Stud Farm Diaries: A Rope Trick that Could Save a Foal

STUD FARM

DIARIES

by Cindy Reich

An excerpt from the poem “Humanitad” It is full Winter now: the trees are bare, Save where the cattle huddle from the cold Beneath the pine, for it doth never wear The Autumn´s gaudy livery whose gold Her jealous brother pilfers, but is true To the green doublet; bitter is the wind, as though it blew From Saturn´s cave; a few thin wisps of hay Lie on the sharp black hedges, where the wain Dragged the sweet pillage of a summer´s day From the low meadows up the narrow lane; Upon the half-thawed snow the bleating sheep Press close against the hurdles, and the shivering house-dogs creep From the shut stable to the frozen stream And back again disconsolate, and miss The bawling shepherds and the noisy team; And overhead in circling listessness The cawing rooks whirl round the frosted stack, Or crowd the dipping boughs; and in the fen the ice-pools crack…

— Oscar Wilde “Poems,” Boston: Robert Brothers, 1881.

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A Rope Trick that Could Save a Foal

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oaling season is under way in the northern hemisphere and for those of us in the cold and snow, it seems a crazy time to be having babies! If the horses had their way (and Mother Nature’s) they wouldn’t start foaling until April — which makes a lot more sense. In a natural situation, foals are born in late spring, early summer when the weather is less severe, and characteristically, there is more food for grazing. Foals born in January often spend much of their time inside because of bad weather and run the risk of respiratory problems among other things when they have to be cooped up.

Blame it on the Jockey Club (it oversees Thoroughbred breeding and racing), which decided that January 1 would be a universal birthday for all Thoroughbreds in the northern hemisphere … and the practice spread to other breeds. Therefore, the closer a foal is born to January 1, the greater its advantage on the track. For example, a foal born on April 30, would be considered a one-year-old the following January, even though it is really eight months old. If it raced as a two- or three-year-old, it would be at a fourmonth disadvantage in maturity and development in comparison with that January foal.

In order to fool Mother Nature and advance the breeding season to have earlier foals, mares are put under 16 hours of light every day, starting in December. This causes the mare’s brain to react as if it is spring/summer and so, her hormonal system ramps up for breeding about 60 days after being on lights.

I suppose if one is foaling out mares in Florida or Southern California, having January foals is not much trouble. However, when our ambient temperature is rarely above 20° F, delivering foals is not so pleasant.

I remember working in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, one bitter winter when it was –40° with the wind chill. I was in a stone barn, unheated, I might add, delivering a January foal. The foal was shaking like a leaf, its wet foal coat sending plumes of steam into the frigid air. Foals are not born with “brown” fat, like many newborns (including humans), which burns off quickly, but is an important source of heat.

STUD FARM DIARIES If the foal cannot get warm, constant shivering will deplete its energy sources quickly. In anticipation, I had cut down an old sweatshirt, toweled the foal dry, and “dressed” it in the sweatshirt. (This was in the days before foal blankets.) The owners of the farm were in town and rushed to the barn to see the new baby. Faced with a foal in an old sweatshirt in the frosty stone barn, they immediately called a heating service. Within 30 minutes two torpedo heaters were working away. It certainly did warm things up; however, too much heat can be as much trouble as too little, and soon we were all sweating in the heat.

We quickly rearranged the heater situation so that the barn was comfortable, but not tropical. The foal did fine, and after a few days the cold snap broke and it was able to go outside most days. Moral of the story is — if you are planning on having early foals in northern climes, be prepared. Have some foal blankets on hand as well as external heat sources if it gets really cold. However, be very careful when using heat lamps or other types of heaters. A barn full of hay and straw and an unattended heat source can be a severe fire hazard. Foals can tolerate a fair amount of cold, so don’t rush to heat the barn if the ambient temperature is reasonable. As soon as the foal has dried off, its woolly foal coat should keep it nice and warm. If the foal has a very fine coat (as is often the case in premature foals) a blanket might be in order.

Every foaling is a small miracle and the larger miracle is that 99 percent of the time, the mare does just fine. In fact, she will do her best to have the foal the minute you head out of the barn for a few minutes to grab another cup of coffee.

The great thing about mares is they have the quickest, most explosive births of most large domestic animals. But that can also be a terrible thing. Whereas a cow can walk around for a few hours giving birth, once a mare’s water breaks, you have about twenty minutes for that foal to arrive or you are in trouble. Usually the problem is a an abnormal presentation.

Ideally, the foal is presented with both front feet forward, nose on the knees. However, if there is just a foreleg back or elbow lock, it is corrected easily enough. If it is a severe dystocia, your veterinarian will likely need to intervene. Always keep your vet in the loop when you have a mare ready to foal. Have the number posted in the barn by the foaling stall and have it programmed into your cell phone. With the advent of cheap and amazingly clear camera systems, we don’t need to sleep on a cot outside the stall like we did in the old days. It also means that fewer foalings are missed. There are all sorts of alarms that one can use as well, from a transmitter on a halter to the foal alert that is sutured to the mare’s vulva. However, having said that, I must say I have tried every alert system out there and

Example of Madigan Rope Technique devised to treat dummy foal syndrome. Do not use unless specifically trained in the application and use of the rope. See instructional video at www.arabianhorseworld.com.

there is not one that is 100 percent effective. Most are quite good, but you should never completely rely on them to tell you when the mare is foaling.

Most breeders know their mares and are attuned to when they will foal simply based on their behavior and previous foaling data. Maiden mares are all over the board, and the rules don’t apply to them. I watch them very carefully beginning three weeks prior to their foaling date. They often foal early and often without waxing up or developing much of an udder. I like to do milk calcium tests on them leading up to foaling, if I can get enough material from their udder to do the test each day.

The main reason is to get the mare used to having her udder handled and being milked. This can prevent foal rejection when a maiden mare suddenly finds a foal attached to her painfully full udder and she reacts accordingly.

There have been relatively few new developments in the world of foaling, as it pertains to the process. Mares have been doing it for hundreds of years without interference. Over the last few years, however, an intriguing understanding of dummy foal syndrome (neonatal maladjustment syndrome or NMS) has rewritten what we all believed about this syndrome.

A dummy foal is one that does not show any interest in the mare. It may circle the stall, chew on the walls, but not show any interest in nursing. If you attempt to bottle feed it there is generally no sucking reflex. These symptoms can manifest at birth, or become evident within the first 24-48 hours after birth.

Previously, it was thought that such foals suffered from a lack of oxygen during the birth process. If there was a dystocia, that was evidence enough. If there was not a dystocia, it was thought that there might have been a problem with the pregnancy that resulted in the “dummy” behavior at birth. However, Dr. John Madigan at the University of California at Davis, has come up with an astonishing new take on what a dummy foal may be

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experiencing. He was able to mimic the symptoms of neonatal maladjustment syndrome in healthy newborns by giving them neural steroids that are in high concentrations in a foal’s brain while in utero. Once the foal goes through the birthing process, these neural steroids decrease rapidly. It is thought that these neural steroids are what keep the foal’s body quiet while it is in the mare’s uterus. After birth, the steroids decrease rapidly and continue to decline over the first 24-48 hours of life, and the foal becomes active and displays normal neonate behavior.

Dr. Madigan theorized that in dummy foals, something interfered with the brain’s recognition of going through the birth process, and therefore, the steroid level remained high. He devised a process called the “foal squeeze” to simulate the forces on the foal’s body when it is going through the birth canal. The purpose is to stimulate the foal’s brain to recognize that it has gone through the birthing process and thus cause the steroid level to decrease. Madigan uses a simple rope device that puts pressure across the chest and ribcage. When the rope is properly applied and pressure put on it, the foal will automatically go down. Pressure is maintained on the rope while the foal is lying down for twenty minutes (roughly the amount of time a foal’s birth takes from the time it enters the birth canal). When the rope is removed, the foal will generally get up and go to the mare and begin nursing. In essence, it had been “re-birthed” and the brain was stimulated to decrease the neural steroids and to “wake up” the foal.

This may also have an impact on other newborns of many species, including humans. There have been accounts of human newborns being pronounced dead at birth, who were revived by being held and squeezed tightly. Colorado State University Animal Science professor Dr. Temple Grandin is a high-functioning autistic who has gained international attention and acclaim for her academic work. Grandin mentions in her autobiography about building a “squeeze box” that she would put herself in and activate to alleviate some of her extreme autistic symptoms. Investigating how “squeezing” affects the brain on many levels may lead to some very interesting research down the road.

A veterinarian friend of mine used this technique on a foal last year with dramatic results. A client’s mare had foaled overnight and when they arrived at the stall in the morning, the foal, although moderately active, was not observed to nurse at all. It circled the stall and would occasionally stand near the mare’s udder, but would not nurse. The foal was tube fed with colostrum and serum was administered orally, to boost the antibody level of its immune system, because it had not nursed prior to being tubed. The foal was offered milk every two hours

by bottle overnight, but did not suckle. The next morning, the veterinarian checked the immune status of the foal, which was still low, so he administered more plasma intravenously, because the foal’s stomach could not absorb the plasma after the first 24 hours. After the plasma transfusion, the foal continued to walk around the stall and chew on the walls. At this point the veterinarian decided to use the “Madigan rope technique.”

The rope was placed on the foal and continuous light pressure was applied for 20 minutes with the foal lying down. After the rope was removed, the foal appeared much brighter and walked over to the mare, where it proceeded to nurse for the first time. The foal then walked around to the other side of the mare and nursed off the opposite teat. The foal continued to nurse periodically throughout the next 24 hours and was acting normally. A final blood test was done to make sure that the foal’s antibody level was adequate and it was. The foal was released from the clinic and continued to act normally and thrive. It is very dramatic to see how this process works and there are several videos on the Internet that document the results. It is very important to note that anyone thinking of using this technique must make sure they do it properly. One cannot just take a rope and squeeze a foal and think that they have done it correctly. Dr. Madigan has a video online that shows the proper application of the rope on a foal. Furthermore, this is not a procedure to be used on any foal that appears to be a dummy foal or that is lethargic or not acting properly. There are many conditions that can mimic dummy foal behavior. A diagnosis of neonatal maladjustment syndrome should be made by a qualified veterinarian before one tries this technique. However, it is important for owners, breeders, and foaling personnel to know about this rather new technique in case it is needed. Review with your veterinarian now, before foaling season starts to make sure he or she is familiar with the technique. Waiting until you have a dummy foal is not the time to try to figure out how to use the Madigan rope technique.

For the vast majority of breeders out there, your mares will sail through the foaling season, delivering their foals safely and without trouble, as they have been doing for generations. Just in case, though, knowing the Madigan rope technique is a good tool for veterinarians and foaling personnel to possess.

Perhaps the bitter cold of January will have lessened a bit by February. Or not. If not, it would seem that a trip to Scottsdale might be in order. There is nothing better to chase away the winter blahs than to sit in the sun in Wendell Arena watching amazing halter and performance horses. Hope to see you there.

219 b ARABIAN HORSE WORLD b JANUARY 2015