How would you handle this situation?

dasher
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How would you handle this situation?

Postby dasher » Tue Apr 03, 2018 7:11 pm

I'll try to make this as short as possible, so thanks in advance for reading!
Back in November I acquired a mare. Before I got her I had the Vet confirm pregnancy with a rectal exam. She felt the foal "hit her hand" during the exam. It was short and sweet as the mare was not happy. The only reason I got her was because she was supposed to be in foal. Best guess is that she would foal out in the march/april time frame (mare's history was unknown)
Vet is a long time boarder with me, I have known her for over 20 years.
Over the winter, the mare seemed to be getting more round but not as round as I would have liked. I mentioned this to the vet several times. I got the maiden mare bla bla bla speech. OK. I mentioned that she seemed like she was in season by the way she behaved around the boys. Again, I got the maiden mare bla bla bla speech. I mentioned that I could not feel any movement in the mare's belly and again, I got the maiden mare bla bla bla speech.
I had been bugging vet to do another exam since the middle of February. Vet would not sedate the mare so kept putting off the exam. (mare did not take kindly to the intrusion) Vet suggested we take her to the clinic where they have stocks for the exam. Circumstances would not allow that to happen. Three weeks ago I asked if she could perform a trans abdominal ultrasound. Why she never suggested that test I'll never know. We finally got to it last week and guess what, no foal!
The mare was too far along to have absorbed the fetus and there was no physical signs of an abortion.
Vet apologized for there not being a foal and stated how much she hates being wrong.
Later that night I got a call from her. She said her boss had a case where they found an aborted foal in a run in shed in the brood mare field. They had to do ultrasounds on all the mares to figure out which one had aborted because all the mares were stitched up and none of them showed any signs of abortion.
She suggested I do a walk in the field to look for an aborted fetus. WTH.
It seems to me they are trying to CYA for the wrong initial diagnosis.
Now I have a mare and no baby.
I don't know how to address this with the vet. This whole proposition has cost me a bit of money.
Any suggestions??

Tarlo Farm
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Re: How would you handle this situation?

Postby Tarlo Farm » Tue Apr 03, 2018 8:07 pm

Did the vet gain anything from your purchase of the mare? Without a solid history of the mare and the breeding, without you insisting on a more thorough exam before you acquired the mare, I'd chalk it up to a simple mistake. How did you "acquire" a supposedly-bred mare with no guarantee? (assuming you have no contract stating she was in foal)

dasher
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Re: How would you handle this situation?

Postby dasher » Tue Apr 03, 2018 8:30 pm

Mare belonged to a boarder. She adopted her from a questionable situation.
She owned the mare and had been with me for total of 2 months.
She wanted to get rid of the mare after finding out she (owner) was herself pregnant.
I thought, by the mare's looks, that she may be in foal. Big belly and dropped back.
Told the owner that if she was in foal I would take her.
Vet performed exam the next day and was absolutely, positive she was in foal. She did a rectal exam and said the foal hit her hand during the procedure. She was positive, there was no question!
This would have put the mare at a minimum of 7 months pregnant by the time it was discovered she was not in foal. Vet wanted to do a more thorough exam last week to find out what she felt during the initial exam. She performed a trans abdominal ultrasound, and a rectal ultrasound. Of course, she found nothing.

Rockabilly
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Re: How would you handle this situation?

Postby Rockabilly » Tue Apr 03, 2018 11:21 pm

I think I would just let this go and find another vet or as my favorite saying goes "experience is what you get after you need it".

PaulaO
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Re: How would you handle this situation?

Postby PaulaO » Wed Apr 04, 2018 12:31 am

Vets make mistakes. I don’t know that there is anything for you to “handle”. You want to sue the vet or the previous owner? Your frustration is understandable but there’s nothing you can do.

dasher
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Re: How would you handle this situation?

Postby dasher » Wed Apr 04, 2018 2:25 am

Previous owner never represented the mare to be in foal.
Obviously, there is nothing I can do about the pregnancy.
My first instinct is to let it go and chalk it up to an expensive lesson learned.
I have gotten some outside advise.
There is more to this story. A lot more.
I guess I am just looking for some rational input from someone that is not close to the situation.
I guess I'll see how Vet handles it first.

khall
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Re: How would you handle this situation?

Postby khall » Wed Apr 04, 2018 2:44 am

Vets make mistakes and it can be difficult to tell if a mare is in foal later on. Especially if the mare was not tolerating the palpation well, that can be dangerous for the vet.
I would definitely chalk it up to a learning experience.

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StraightForward
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Re: How would you handle this situation?

Postby StraightForward » Wed Apr 04, 2018 3:00 pm

Well, I would have changed vets/gotten a second opinion earlier this winter after getting the maiden mare spiel, but PPEs don't guarantee anything. It's disappointing, but it's just the way the horse business is.
Keep calm and canter on.

Sue B
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Re: How would you handle this situation?

Postby Sue B » Wed Apr 04, 2018 4:36 pm

I am a vet who at the time of my maiden mare's pregnancy, was very good at rectal preg checks. I hand bred said mare, found her in foal at 30 days, watched her belly grow and, later, even saw said foal kicking. End result, no foal, no sign she had aborted, no aborted foal in pasture. My best guess is that she lost it between the 8th and 9th month and coyotes dragged the body and placenta away. No, I did not walk the entire 12 acres in search of foal, just noticed she suddenly didn't look or act preggers any more. Fortunately for her, she had no negative effects from our adventure and, due to other reason's, I never bred her again. It's horses, stuff happens, and if vet "shook hands" with the foal, I would guess it was 6-7 months old at the time. Sorry for your loss.

Btw, I would NEVER palpate a mare not properly secured in stocks. Too dangerous to me and the mare. ;)


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