I have 2 fillies one is 3 weeks old, one is 4 weeks old. A week ago they both developed slight case of scours. Gave them both a dose of Probios and they both cleared right up. Now the 3 week old filly is scouring again, but a lot worse this time. It is just oozing out of her butt. She acts as though she isn't feeling very well, stands around with eyes half closed, occasionally paws the ground. Acts as though she wants to nurse, but isn't really nursing for a long time. She kinda stands under the mare and plays with the teats and sucks occasionally. I noticed her face is covered in dried milk and then noticed that the mare is just streaming milk as soon as the filly starts to nurse. Is this an indication that the filly isn't nursing enough, or is the mare producing too much milk and that is what is causing the filly to scour? The 4 week old filly has not had another bout of the scours since giving the Probios. Any info would be appreciated.
Kelly (63.172.47.224)
Posted on Friday, May 17, 2002 - 09:44 am:
Have you taken her temp? It is most important that you don't get behind on a foal that is depressed and not nursing. With a severe bout of scours, you will need to watch for dehydration. I would take these signs seriously and get this foal on the road to recovery.
Karen (216.64.203.139)
Posted on Friday, May 17, 2002 - 03:08 pm:
Get a vet immediately for this foal! She does not sound well, and as Kelly said, she's headed for dehydration (and worse), if she's not deydrated already. I agree - get her temperature, take her pulse (or listen to her heart), and count her respirations. Look at her gums and note the color (are they pale pink? White? Bright red? Purple?). Have this info for the vet when you call - and call now. Tell the vet that the mare is streaming milk and the foal isn't nursing sufficiently. Report the vital signs. Any temperature over 102 is concern in a foal - as well as a temperatur less than 99. Hopefully, I'm over-reacting, but if this were my foal, I would consider this a "red alert" - babies can crash so fast.
Please let us know how she does!
Sandy (64.158.241.194)
Posted on Saturday, May 18, 2002 - 12:32 am:
Update: Well, this morning the filly was very lethargic, wouldn't nurse and extremities were cold. Immediately got her to the vet. He diagnosed her as having a bacterial infection and started her on an IV right away. She stayed in the intensive care all day. At 2:00pm he called and said she was showing some signs of improvement in some areas, but not in others. He called again at 8:00pm and informed me she had gone downhill quickly. Was basically in a comatose state and her organs had begun shutting down. I agreed to euthanize her. He performed an autopsy and called me back an hour later and informed me that it wasn't an infection. Her small intestine had turned inside itself and her intestine had ruptured. He said he has seen this before, but it is rare. The one thing that bothered him about it was that she never acted as though she were colicing. But apparently that's what it was. I am distraught by this whole ordeal at the fact that the vet did not notice this was the problem. I did some research on this "intestinal accident" as he called it, and found out it could have been treated. The part of the intestine that turned on itself could have been removed. Well, it's a lesson learned I guess.
Kelly (63.172.47.237)
Posted on Sunday, May 19, 2002 - 06:06 pm:
That was a terrible thing to have happen. It is hard to go through. Foals can crash so quickly when thing are going wrong.
It is very doubtful that she could have survived the surgery. Your best chance would have been within hours of her exhibiting these signs. Any changes in activity are important signs with a foal. They can go down hill so quickly that it can be hard to diagnose and treat as successfully as a grown horse.
This is such a tragedy. Last year I had a foal who got a tear during delivery, right at the unbilical cord. Sadly, her intestines came through the tear and we had to put her down. Naturally she was a top quality filly.
I am convinced that "foal heat" scours can be eliminated. I've never had a case of even the slightest loose stool in a foal, and I've been breeding since the mid 80's.
My mares are wormed with Ivermectin within the first hour after passing the placenta. That soon isn't mandatory, but if you go to 12 hours or beyond, the results won't be the same.
sandy (64.157.22.35)
Posted on Thursday, January 16, 2003 - 06:19 pm:
Barbara, Thanks for the tip on administering Ivermectin after passing the placenta. I have five foals due this spring and do not want to go through the "foal heat" scours again, because after what happened to me last year, I'm afraid I will just panic if even one foal gets the scours. I have always experienced scours in my foals at approx. a week to two weeks of age, and I don't want to have to be suspecting something more is going on this time around. Thanks!!
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