Colostrum needed
We keep colostrum for mares who do not have adequate supplies to meet a foal’s need.  If you have a mare who has excessive amounts of colostrum,  milk a hundred mls, throw it in a jar and freeze it.  if your mare aborts or the foal dies and you are unable to collect colostrum, call us and we will get it and store it. We try to keep a bank for not only our clients, but for the public in general ( first come first serve).  Please tell your friends.

Foaling season is upon us. This is the first foal I attended early in the morning (way too early).

There are a few things you need to remember for foaling mares:
Give a tetanus toxoid one month prior to foaling.  If you don’t know the date give it when you start to see udder development.

This will give the foal immunity for several months providing it gets a good dose of colostrum.  The tetanus antitoxin given to foals after they are born will only give protection for about two weeks. 

Make sure the foal nurses by 3 hours.  If there is any doubt call us ( see foal above). Dip the navel several times in either a strong iodine or chlorhexidine solution.

Worm the mare within a few days either side of foaling to prevent the transmission of parasites through the mild and lessen the severity of foal heat diarrhea.

A post foaling examination is beneficial even if the foal looks great.  A colostrum Ig G test will ensure that the foal got adequate immunity and help prevent serious illnesses. See our Power Point on the education site “What to expect when she is expecting”

Fractured Shoulder

I saw a horse with a fractured shoulder over the weekend.  The bones were very brittle, and the horse was well fed,  but had access  to a paddock of soursobs.  Soursobs leach calcium and can cause osteoporosis making the bones fragile and subject to fractures.  If you think your horse is in danger please call us to advise you on calcium replacement.

Small hole above the eye...

Mare presented with small hole above the eye that would not resolve with antibiotics.  The radiograph shows a foreign body which was removed.  Look at the last picture and you will see the outline of the large piece of wood taken from her head. Yikes!

The Toxic Horse Paddock Hendra Info/Toxic Plants for Horses
- including recent soursob poisioning cases

Paying It Forward
I have found a new calling.  The equine vet student club from the new Roseworthy campus has asked for some mentoring, and we have had two sessions here at Adelaide Plains Equine Clinic.

We did a demo of collection Joseph our ancient teaser pony and last weekend we did a castration clinic.  Several clients got a significant discount on the price of a castration so the students could learn some of the skills needed in surgery.  I am so impressed with the basic knowledge and enthusiasm of these students. 

We had a great time, and as I always like to say: it's a good day when you have no unauthorized deaths.  We will be having more of these sessions so the students can see what it is like in practice, and learn some of the basic skills needed to become good equine clinicians.

Soursob
I am seeing a lot of spasmodic gas colic this past week.  The number one culprit is soursob.  The plant not only leaches calcium over time, but causes a fast furious painful colic.

It is often the only plant that comes up in an overgrazed paddock and while it is sour, a desperate horse ie, one who has not had any green for a while, will eat it and then get a significant belly ache.  This usually requires pain medication.  Avoid Berg Oil.  For the “do it yourselfers” just walk them for a while.  For the really painful horse call us for further instructions or attendance.