Bilateral hip flexions (Fig. 11) are generally associ- ated with deformed foals. It is unlikely that man- ual reduction will be successful in these cases, and C-section is generally preferred.
Most Common Ventral Presentations
Anterior Presentation, Ventral Position These are generally easy to reduce, and can usually be resolved at the farm. It is important to keep the head straight while rotating the foal and engaging it into the birth canal (Fig. 12).
There is a risk that the hind legs penetrate the vagina or the rectum with this presentation (Fig. 13). An attempt can be made to rotate the foal and deliver in a posterior manner. This will be a reasonable approach as long as the foal is not overly large, in which case there is risk of rupture
of the gastrocnemius muscle at its femoral attachment.
Transverse Presentations
These transverse presentations (Figs. 14 and 15) are not common, and are most often associated with a congenital abnormality. The majority of them are ventral. It is important to make sure you are not dealing with twins, which can usually be resolved without a C-section; otherwise, most of these should go to surgery or be resolved with fetotomy.
5. C-Section
There are many instances in the author’s practice in which C-sections are an elective procedure. This is usually due to a pre-existing condition such as a damaged cervix or a mare with a deformed pelvis. There are several fetal presentations that will generally go almost immediately to C-section. Breech presentations are almost impossible to re- duce and are generally deformed foals. Trans- verse presentations are generally dead foals or
