Page 107 - June 2022

EQUINE HEALTH
“I advise people to put a card in the kit containing phone numbers they might need. This should include the veterinarian’s number.” – Dr. Kristina Lu
There are many types of kits for checking colostrum. “Have a cup to collect the colostrum (milking a little from the mare) in your foaling kit,” she says.
You also need a separate cup or small jar for dipping the navel of the foal as soon as the cord breaks. “Iodine or chlorhexadine (whichever your veterinarian prefers) can be used for this purpose. This is important to have in the foaling kit,” says Lu.
“Another thing I like my clients to have is a foal oxygen mask or a large dog anesthetic mask with a connection to an Ambu bag or a commercial foal resuscitator. Since I may be able to get there within 30 minutes, the client could potentially keep the foal on oxygen
or breathing until I get there. I encourage
my clients to be able to do that. If it’s a very important foal they could rent oxygen tanks. Many people in our area rent those for the foaling season and have oxygen available if they need it,” she says.
This could make a big difference in whether a compromised foal survives or recovers fully instead of being impaired because of oxygen shortage. She encourages her clients to do this and takes the time to show them how to use it.
A complete foaling kit will also include obstetrical chains or straps in case a foal needs to be pulled.
“These can do harm if they are not
applied correctly. Whether these are in the foaling kit will depend on the client and
their veterinarian. I carry obstetrical chains with me, so I can provide them if I’m called to a difficult foaling. Some producers are comfortable using these and assisting a foaling and have probably seen more foalings than
I have, but I would not recommend having chains in a kit for someone who has never used them before,” says Lu.
“Most of my clients are accustomed to giving some pain relief to the mare, such as BanamineTM (flunixin meglumine). Many people will have this in their foaling kit, but it will depend on whether their veterinarian feels comfortable prescribing this to that horse,” she says. If it’s not in a tube or bottle with label and dosage by weight, Lu tries to make sure it’s drawn up ahead of time with
a legible labeling that this is for the mare, and not the foal. If someone else might be helping during a hectic foaling experience,
it’s important to make sure that the dosage is correct in the heat of battle.
“The final item I include in a foaling kit
is something to minimize hemorrhage. In older mares, especially, we see pre-partum and postpartum hemorrhage. I utilize some Eastern medicine and I like my clients to have an herb called Yunnan Baiyao (though sometimes
this is not available). This treatment may be controversial because some people don’t feel herbal medicine is effective, but there is some scientific evidence to support its use. I am a firm believer in it, so my clients generally have a vial of this and a dose syringe ready to go.
If they think a mare might be hemorrhaging, they can give this to her orally. It will do no harm and may help. They can give one dose and call me as they are giving it, letting me know that they are concerned about their mare hemorrhaging, and I can come,” says Lu.
“Here in the area around Lexington, many horse breeders are using this. Not all of these clients utilize other types of Eastern medicine (like acupuncture, for instance), but they certainly use the Yunnan Baiyao if it might save their mare’s life.”
ADDITIONAL ITEMS THAT MIGHT BE INCLUDED
There are a few other things that might be
in the foaling kit, and these are client and horse dependent. “These would include things like sedatives. If I feel comfortable with some clients using sedatives if they have a mare experiencing
a dystocia, I’ll prescribe these. Some mares strain very hard at foaling, and if they run into trouble the client may need to sedate the mare for the 10 to 15 minutes it might take for a veterinarian to get there. This would be a case-by-case situation. The sedative would be administered after a phone call/consultation with me,” says Lu.
Some farms may have mares that are high risk for hemorrhage. If the veterinarian doesn’t routinely carry blood collection bags or bottles in his/her truck, it may be wise to have these in the foaling kit. “There has to be a donor horse to provide the blood, but it can be handy to have the collection bags on hand if you suddenly need them,” she says. These would not be a standard thing to have in a foaling
kit because they do expire, but if a client has
a mare that does this every year, it would be good to have on hand.
A foaling kit containing routine and emergency supplies should be ready and available.
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