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EQUINE VETERINARY EDUCATION / AE / JANUARY 2020


a)


b)


Fig 2: Abdominal wall tear in a Standardbred mare showing outline of ventral colon.


c)


Fig 3: Blood exiting cranial orifice of teat.


Fig 1: Schematic illustration of the prepubic tendon and its relationship with the pelvis of the mare from the a) cranial, b) craniolateral and c) dorsal perspective. Green = prepubic tendon; White = linea alba; Red = rectus abdominis muscle; Pink = pectineus muscle.


author’s experience. Factors that must be considered are the gestational stage, severity of the tears and accompanying clinical signs, the level of pain experienced by the mare and the clinicians ability to control it, the fetal viability, and the relative value (economic or sentimental) of the mare and fetus.


Ideally, one would provide supportive care until parturition


occurs naturally at term. This is the preferred course of action in cases where the pain experienced by the mare can be


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controlled and the condition is progressing slowly. However, the clinician should establish prior to commencing treatment whether survival of the foal or mare is more important to the clients. In the instance in which the status of the mare is worsening and mare survival is of paramount importance, abortion (or induction of a nonviable fetus) should be performed. In cases in which foal survival is a priority, efforts should be directed to maximising gestational length until parturition occurs or is induced following confirmation of fetal readiness for birth. A successful outcome following induced parturition is heavily dependent on fetal maturity. It is well accepted that fetal maturation occurs only within approximately


10 days of parturition, when fetal


adrenocortical hormones rise and trigger changes to facilitate life in an extra-uterine environment (Ousey 2008). These changes include an increase in thyroid hormone, an increase in the neutrophil: lymphocyte ratio (which impact on thermoregulation and glucose homoeostasis), an increased skeletal muscle tone, and maturation of the fetal lung and gastrointestinal system (Paccamonti 2012). Foals that fail to complete this final stage of maturation are thus born


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