I keep my mare at a small, private boarding facility. There are two other boarders. One of the boarded horses is a 7yr old mare who gave birth to a filly 6 weeks ago.
The owner of the mare has not properly fed her since the baby was born. Sometimes, she would get out a couple times a week, other times, she just didn't feed at all. The mare went from about 800lbs (a guess. She was sliightly under ideal weight at that point, too) to around 620lbs (according to my weight tape) within 6 weeks. She is absolutely emaciated. The owner of the horse has ignored phone calls from the owner of the facility.
Last night, it all came to a head. I got a call from the owner of the facility, who was concerned that the mare would not allow the foal to suckle. I came by to have a look at the mare, and she had dried up. Completely - not a drop of milk left. The baby still looked good, but was slightly lethargic.
I called some friends and got advice...managed to get my hands on milk replacer, a bottle, and a nipple. I mixed the milk, caught the mare, and taught the baby to take a bottle. It wasn't easy: she's been on mare milk for 6 weeks and likes that a lot better than reconstituted stuff. I don't MIND caring for an abandoned foal, but it pisses me off that this incident all happened because of gross neglect!
The owner finally came by at about 10pm and thanked me profusely. She says that she has learned her lesson...but we'll see. The mare is essentially a rescue horse now - some 300lbs underweight and unable to nurse her foal. Hopefully the girl will be able to keep gettign milk down the baby. I can't be out there to do it as often as it is needed. I probably shouldn't have gotten involved anyway - it's not my horse, nor is it my facility - but I felt like I had to help.
The owner of the mare has not properly fed her since the baby was born. Sometimes, she would get out a couple times a week, other times, she just didn't feed at all. The mare went from about 800lbs (a guess. She was sliightly under ideal weight at that point, too) to around 620lbs (according to my weight tape) within 6 weeks. She is absolutely emaciated. The owner of the horse has ignored phone calls from the owner of the facility.
Last night, it all came to a head. I got a call from the owner of the facility, who was concerned that the mare would not allow the foal to suckle. I came by to have a look at the mare, and she had dried up. Completely - not a drop of milk left. The baby still looked good, but was slightly lethargic.
I called some friends and got advice...managed to get my hands on milk replacer, a bottle, and a nipple. I mixed the milk, caught the mare, and taught the baby to take a bottle. It wasn't easy: she's been on mare milk for 6 weeks and likes that a lot better than reconstituted stuff. I don't MIND caring for an abandoned foal, but it pisses me off that this incident all happened because of gross neglect!
The owner finally came by at about 10pm and thanked me profusely. She says that she has learned her lesson...but we'll see. The mare is essentially a rescue horse now - some 300lbs underweight and unable to nurse her foal. Hopefully the girl will be able to keep gettign milk down the baby. I can't be out there to do it as often as it is needed. I probably shouldn't have gotten involved anyway - it's not my horse, nor is it my facility - but I felt like I had to help.
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