Hello again from the North-West where once again the Northern Lights have been making the news and Bed & Breakfast places are as scarce as hen’s teeth! Today was the first dry day for what seemed like months but having said that we have fared much better than those of you in the south of the country.

While enjoying a cup of coffee in the warm afternoon sun for the first time for ages, I was thinking about a subject for this article and a call came to mind which I would like to tell you about. The reason it came to mind is that it was on a most horrendous day weather-wise and usually the rain does not bother me but that particular period of 45 minutes was as bad as I can remember.

The call came in just as I was finishing up a couple of operations that morning and the student who was with me for a week’s work experience was delighted to be going out onto a farm to see a horse. She had come prepared with nice clean boots but only had a T-shirt and a cotton jacket on but assured me she was “fine”. I knew where we were going to and insisted she take one of my waterproof coats as it was already raining and there was a bit of a breeze – around Inishowen that translates as “very windy”.

The animal we were going to see was a Connemara mare with a foal at foot and she was down in the field. On the phone the owner had told me that a neighbour had found her in the ditch at the side of the field a short time before and with the help of a few local men, they had managed to get her out of the ditch and onto solid if not dry land. In fairness to them, they had done as good a job as possible under the circumstances and she was completely smothered in hay when we arrived at the field and a large tarpaulin was pulled over everything.

On questioning the owner, it transpired that the mare had only foaled in mid-September and the foal was still suckling. The foal was seen at the other side of the field and was happily eating away at the hay and was in pretty good shape as far as body condition was concerned. The owner had not been well and a family member had offered to look after the horses for him and had been feeding them for about three weeks at this stage.

On climbing into the field, I found the mare lying on her side and her body felt cold. Her heart was beating very fast and her eyes were flickering rapidly, a function over which she had no control. She was shivering and the muscles of the body were twitching but even at this stage her breathing was laboured. On feeling under the hay, her body condition was very poor.

By this stage the grey sky had darkened and the hailstones and rain started pushed along by the strong gale blowing in from the sea. I had come to the conclusion that this mare was suffering from basically a lactation tetany as the foal was taking everything it could from her but lack of sufficient suitable food was her original problem.

She had no reserves left and no matter what I was going to give her, nothing was going to reverse the situation quickly. As her heart rate was so high the outlook for her was very poor and I told the owner this. I had brought some heated fluids with me and did run some in, including calcium, but I knew it was too little too late. While I was doing this, the heavens opened and I have never felt cold like it. The top of my head went numb and I soon lost touch with my fingers even though I was sheltering under the tarpaulin too.

Once I had done this, I discussed with the owner the limited options we had. The mare could not stand, she had neither the energy nor the muscle strength left to support her weight and we did not know for certain how long she had been in the ditch with cold water pouring over her. As the calcium had made no difference whatsoever and the chances of getting her inside to a warm, dry stable was almost impossible, the heart-breaking decision was made to put her to sleep. There is no way we would have left her there for another night in that terrible weather, but I know we only shortened her life by hours.

HIGH RISK FACTORS

How did this happen? Connemaras are very hardy ponies but any equine uses up a large proportion of its food just simply keeping warm. Although the mare had plenty of haylage to eat, the majority of the energy provided by that food went to try and keep her warm. Therefore in order to feed the foal, she would have mobilised her fat stores and they would have been gradually used up over the winter months.

Horses, like most animals, can cope with the cold as long as their stomachs are full, but in constant wet weather the energy requirements increase greatly and also the foal would have been looking for more as well. This poor mare just ran out of steam. I put her down and both the owner and I were glad to see her at rest.

I advised him to leave the mare in the field for 24 hours so that the foal would realise she had died and therefore not fret about her. I did also recommend coats for the horses still outside or better still putting them in a stable or shed for shelter.

I saw another two cases shortly after this one and the same outcome resulted in both situations. The first case was an accident and the horse would not get up, but the other one was a case of liver failure which actually died as I was examining her and as her heart rate was over 120 beats per minute, I had already mentioned euthanasia.

Why I am mentioning these cases is to highlight the importance of really looking critically at our animals and not just blindly feeding them and being happy if they eat. The third case mentioned had been slightly off its food for a couple of weeks but no-one acted upon that and as it was wearing a coat no-one actually noticed its weight loss.

SEEK AN OPINION

What I would suggest is for anyone who is not sure about their horse’s body condition to ask someone else (your veterinary surgeon) to just look at the animal and assess it. It is the same as not realising how your children grow – because you see them every day you do not see them growing and usually it takes a visitor to notice the difference.

So let us not be proud, ask a friend, neighbour, or your veterinary surgeon, to cast a critical eye over your beloved horse. However, if they say it is too thin – don’t shoot the messenger, take action!

Anne Scott MVB MRCVS is a member of Veterinary Ireland Equine Group and is in practice in Inishowen Equi-ai Centre, Tulnaree House, Carndonagh, Co Donegal.

Email: hq@vetireland.ie

Telephone: 01-4577976