Congratulations on your mare … A Breeder’s Guide to a “Safe Delivery”
The most important instructions: Do not cut the umbilical cord completely or withdraw the newborn .. You must be present at the time of birth, allocate a clean and safe place. Beside the sterilization of the umbilical cord. Breastfeeding begins naturally after birth “one to four hours” ..
Written by: Dr. Basem Badr
Horse breeders face a number of problems during childbirth that sometimes put the mare’s fetus at risk. Among the most important advice that breeders must take into account during childbirth: Be present at the time of birth to notice any problem that may arise during the birth process, and that the mare be in a clean and safe place and not be near other horses, and the umbilical cord is not cut permanently – Do not pull the baby or try to help The mare to get up, let the umbilical cord tear naturally.
Also, in the event that help is needed due to any problem, the fetus is gently and cautiously pulled down towards the mare’s back legs, and only one person helps the mare withdraw the fetus and he must be fully aware of this because more than one may lead to injury to the mare and the baby, so it is preferred to contact The specialist veterinarian who is fully aware of how to withdraw the newborn and help the mare during the birth process because he has sterile and appropriate tools to do so.
Among the advice also is that after birth, the fetus must be examined to notice the completion of the birth process, and if this does not happen, it is advisable to contact the specialist veterinarian, and the umbilical cord must always be sterilized and tied, and after several hours, it is cleansed with liquid iodine by spraying, and if excessive bleeding is noticed in the umbilical cord, pressure is applied. For a period of 5 minutes with gauze and iodine to stop the bleeding, and if the bleeding continues, a bandage consisting of “iodine and betadine may be placed temporarily”. If the bleeding does not stop, it is recommended to contact the doctor.
It must be ensured that the newborn is breathing normally and if fluids are noticed leaving the trachea, the head of the newborn must be placed down for a period of time to allow the opportunity to exit all fluids from the trachea, and if any respiratory problems or fluids are also observed, it is preferable to contact the doctor directly for more help. Also, it should be noted that the newborn naturally stands on his feet within “30 minutes to two hours” of birth.
nutrition:
The newborn does breastfeeding after birth by about “from one to 4 hours”, and the rate of breastfeeding is every “30 minutes”, and the newborn is inspected to ensure that he breastfed normally and if the baby does not breastfeed, contact the veterinarian directly “This can be seen through the presence of Remains of mother’s milk on the face of the newborn and the mare’s back legs. ”
If the milk comes out from the newborn’s nose, the breastfeeding should be stopped and the specialist veterinarian should be contacted. It is also very important for the newborn to breastfeed a large amount of breast milk that is produced immediately after birth, up to a maximum of 8 hours after birth, which is called sediment, because it contains a large amount of immune bodies. Which protect him from many diseases and increase his immunity, as colostrum is the only source of increasing the immunity of the newborn.
General diseases and health problems:
The urination process must be inspected, and if the urine comes from the navel area, the specialist veterinarian must be contacted, and the excretion process must be inspected, especially the “first time”, to ensure that the newborn defecates normally, noting that the first time the newborn defecates is from an hour to a day. After childbirth, and lack of defecation leads to constipation and leads to the emergence of symptoms of colic “discomfort, rotation, rotation, lack of breastfeeding.”
Contact the veterinarian:
The veterinarian is contacted if it is noticed that the newborn is sick and the temperature must be taken “The temperature drop is very dangerous”, as the normal temperature of the foal is “38 – 38.7 degrees Celsius”, and if it is less than 36 degrees, it is recommended to warm the baby by using a blanket.
Diarrhea in a baby horse
If the newborn stops breastfeeding and has symptoms of diarrhea, and also lameness, the newborn should be kept in the stable and not go out to the paddock if symptoms of lameness appear on him, so as to rest for a period of one to two hours and if the symptoms do not disappear or a lump in the joints is observed.
It is worth noting that a veterinarian who is specialized in setting up a veterinary program for the prevention and treatment of worms for newborns should be consulted, and vaccinations and preventive vaccinations for horse diseases must be followed up with the doctor.
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