British Breeder May 2023

Vet Article - Dummy Foal Syndrome
Valium (diazepam) is commonly used.
This drug seems to help reset the effects
of the high pregnane levels in the brain.
Another important treatment for
Dummy Foal Syndrome is the foal
squeeze. This is a technique which is
designed to recreate the physical
pressure of foaling, in an attempt to turn
on the important enzymes in the
hormone pathways. The procedure
should always be carried out in
conjunction with your vet, as not all
foals are suitable candidates. The
procedure is most suitable for foals with
early or mild stages of the disease. A
rope is fixed around the foal’s neck and
then wrapped twice around the chest
using half hitches. Firm pressure is then
applied to the rope. The foal should
then become floppy and lay down.
Firm pressure is maintained on the rope
for 20 minutes. Many foals will show
a dramatic improvement in the clinical
signs immediately afterwards and often
show a sudden increase in awareness of
the mare.
Can you prevent the
condition?
Preventing the condition can be difficult,
but good monitoring during pregnancy
Figure 3: The foal squeeze technique.
should enable mares with placental
problems to be identified and
appropriately treated. Any mare that is
showing signs of premature mammary
development or vulval discharge during
pregnancy should be carefully evaluated
to check for signs of placentitis. Mares
with a history of placentitis should be
monitored more closely during
pregnancy. Careful supervision at
foaling, and early identification of any
potential problems or foetal
malpositioning should help reduce the
possibility of oxygen deprivation
occurring.
What to do if you have
a foal showing signs of
Dummy Foal Syndrome
Early recognition and treatment of the
problem is the key to success. Any foal
showing any signs of the condition
should receive early treatment. Foals with
the condition are often slow to nurse, or
not able to latch on to the udder. Failure
of colostrum intake can quickly lead to
infection developing in the foal. Foals
also quickly become dehydrated with
low blood glucose levels. Early
veterinary treatment is often as simple
as supplementary colostrum, the foal
squeeze and protective antimicrobials.
Early veterinary examination will also
allow rapid identification of foals with
more serious problems. Rapid
hospitalisation of these foals improves
the likelihood of survival greatly. With
appropriate treatment 80-90% of these
foals survive. Foals that survive should
go on to develop normally and have full
athletic careers.
Emily Floyd is
an RCVS
Specialist in
Equine Internal
Medicine at
Rossdales Equine
Hospital. For more
information about
this article and our
neonatal foal services, please contact
Emily on telephone 01638 577754
or email emily.floyd@rossdales.com
EQUINE REPRODUCTIVE
SERVICES
✔ Artificial Insemination (fresh/chilled/frozen semen)
✔ Embryo Flushing and Transfer
✔ OPU and shipping for ICSI
✔ Semen collection, evaluation, distribution and freezing
(including post castration epididymal harvesting)
✔ Infertility investigations for mares and stallions
✔ Board certified Specialists in Theriogenology and
Equine Internal Medicine
✔ Full range of reproductive surgical procedures
✔ Specialist-led Neonatal Intensive Care Unit
✔ BEVA Approved state-of-the-art laboratory
Contact our BEVA approved team of dedicated stud
vets on 01638 663150 (Newmarket)
BEVA Approved AI Practice
www.rossdales.com
BRITISH BREEDER| 41