Posted on Wednesday, February 12, 2003 - 09:18 am:
A red-bag delivery is when the alantois-chorion (the red bag) does not rupture when being forced through the cervix (when this happens, water gushes out, this is what you see when your mares water 'breaks'). The alantois-chorion is the part of the placenta that attaches to the uterus with tiny little villi. It looks like a terry-cloth towel. These little villi are what exchange gases, such as oxygen, into and out of the fetus. When this detaches prematurely the foal has less time to get out due to lack of oxygen. Normally, the alantois-chorion is supposed to be torn at a predetermined place so that just the foal within the amniotic sac (the white/grey sac that you first see in the normal delivery) will be pushed on through the birth canal, and not the entire placenta (which will follow afterwards). The alantois-chorion is supposed to stay attached to the uterus to supply continuous oxygen while the foal is in the birth canal. With a red bag delivery, the alantois-chorion looks like a brain, and it must be opened as soon as it is visible (with a knife) to allow the foal to get out as soon as possible. Foals have an unusually long umbilical chord which supplies oxygen, and this is probably the only thing that keeps them alive during a red bag delivery. Vet attention is ALWAYS needed. The 'red bag' could still be attached to the uterus, pulling it out as the mare pushes, causing a uterine prolapse. This is extremely serious, and a vet must always be on hand to make sure that this does not happen. Hope this helps! (If you are new to foaling, as I am, I strongly, STRONGLY suggest purchasing the book 'The Complete Book of Foaling'. I found it perfect for the beginner, very informative, yet not at all text-book style. It is a VERY wise investment, it has a picture of a 'red bag' delivery and tells you everything you need to do until the vet arrives. I highly recommend this book, I'm sure you will find it an excellent source of information, and it is a lot cheaper to know what you can do to prevent things from happening that to pay tonnes of vet bills after the fact. 'An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure'. I think the book is about $40.00 Canadian. Good luck!
Emilie
Posted on Tuesday, February 18, 2003 - 07:26 pm:
Sorry, correction: the 'brain-like' structure is the uterus, not the alantois-chorion. When you see this 'brain' you know your mare is having a uterine prolapse.
Nancy Wesolek Posted From: 65.78.219.48
Posted on Monday, May 31, 2004 - 01:36 pm:
Hello,
my mare just had a red bag foal. We cut the bag and had to pull the foal out. He is alive and nursing for 12 hours now. Is there anything else that I need to know about this type of birth??? Will he survive or is there still a possiblity he is not going to make it.
Sounds like you've been lucky Nancy - good thing you were there. At this stage, if mare and foal are both well then you should be out of the woods - as long as you checked that all the afterbirth came away. If bits of placenta were retained - which is relatively common with a red bag delivery - the mare could become quite ill quite quickly. If she shows any signs of being off-colour, particularly a raised temperature, disahrge, or signs of colic, call your vet.
Nancy Wesolek Posted From: 65.78.216.234
Posted on Monday, May 31, 2004 - 10:12 pm:
Thank you for the information Janet. I will keep an eye on the mare. So far she is good; eating, drinking and looks alert. The foal seems to be doing well too. The vet is coming out tomorrow, I was worried about the colostrum, possibly not being good enough. Thanks again, this is my first foal and I was extremely worried and exhausted.
Thank you for this info - I've been trying to find out what a red bag delivery was... I would be very grateful if you could email this information to me (with the correction) so I can keep it where I won't lose it! :D I am keeping a close eye on my mare in case there are any problems along the way - also, since I don't know if I'll be visiting this forum again soon, could someone tell me whether or not certain mares could be prone to red bag deliveries, and if there is a way to tell if one's mare is one of those?
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