortened ligaments and tendons.
Mom Jasmine is not a small mare and has had several fine healthy foals here at Unicorner Farm. So I guess it can just happen, nothing else has changed.
Bob called our vet and he told us basically the same thing and agreed with the articles that the prognosis is good for the legs to straighten and be normal in time. Though the colt cannot nurse yet on his own, he is strong and gets around by scooting. It is very sad to watch him try to get up in the stall but over the past 12 hours he has improved quite a bit. We have seen a lot more flexibility and he sure looks forward to his bottle. Jasmine is a great mom and doesn't mind being milked and is very careful around him.
Bob has named him Trooper because he doesn't give up. Hopefully he will soon be able to stand to nurse by himself.
No comments:
Post a Comment