Monday, January 5, 2015

My foal was overdue, but under cooked.....

You waited and waited and waited past 340 days and then 350 days still no baby. You think to yourself, few at least I won’t have to deal with a premature foal. Well…. Not exactly.

Dismature foal
 
We had a foal born at 365 days, yes a WHOLE year. Conception 1/1/14 birth 1/1/15. Was a maiden mare so we were worried that she went so far over. We did a rectal palpation 2 times in her overdue period to make sure that the foal was alive and heartbeat strong. Kept tabs on the mares birthing signs and temperature and we got a filly at 365 days.
When she came out she was TINY. A whapping 60 lbs where 80 lbs is considered a small foal for our breed, We prefer them to be 100lbs. She had a longer mane and tail than normal newborns as well as having very thick body hair like she was already 2 weeks old. Her head was proportionately a bit large for her body. She was weak in the tendons, not too much to where we didn’t think she would straighten up but worth mentioning for the blog. We had another foal born the same day just over 18 hours later (gestation 321 days) who was healthy so we had instant comparison, but also had years of experience of what to expect.
Normal foal born 18 hrs later
All seemed to be going well she got up at a normal time, she drank, meconium (first poop) came out, she took a pee. The mare’s colostrum test put her in the excellent/ above average!
But something made me feel like she was still “fetal”. Her looks as previously mentioned were a bit of a concern, but her actions were also interesting. When a foal sleeps they normally just plunk down and pass out either curled up or flat but they don’t do much fiddling. This little girl seemed to walk in circles while sleeping or scooching from one spot to another while sleeping. You could say it would be what a fetus does in the belly, moving while sleeping, except she was already out.
Dismature foal up and dry
She was also very easy to restrain and seemed overly imprinted. I could do just about anything including give her an enema without her getting up off the ground. WAY too placid for a foal. A foal even when imprinted should still have some fight in them and give a good push on you from time to time and flinch at things that are new to them.

I’m glad I had that gut feeling like she was not quite at the top of her game. By the next day she was not pooping. Lots of straining and stomping and swishing of her tail but no poops. I gave her an enema, and walked her and the dam around in the arena where I could evaluate anything that came out. Nothing came out. Not good.
 


I had been watching her on the cameras and she was drinking still but had gone from good long gulps to lots of utter bumping and walking around. The dam was doing a lot of squirting of milk and there were puddles in places to indicate that her drinking was not as effective as her mom’s milk let down. So dehydration was on my list of concerns as well as decreased immune transfer.
 
Dismature foal straining trying to poop
She was also doing a lot of straining trying to poop with no poop coming out so there was clearly something irritating her, blocked or not right
The whole time I was taking her temperature, 102 normal, normal 101.5, normal 102.1 then uh oh 103.5.
We called out the vet, you can’t be too cautious with these little one’s and at this point I was worried about impaction, dehydration and lack of immune transfer. Not a fun way to greet your babies first day after such a long wait.
Vet came and agreed that the foal looked fetal, or premature, but being past due would now be called dismature. We tested her IgG and blood work. Gave her IV fluids with glucose, another enema, and started her on antibiotics. The IgG came back above 800 on the snap test to luckily she did get immune transfer, but if she had not we would have done a plasma transfusion. Her bloodwork came back that she had an infection but we had already started the antibiotics. Her blood cultures did not grow anything so we felt strongly that the infection was affiliated with the intestines not functioning as normal.
Dismature foal straining, trying to keep her warm in a blanket
Dog blankets are the best fit for premature foals
When dealing with a premature/dismature foal it’s always a possibility that their intestines are not functioning as they should so absorption of nutrients, immunity, and fluids for hydration. Even if your foal is late or on time please keep an eye on them very closely in the first few days.
You also have to worry about their temperature every 6 hours because a foal, especially an immature, premature, dismature foal has problems regulating their body temperature. This foal’s temperature was anywhere from 100 to 102.7 the few days after the vet had come out. Ask your vet what temperature you should call them out again at. We found that the foal did a little better when wearing a little blanket at night when it got a bit colder. The weather was not terrible but the poor little girl was shaking a lot even when dry. Some shaking when born is normal and wakes the muscles but they should not be shaking the next day. It’s always a good idea to check your foals temperature even if there isn’t something concerning you.
They are very fragile and they can go downhill very quickly. Watch their nursing very closely, just because they are under there doesn’t mean that they are swallowing or consuming the volume that they need.

Here is an update on this very cute loveable beauty. She is now 1.5 years old and growing at an appropriate rate for her age and is a normal height that I would expect her to be for 1.5 yo.
Photo Courtesy Of ORY PHOTOGRAPHY (on Facebook & Online)
 

Friday, January 2, 2015

The 3 Types of Friesians

Friesians have undergone some serious changes over the past 50 years but most of them have happened in the last 10 years. The Dutch KFPS inspection committee have been analyzing the master plan for the Friesian breed as well as reviewing results of inspections and having strict stallion selection processes to create such impressive changes in the entire breed over such a short period of time.  
The history of the Friesian included war horse and plow horse as well as cart horse for transportation. In todays time wars are not fought on hoses and tractors now plow the fields. With the power and elasticity that has always been a part of this breed in history they are ideal candidates for todays riding and harness driving show world. They are used for Dressage, Fine Harness, Saddle Seat, Jumping and many other disciplines, even trail and natural horsemanship.
With all the changes in use of the Friesian horse we are now starting to see some physical or "type" changes in the breed.
 There are now 3 very distinctive types of Friesians being breed. The three types are Baroque, Classical and Modern.

The Baroque type is what commonly comes to mind when people think of a Friesian. A strong bone structure through the legs covered in ample body mass to cover those bones. Baroque build usually appears to have shorter leg length to body height ratio and appear to have a longer body length in comparison to height. Almost giving the body the appearance of a rectangle on it’s side.  (Photo of Crüe S.R., Mark Keyser, Crüe S.R. Enterprises, LLC photo by www.lauramcclurephotography.com)


The Classical type, like baroque has curvy lines and ample density to the body but the ration of body to leg seems to be equal or appearing like a square. Their bones are not as thick as a baroque horse but they have ample structural soundness. Stallions will still have a developed crest but the barrel and hip area will be leaner than that of the baroque built horse. (photo Maiko 373 by Ory Photography)

The Modern Friesian is significantly more lean throughout the frame. They have lighter bone and leaner body mass. They tend to appear to be longer in the leg than length of the body giving them an upright rectangle appearance.  The Modern type Friesian is also referred to as the spot type. Please don’t get that confused with the sport title that the horse can earn. For example Maiko 373 Sport was not given the title sport because of his frame but rather his accomplishments as a riding horse (can be earned in driving also). Maiko 373 is the photo example used in this article for the Classical type. Modern built Friesians (Photo Viduna, Sable Ranch)


Modern - Leg Reach + HAIR
(Photo Aphilion/Sable Ranch)
There are many misconceptions associated with Friesian “type”. Notice that there was no reference to hair or movement in the above explanations. There is no correlation. Yes we imagine a Friesian to have ample hair, a Fabio like appearance, but you can have any frame type combined with any length or thickness of hair.  Anton 343 the hair man of the US is classical in build.

Modern - Knee Lift
(Photo Nadeen Davis)
There is also no correlation to movement, suspension, power, knee lift vs. extension to type. You can have any type of movement from any frame type. Knee lift can be in baroque or modern. It’s most common that people assume that Baroque has lots of hair and knee lift but that is not always the case. We had a VERY modern mare with over 4 feet of mane who had knee lift and reach as well as a VERY baroque mare with knee lift and reach and not much hair.

Baroque- Knee Lift


Classical -Knee Lift
There is also no correlation between Type and success as a riding or driving mount. It would just depend on what you prefer to look at. There is a belief that the Modern type will have an advantage in the Dressage arena and that the Baroque type looks better in harness. However Several of the top FEI Friesian stallions are not the Modern build, and all the Approved stallions that go through the testing are presented in harness as well as under saddle. The type of Friesian you want depends on personal preference for what you want your horse to look like. If you breed your dream horse for the judges preferences then please research the judges that you will be presenting infront of, but remember you will be the one living with and loving on your Friesian every day, not the judges, so please make sure you are living your dreams with your horse.

Modern - Knee Lift + HAIR
While you are breeding or buying your dream Friesian enjoy looking at all the types of Friesians so that you know what you would like to have. Also know your goals with that horse so that you can evaluate their movement, not everyone can sit a 9+ trot. Even consider the amount and thickness of hair that you are looking for.
At Sable Ranch Friesians we have a diverse portfolio of Modern, Classical and Baroque mares with various types of movement and hair.  www.Maiko373.com
Photo inclusions from Nadeen Davis Australia and Mark Keyser, Crüe S.R. Enterprises, LLC USA and Sable Ranch