A dedicated team of professionals at UC Davis work around the clock to help newborns beat the odds.
Posted by UC Davis Center for Equine Health Horse Report | Jul 8, 2017 | Article, Foal Care, Veterinary Practice
One of the most thrilling and heartwarming experiences in the equine world is seeing a healthy foal stand within minutes of birth. However, sick foals can have some of the highest mortality rates in veterinary medicine. Therefore, the effort to save them takes a talented and dedicated team of professionals such as those at the University of California, Davis (UC Davis), Equine Medical Emergency, Critical Care and Neonatology Service, who work around the clock to help newborns beat the odds.
Sick foals brought to UC Davis are admitted to the veterinary hospital’s Lucy G. Whittier Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU). The team there, led by Gary Magdesian, DVM, Dipl. ACVIM, ACVECC, ACVCP, CVA, chief of service and Roberta A. and Carla Henry Endowed Chair in emergency medicine and critical care, handles the most complicated cases, providing coverage 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Resident veterinarians, technicians, veterinary students, and undergraduate members of the UC Davis foal team are also part of the cooperative effort involved in managing these patients.
The NICU is equipped with customized stalls to support sick foals, allowing intensive management under the watchful eye of the mare in an adjoining stall. Critical conditions the NICU staff treats include maladjusted foal syndrome, failure of passive transfer, neonatal isoerythrolysis, orthopedic problems (i.e., contracted legs, crooked legs), prematurity, sepsis, and much more. Additionally, the NICU performs post-foaling procedures such as providing physical therapy for foals with leg deformities; evaluating the mare’s reproductive tract with the hospital’s equine reproduction service; handling retained placentas; and milking mares to feed foals if necessary.
Premature foal care can be especially laborious. In addition to potential health problems, premature foals’ bones are not fully ossified (hardened), requiring them to stay off their feet for potentially weeks. To accomplish this, the NICU foal team sits with foals in their stalls and prevents them from standing up.
One team member recently tweeted, “Spent from 2:30 a.m. – 8 a.m. taking care of a foal in the neonatal ICU and somehow I’m not even tired.”
This dedication is needed to see mares and foals through a lengthy stay in the NICU. A foal named Brave recently spent 43 days in the NICU after he was born five weeks premature. Few equine hospitals have the capability to care for a critically sick foal around the clock for more than a month straight.
Many conditions and complications related to foaling are not within your control, but horse owners and breeders can take steps to promote the health of a foal even before it is born. Providing a clean foaling environment and keeping the mare healthy, clean, and current on vaccinations are some ways.
Provide good prenatal mare care. Provide adequate nutrition for the mare, including vitamin E and selenium supplementation to ensure healthy placental function and blood supply to the developing foal. Consult your veterinarian to determine the appropriate dose of supplements. Selenium intake can depend on geographic location. Ensure that your mare is current with vaccinations as this can positively affect the quality of colostrum.
In the May 7th Saturday race at Churchill Downs, Rich Strike, which closed at 80-1 odds — the longest of any horse in the field of 20 — won by 3/4 of a length over Epicenter and third-place finisher Zandon. It was the second-largest upset in the race’s history Saturday. Rich Strike’s team won $1.86 million of the Derby’s $3 million purse. The only time a horse overcame longer odds to win the race was in 1913, when Donerail triumphed after closing as a 91-1 longshot. Rich Strike was only added to the field Friday after Ethereal Road dropped out.