Hot Topics from Horse Breeders Forum June 2010

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original poster

 Posted: 08 Jun 2010 01:00 pm Post subject: Failure of Passive Transfer

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I own a 15ish year old mare put her in foal (my first, her third) to a lovely Dutch Warmblood.

The pregnancy was fine and she started running milk 2 weeks before she gave birth. I now know this was a warning sign, but didn't at the time...the birth itself was straightforward and the foal was up and nursing within the first hour or so. She foaled around midnight and I called the vet at 8.30 that morning to come out for the routine check.

When he was approx 12 hours old I noticed that his poo was a bright yellowy orange and a thick paste. I saved a sample for the vet to check when she arrived.

When the vet finally arrived a few hours later she checked the foal and all his vital signs were normal. I showed her the sample and her response was that it was "not normal" and foals can go downhill very quickly. She gave me a paste (can't remember the name) and told me to give it him once a day for 3 days. With that she was gone, the whole check lasted no more than 10 minutes and she didn't even tell me she was going. My friend ran after her and she reluctantly returned to check the placenta but said she had to go to an emergency. I felt like I couldn't ask any more questions and she left me in a state of panic!

I gave him the paste and the diarrhoea seemed to clear up. When he was 11 days old the diarrhoea was back and worse than before. I called the vet straightaway and she arrived to take a blood sample and advised to carry on with the paste.

Another 5 days passed and again the diarrhoea seemed to clear up, I hadn't heard anything from the vets so I called and left a message. When the vet returned my call she said that my foal had Total Failure of Passive Transfer and I was to take him to York that day for a plasma infusion, He was now 15 days old.

He is now 5 weeks old and we have had no more diarrhoea or signs of illness but I am still very worried about him and I have few questions;

1. What do you think about his future? I have read about Failure of Passive Transfer and understand that the foals are prone to infections paticulary in their joints. When (if at all) is he likely to show signs of this? Is he just prone to infections before it is treated or if left untreated?

2. What percentage of foals with Failure of Passive Transfer develop any problems? Is it a forgone conclusion or because it has been treated is he now a "normal" foal?

3. Should the vet have checked his immunoglobulin levels on the first visit? i.e. is it a standard check or should I have asked for it?

4. Would it have made any difference to the type of treatment and prognosis?

5. IF (and I really don't want to) decide to sell him, would I need to tell the new owner? And I don't mean to hide any problems, just whether it would be relevant?

I'd really like to hear from people who have experienced this or just know more about it!
an go back and find my notes if you like

Posted: 08 Jun 2010 01:18 pm Post subject:

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Firstly - this diarrohea is not necessarily a problem. A lot of foals will have it on the first day as they get used to mums milk. At 11 days your mare may well have been on her foal heat, which again, makes foals scour. I'm amazed the vet didn't mention this.

It is crucial that the foal gets good quality colostrum within 2 hours of birth. We personally bottle most foals their first drink to make sure they have had it, and if we have any doubts whatsoever about the quality of the colostrum we thaw some that we have frozen (we milk some off any good mares we have and freeze it). In fact I had a new foal 2 days ago (see him in the new arrivals nursery!), his mother had ran milk for 3 days, so we gave him some frozen colostrum. We also routinely IGG blood test every single foal here to make sure they have had successful passive transfer.

I will be honest with you...I'm curious as to how your vet has diagnosed this, I'd also be very surprised if you had a healthy 5 week old foal who had total failure of passive transfer. I really don't think he would have made it that far without being very ill or worse!

Posted: 08 Jun 2010 01:35 pm Post subject:

I would always request an IgG test at the first foal check, especially if the mare lost milk prior to foaling. It takes a couple of months, minimum, for the foal to produce its own immunity to the "bugs" around it. Once he has developed his own immunity, then he shouldn't be any more likely to be susceptible to problems than any normal horse, unless he sustained some sort of damage from a previous infection. FPT is not always a sentence of ill health, but definitely makes foals much more prone to infection.

Here's an article you might find helpful. You might need to register to view it, but it's free, and the site is a wealth of information, created by the AAEP: http://www.thehorse.com/ViewArticle.aspx?ID=604

I don't know the answers to all of your questions, but I can go back and find my notes if you like
 

Posted: 08 Jun 2010 07:18 pm Post subject:

A few years ago my mare ran milk for a day before foaling, then the mare (who was maiden) wouldn't let the foal suckle for a good few hours,(although we did milk her and bottle feed) I didn't have any frozen colostrum to give to her.
Her IgG levels were low and she was given a plasma infusion. She was given it on day 3. She is now a very healthy 2 year old with no expected problems because of this.
Insurance companies wont insure foals without a positive IgG level BUT they did insure my foal after the plasma infusion, and we all know insurance companies wont insure something they think will be risky!

Personally I would be looking for another vet, they are supposed to be there to advise, this was my first foal and I needed the vets advice, luckily I had a very good one.

He shouldn't be more infection-prone for life, just until he builds his own immunity to his environment. The way I understand it (and I could be incorrect, so if someone who knows more could chime in and correct me, please do!), the plasma usually comes from "hyperimmunized" horses. This means healthy horses which have been vaccinated against or exposed to lots of different pathogens. This way, they have antibodies in their blood to many different things, and these are passed on to the plasma transfusion recipients. This is good, but mum's colostrum is even better--provided it's of good enough quality, and the foal gets enough of it before the gut "closes"--because it's tailor-made for the environment which your foal is born into. Colostrum will give better (though of course not complete) protection for those crucial first couple of months before the foal's own immune system begins to recognize and respond to the pathogens it encounters, and build its own immune system.

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