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Post by kimk on Apr 17, 2008 22:42:26 GMT -5
My Mustang mare Mariah had a beautiful solid dun colt yesterday, April 16th. Right on her due date! He is the 5th of 5 full siblings sired by Ki, and the 8th foal Mariah has given me. Unfortunately he has a pretty severely crooked front leg. I am having the vet out Saturday to look at him and see if anything can be done. He is a friendly and inquisitive little guy, and will canter along side mom when she trots, but he doesn't romp and play on his own like most foals. Anyone have any experience with young foals with a crooked leg? Michelle?? I am actually quite concerned for this little guy.
Kim
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Post by lwood92 on Apr 17, 2008 23:14:43 GMT -5
I hope your little guy's leg is able to be fixed.
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Post by Michelle Clarke on Apr 18, 2008 4:11:07 GMT -5
Kim, where is his leg crooked at? Is he down on his pastern or up on his toe...or something entirely different?
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Post by angelsdream on Apr 18, 2008 11:00:32 GMT -5
Oh, Im so sorry Kim. I hope he'll be ok.....
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Post by kimk on Apr 18, 2008 12:56:27 GMT -5
Michelle,
It actually looks as though his left leg may be longer than the right... I'm not sure. It is straight to the knee, but then below the knee it juts outward rather than staying straight. Don't know if that makes any sense. I just can't figure it. Mariah has always had nice straight legged foals, and out of the 30 plus foals Ki has sired this is the first with any kind of problem.
Maybe I'm making too much of it, but I'm just not used to seeing crooked legs, so I'm not really sure how severe it is!! I'll just have to wait and see what the vet says tomorrow.
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Post by nrly on Apr 18, 2008 13:00:40 GMT -5
please keep us posted... and i am so sorry about the leg
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Post by fantasykiger on Apr 18, 2008 15:03:34 GMT -5
Congratulations on the new colt, sorry he has a crooked leg. It will be interesting to hear what the vet has to say. Possibly some simple casting early on will be of some help.
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Post by DianneC on Apr 18, 2008 21:23:00 GMT -5
Kim, I've heard of surgery and also of wrapping. I'm sure you vet will have it right in no time. Is it a big colt? Maybe he was just out of room. Sky had a foal with slightly contracted tendons because he was so huge. Its sad when they can't run and romp but it usually works out fine. The one thing I have heard is that the correction needs to happen right away, so good you called the vet.
Congratulations!
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Post by kimk on Apr 19, 2008 17:38:01 GMT -5
Well, the vet was out this afternoon. The leg has already improved a lot in the last couple days and the colt was actually playing and romping running circles around mom for the first time today. The vet says there is nothing to be done about the leg, that it "is what it is". The cannon bone is slightly offset where it connects at the knee, but not so drastically that it will make the horse unusable, and the vet says it could even straighten itself out more as he grows. I am amazed at how much better it has gotten in just a couple days. It looked so severe to me on Thursday, and now you really have to look for it to see it. So, all in all I guess he'll be fine. I'm so gald to see him finally playing.
Kind of one of those flukey things that happens. I feel a lot better, and obviously so does the foal!
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J
New Born
Posts: 43
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Post by J on Apr 19, 2008 18:42:10 GMT -5
Well when you think of how cramped and twisted is in there...it's a wonder foals come out somewhat normal at all!
I have had them born really low at the fetlocks..walking more on the heel bulbs and straighten out....so I bet he'll be fine.
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Post by DianneC on Apr 19, 2008 23:51:14 GMT -5
Great news, glad there wasn't any surgery or wrapping. I've heard of it but it seemed to be so awful for a baby. Is this what they call bench knee? If you have to look for it to see it and he's running circles around mom then sounds like its worked out great. I'm so glad for you both.
OK Kim, pictures please!
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Post by Michelle Clarke on Apr 20, 2008 7:52:34 GMT -5
Kim, I'm glad things are better and hopefully everything will straighten out. The only thing that works great for bones is white millet, but since he is not eating on his own, maybe feed the mare 1/2 cup in the am and 1/2 cup at night and some of that extra silica will go through to him. It's not calcium they need, it is the silica for bones. Besides, calcium drops considerably after the first two months - just like the amount of protein through the milk. After three months, the milk goes way down in everything but by then they are eating on thier own to, so they have plenty to supplement.
Another thing can try I suppose is the 3 Mins from ABC Plus if the problem continues. That is a calcium mobilizer (great for fractures), but what it does is not allow the calcium to deposit around any stressed areas, so you won't get spurs or thickening around the knee or pastern. Whenever you have a stress like that, the body automatically sends calcium to repair, but sometimes that could cause adhesions that will do more harm than good later on.
Right now some witch hazel/aloe gel and pick an essential oil for joint help (PanAway might be a good choice if you use Young Living) to rub around the pastern and knee to help with stress might really benefit while he straightens up.
For uneven bones, you do not want them running around until things catch up. This mostly happens if the foal is a little early (maybe not early date wise, but still needed to cook longer!). It is quite common to have longer bones in the front with a foal, so I would not worry about it too much - just keep his moving around to a minimum until they even out. Maybe even measure all three major bones in both front legs and see where they are at.
Any time you have uneven bones or lax tendons (like the foal is down in a leg to where the foot travels on the heel and turns up), then they need confinement until they fix themselves up. If you have contractions, where the tendons are tight so the foal walks upright (Nitro walked on his left toe for three days and even folded over sometimes), then they need to be wrapped to keep the tendon warm to stretch it and they need exercise. The only time they should be kept quite is if the foot actual steps down on the front of the pastern, then they should get vet help at that time and a splint to support the knee to not put so much strain on it.
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Post by kimk on Apr 20, 2008 20:57:27 GMT -5
Michelle,
I have some Valor* from Young Living ( they call it Chiropractor in a Bottle... ) maybe I will try some of that with him.
I worked on haltering him this morning and it went really well. He is such a friendly, curious and compliant little guy.
I still haven't chosen a name for him, just been calling him Junior. I had a few picked out but they just don't fit. Suggestions are welcome. His 4 full siblings are My Nevada Wildfire ( Joe ); My Nevada Storm (Casino ); My Nevada Son (Tucker ); and My Nevada Rain ( Tess ). Had he been a filly he would have been My Nevada Breeze, but that is too girly for him. ( his dam is from Shawave Nevada HMA, thus the "Nevada" )
Kim
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Post by kimk on Apr 25, 2008 11:39:50 GMT -5
Update: Mariahs foals leg looks almost completely normal now, and the second vet I had out to look at it said she thinks it was positioned a little off in the womb and should completely be fine, especially given how much it has straightened in just a week.
His name is My Nevada Gambler and we call him Ace. Will try to get some pics soon.
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Post by nrly on Apr 25, 2008 11:54:30 GMT -5
whew what a relief about the leg, love the name will you call him ACE.
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