Scottish vet saves highland foal from life as an orphan
Two months after a foal was born in the Scottish Highlands his mother died. Jim Dukes of Dukes Equine Vets, whose equine veterinary practice is based on the edge of the Cairngorms, was faced with a tough situation. The young colt, who had been named Prince, was facing life as an orphan.
“When the mare died, that was a hard couple of days for everyone, but sadly these things do happen,” Jim said. “The foal quickly adjusted to feeding from a bucket but it’s never ideal for a foal to be raised without his mum, not just for the extra work involved but perhaps more importantly for the behavioural impact on an orphan foal.” Jim referred to some published studies and plenty of peoples’ personal experiences to support the fact that some orphan foals can be very difficult as adults.
Meeting mum for the first time is always a poignant moment
With that in mind a Facebook search ensued for a mare that had lost her foal. The quest was unsuccessful, but there was still a possible solution when the owner was offered a mare that had foaled previously – but was not in foal this year.
“Two big problems are that the mare will have no milk and may not want anything to do with a strange foal,” Jim said. “However, by exploiting the side effects of a couple of drugs it is amazing what can happen. Sulpiride is a human antipsychotic drug that has a side effect of increasing prolactin synthesis in the brain. This is unfortunate as patients can start to produce milk but it can also be used to induce lactation in a mare. The mare must have previously had a foal and be cycling for it to work.”
The mare, named Splash, arrived and while hopes were high, results were slow in coming. “We were on the verge of giving up,” Jim said. “But after a fortnight of twice daily dosing she started to produce a reasonable quantity of milk.”
Step two was the introduction of the foal to the newly-appointed mother. Jim drew from his experience learning from Dutch Professor Peter Daels, who is renowned for his work in the veterinary field.
The plan came together and mare and foal are happily united.
“I have been lucky enough to spend a bit of time with Peter learning embryo transfer and he is one of those absolute geniuses that exist in the veterinary profession,” Jim said. “He discovered that you could give a massive dose of a drug called PGF2a. At the standard dose this drug is used to bring a mare into season but with a massive dose it causes contractions of the uterus and these in turn cause and the endogenous release of oxytocin. Oxytocin, sometimes known as the love hormone, is released during parturition and is a part of stimulating the maternal instinct. If oxytocin is given by injection it does not have the same effect.”
Happy days in the Highlands for Splash and her newly-found foal Prince
Within 20 minutes of administering the drug and a cautious introduction of the foal, the mare quickly claimed the foal as hers. “I’m happy to say they have gone home and are currently doing well,” said Jim. “In the end it was a combination of applying veterinary research and perseverance – a combination that paid off.”
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