~Jennifer here~ Sorry I have not updated till now, its been an intense day with caring for a newborn foal who has a few complications. (lots of people out there who have had sick foals will understand how incredibly time consuming it is). Spida is not pooing on his own, and has not since he arrived. He has been getting enemas which has released some meconium. This is important when foals fail to poo as it can result in a meconium impaction which can be fatal. We are doing everything the Vets tell us to with regards to this and fingers crossed it will resolve itself. Spida has a very serious eye injury. A very large corneal ulcer and is blind in that eye at the moment. He has 4 lots of eye treatments that go in his eye every 4 hours, and also is getting plasma drops in his eye as well. He may lose the eye, but only time will tell. One of the drops he is on is the same as Matisse had, and they are incredibly expensive. Again, everything possible is being done to treat this problem. Spida, as far as we know, only received a very small amount of colostrum soon after being born and did not drink from his mother at all after birth. He has a sucking reflex, but not strong enough to really latch on to his mum, nor a bottle. It has been a great struggle getting enough milk into him, and as a precaution, he gets sub cut fluids every 6 hours (this is a process where a needle is inserted under the skin and saline with glucose is injected into a big lump under the skin and his body absorbs the fluids). Spidas IgG level was 400 when tested, so our Vet decided that a plasma transfusion was necessary to raise his levels and give him a better chance of survival. He is a newborn foal, with some serious complications, so bonding with is mum is important, but not as important as the human medical intervention that he needs right now. Let me tell you about his mum, Charlotte. She is far from healthy. Charlotte is in very poor condition. Even though she still looks a little fat after just foaling, once her belly shrinks will show that she has no topline and her ribs are showing. She has worms, no appetite and is depressed. As far as I know, she was recently bought at a horse sale already in foal, already in poor condition. She has no interest in her foal at the moment, and in fact bites and kicks him. She is unsettled and cannot eat any hay or grass efficiently as her teeth are absolutely shocking. Even grass falls out of her mouth she is in such pain in her teeth. Vet is booked tomorrow to get her teeth done immediately and do a full check. We suspect she is quite aged. We hold her still while Spida feeds off her but her milk supply is very low. We are trying to get as much fluids and food into her to build up her milk supply. I am hoping that by getting her foal to feed off her each day will give them the bond they need, but putting them in the same stable together is totally out of the question as when he walks to her she bites him, and kicks him. We have an obligation to him to keep him safe, and his eye injury is serious and we cannot risk him being harmed. I want them to be together more than any of you, because I am doing 2 hourly feeds through the night and Lace and I are exhausted. For those of you who are saying that bonding is most important, I hope this clears up for you why we are doing it this way, and following our Vets advice. I am hoping for a good outcome in all of this, to see mum and baby together as they should be. We just have to take each day as it comes, and get this precious little foal pooing and feeding properly which is critical to his survival. We also respect the feelings of Charlotte his mum, and she is more concerned about her own miserable circumstances right now, than feeding her foal. She is unwell and we will give her everything she needs. She is an absolutely beautiful pony and we have already become very attached to her. Thanks to everyone who cares so much about these two beautiful horses, and thank you for donating towards them. Their Vet bills will be high so if you could spare a donation please visit saveahorse.org.au/donate to help with the cost. The cost of caring for them 24/7 is free, as we are all Volunteers :) ~Jen~
Posted on: Sun, 28 Dec 2014 10:00:49 +0000
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