British Breeder Magazine November 2019

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Feature - ARTICLEOVERCOMINGADVERTISTYBreeders seem to have something toworry about no matter what time ofyear it is. Will you get your mare infoal, will the semen get delivered intime, will the birth go smoothly etc. Itis especially vital to spot any signs ofillness or lameness as early as possiblenot only in a young foal but also in allbreeding stock. Many of us are smallbreeders and to lose just one mare oryoungster can be financially cripplingas well as emotionally heartbreaking.I spoke to a selection of breeders whohad rather terrifying but ultimatelyinspirational stories to share. In anideal world none of us will have togo through anything like this, butforewarned is forearmed.Alison Smith and her daughter Shelbyrun Champion Park Farm and last yearhad to go through every breeder’snightmare of a very sick yearling withno confirmed diagnosis and a verypoor prognosis. Alison had a herd of7 youngsters running together fromyearlings to 5 year olds. She noticedthat one of the yearlings (Itsy Bitzy)isolated himself from the rest of theherd in mid-December. He was broughtin with a companion and presented asthough he had peritonitis. A tummy tapcame back negative as did a numberof other tests. Itsy Bitzy had chronicdiarrhoea but was eating everything.On Christmas Day, a second yearlingwent down with the same symptomscalled Bolero. The vets were stillstumpted and it wasn’t until after theNew Year that they finally diagnosed abird strain of Salmonella as the causeof the symptoms. Itsy Bitzy was by nowrecovering but by mid-January Boleroworsened. He went down and wouldn’tget up. Alison was concerned there maybe organ failure or something equallyas serious. Her vet advised her to putBolero to sleep. Alison asked for bloodtests to be run to confirm for organfailure but they came back fine. At thispoint Alison and her team where havingto get him up to feed and water him,but he would then lay back down. Bythe Thursday Bolero couldn’t lift hishead off the floor and the vet and thefarrier who was on site both advisedthis was time to have him put down.Alison convinced 5 men who were onsite that day to pick him up and gethim on his feet and he managed tostay on his feet till 10.30 that night,so Alison was convinced he had fight inhim.Bolero fighting the Salmonella infectionBolero back to healthFor the next few months Alisonarranged each day for local farmers tocome and lift him so he could spendthe day on his feet and allow him tolie down at night with some one givinghim water every few hours. By April ahoist had been erected so Alison andher team could lift him on their own.By the end of the month he was able toget to his feet unaided.Just a few months later Bolero wasback out in the herd and 2 smallpressure sores on his hip bones areonly evidence of his fight againstsalmonella. Long term Alison hopes toproduce him as a stallion to follow onin the footsteps of his sire ChampionsLimelight and to also go into trainingwith dressage rider Natalie Allen.He has fabulous movement andtemperament and was an awardedan Elite at the Futurity in 2017. Thevets cannot believe how well he hasrecovered, and the illness does notappear to have set him back. Alisonsaid she just didn’t want to give up ashe always reminded bright in his eyebut there were of course moments ofdoubt about putting him through themonths of treatment. We look forwardto seeing him out in sport in the future.Tanya Hallett Endres also has a talethat highlights how important it is toknow your horses normal behaviour soyou can be alerted when things are notquite right. In 2013 her ex-eventingmare Bobby had her third foal by theTrakehner stallion Craig. Everythinghad indicated a normal foaling, butaround day 4 or 5, Tanya found Bobbylying in the stable at feeding time,and just not looking quite right.Tanya describes her as low gradeuncomfortable. The vet came out 2 or3 times as the mare was not eating, butwas passing droppings, she was startingto sweat up and looking uncomfortable.Tanya wonders if as she had the foal atfoot she was not showing such obvioussymptoms as she might have done.After about 24 hours Tanya took her tothe vet practice as Bobby still lookinguncomfortable.A scan of the abdomen showed someinflammation but rectal exams werenot showing anything. At around 3amTanya receive a call that Bobby she wasgetting worse and so Tanya agreed tosurgery. At 5am her vet called to saythey had found a massive swelling insmall colon, and taken a biopsy, butthey did not think the mare wouldsurvive and Tanya prepared for theworst.What was a stroke of luck was thatthere was an intern on site who hadrecently been involved in a study atLiverpool researching Idiopathic FocalEosinophilic Enteritis, With a laboratoryon site the results were back within6 hours and confirmed the diagnosis.Bobby was put on a massive dose ofsteroids and Tanya was advised to finda foster mare. After a week Bobbywas able to come home and carriedon feeding the foal herself. Tanyapurchased an Arc Equine which wouldhave been fairly new equipment at thetime to help get Bobby through her boxrest of 12 weeks. During this time shewas just walked in hand 2/3 times aday so her foal could stretch his legs.What was interesting was during theseshort walks Bobby would take herselfround the hedgerow and pick at thecleevers and docks and ignore thegrass as though self-medicating. After2 weeks she started to want to pickat the grass too. After 8 months herfoal was weaned as normal, and he isnow a strapping 5 year old called DanI Am, and is a future event prospectfor Tanya’s daughter and it is hopedhe will attend the 5yo Equine Bridgeassessment at the Futurity this summer.Just 85 horses in the country hadIdiopathic Focal Eosinophilic Enteritisthat year, a lot in the North East.But Tanya would have been left withan orphan foal to raise had she notnoticed the slight behaviour changes inher beloved mare. Both these storieshave happy endings and highlight justsome of the obstacles breeders have tosurmount on the way to rearing healthyand successful competition prospects.The reward for both Alison and Tanyawill be watching Bolero and Dan fulfiltheir potential in the sporting arena inthe future.Sacha Shaw40 | BRITISH BREEDER
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Page 3 and 4: NOVEMBER ISSUE - INDEXInside this i
Page 5 and 6: NEWS - BRITISH DRESSAGEBRITISHDRESS
Page 7 and 8: NEWS - BRITISH EVENTINGBritishEvent
Page 9 and 10: NEWS2019 FEIEUROPEANCHAMPIONSHIPSTh
Page 11 and 12: BRITISH BREEDING FUTURITYRICHMOND29
Page 13 and 14: BRITISH BREEDING FUTURITYWRITTLE1st
Page 15 and 16: BRITISH BREEDING FUTURITYTHE GRANGE
Page 17 and 18: CATHERSTON 3-5 yo28th AugustBRITISH
Page 19 and 20: SWALLOWFIELD30th AugustBRITISH BREE
Page 21 and 22: LADYKIRK30th AugustBRITISH BREEDING
Page 23 and 24: BRITISH BREEDING FUTURITYBRITISHBRE
Page 25 and 26: BRITISH BREEDING’S EQUINE BRIDGEC
Page 27 and 28: Studbook - NEWSShe achieved an exce
Page 29 and 30: Studbook - NEWSOur 2019 Mare of the
Page 31 and 32: Studbook - NEWSMistrals Snow FireOu
Page 33 and 34: Studbook - NEWSyoungstock,Sally McM
Page 35 and 36: Studbook - NEWSWest Kington Stud no
Page 37 and 38: Studbook - NEWSThen in the other gr
Page 39: Studbook - NEWSHer full sister ACHI
Page 43 and 44: Feature - ARTICLEVaccinationVaccina
Page 45 and 46: Feature - ARTICLE• 1998 - Diadora
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Page 49 and 50: Feature - ARTICLEMyspires Revolutio
Page 51 and 52: Feature - ARTICLEEl ThuderThunder v
Page 53 and 54: Feature - ARTICLEThese, or a specia
Page 55: PROBLEMSOLVING FEEDSOLUTIONSheavy-t

British Breeder Magazine November 2019

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