"Dream A Second Chance"

On Monday May 10th an unknown man phoned the Kamloops SPCA to report that he found an abandoned foal at the side of a road near Pinantan Lake - the mother nowhere to be found. The SPCA was quick to respond and immediately took the foal to the Kamloops Large Animal Veterinary Clinic.

 
On the day he was found - barely clinging to life.
The veterinarian estimates he was born the previous night.

The foal, a chestnut coloured colt deemed to be no more than 24 hours old, was near death. To help determine the foal's chance for survival the veterinarians needed to know if the foal had received antibodies from its mother's colostrum, and so an Immunoglobulin G (IgG) test was performed.

Immunoglobulin G (IgG), the most abundant type of antibody, is found in all body fluids and protects against bacterial and viral infections.

When born, foals have no immunity defenses of their own so it's vital that a foal nurses from its mother to get the proteins and antibodies from the mother's colostrum (colostrum is the first substance produced by the milk gland and provides nutrients and protection against infections and diseases - after one or two days the colostrum is replaced by 'mature' milk).

Unfortunately the IgG test came back with a score of "0" which means the foal hadn't nursed from its mother at all because no antibodies were present in his blood. Despite this, the doctors and staff at the Veterinary Clinic decided that they weren't going to give up on the little fellow so easily - he deserved another chance - so they began looking for a way to provide him with a future.

A Big Decision

I know the good people at the Kamloops Large Animal Veterinary Clinic very well and they knew I hand-reared an orphaned foal two years ago, so I was at the top of their list of people to call. Due to that experience I knew that I wouldn't be able to care for the new-born foal without a lot of help so I rounded up my International Students (Melanie, Sonja, Claudia, Julie and Stephanie) and asked if they would like to help give the foal a second chance at life.

The answer was an enthusiastic "yes"!

I called the Clinic back to let them know Stephanie and I were on our way. By some strange twist of fate I actually had an amount of colostrum in my freezer from one of my mares that had lost a foal, so we brought it with us.

While the colostrum was being prepared and fed to the foal at the Clinic we discussed what to do. The Clinic was willing to do the medical things required to get the little guy out of immediate danger but they didn't have the staff availability to watch, care for, and feed him 24/7. 

I agreed to adopt the foal, and the Clinic set about giving him plasma and fluids intravenously and then prepped him for the trip to his new home. I carried him to the truck (he couldn't have weighed more than 40 or 50 pounds) and Stephanie lay with him on the trip back. Meanwhile, the rest of the girls at the Ranch were busy preparing a stall with bedding and heat lamps for warmth.
 

 
That same day, but now in his stall at the Ranch with blankets
and a heat lamp overhead. Still too weak to stand.

Preparation

On that first night we put a cot in the stall so Stephanie and I could take shifts feeding him every hour and sleeping between feedings. Because he was still too weak to stand we fed him as best we could with him lying down but it seemed obvious to us that he was making a real effort to to save himself - he wasn't giving up.

Around 3:00 a.m. I was woken up by an incessant nudging on my arm. I opened my eyes to find our new little friend standing beside me with a very expectant "I'm hungry" look on his face... and he has been up ever since!
 

 
Day 2 ~ thin and weak, but standing!

A Name!

To think, all of this taking place on what we believe to be just his first day of life. From the man who found the foal at the side of the road, to the SPCA who responded so quickly, the amazing and dedicated team at Kamloops Large Animal Veterinary Clinic, and the wonderful, helpful, caring students (Melanie, Sonja, Claudia, Julie and Stephanie)staying with us at the Ranch - everyone involved has played a part in giving this special little foal his second chance at life.

To honor the thoughtfulness and care that everyone has shown I think it's only fitting that our little guy should be named "Dream A Second Chance" ... or "Chance" for short.
 

 
Day 2 ~ demonstrating some good fashion sense.

Feeding

A foal will feed from its mother dozens of times each day, but it's impossible for us to emulate that so Chance gets fed every hour (day and night) with horse 'formula'. Everyone lends a hand and we regularly record his heart rate and temperature as well as recording the frequency of his bodily functions (if you know what I mean) and anything else we see that is noteworthy. Chance started out drinking 4 ounces per feeding, then up to 8 ounces. By Day 2 he was at 12 ounces and since then 16 ounces.
 

 
Day 12 - the hourly ritual. You can see the shaved area on
his neck where the intravenous had been placed.

Rebecca, Sonja, Julie, Stephanie and Claudia		Claudia and Chance

Day 4

On Day 4 it was noticed his temperature was up, so the hospital increased his antibiotics (he had been on antibiotics from Day 1 due to his immune system being so low). I should also mention that when Chance first arrived at the Veterinary Clinic he already had a cut on his front left shoulder.

Day 9

On Day 9 the state of the cut on his shoulder looked like it was getting worse so we took him back to Kamloops Large Animal Veterinary Clinic. The wound was cleaned up and, as precautionary measure his umbilical cord was given an ultra-sound to make sure infection wasn’t setting in there. The cord was fine so they upped the dose of antibiotics to try and keep any possible infection at bay.

Day 12

Chance is bright-eyed, perky, cheeky, beginning to bolt around his turn-out area, and has doubled his weight from 50 pounds to 100 pounds. When Chance first began standing he was noticeably down on his rear fetlocks but as he continues to gain strength and stamina he is standing up straight for longer periods of time. We've made the Veterinary Clinic aware of this and we'll be keeping an eye on it. Today Chance developed a case of the 'runs' so that's another thing we'll be attending to.
 

 
This video was taken on Day 12 and gives you a good sense
of just how far he has come along in this short period of time.
 

Day 12 ~ Melanie and Chance		Day 12 ~ A cheeky boy

Learning To Be A 'Horse'

Another important thing to mention is that the quicker we can get him knowing he is a 'horse' the more normal a future he will have. We're hoping to introduce another horse as a 'nanny' to him in the near future - as a matter of fact the same mare (her name is "Mare") that produced the colostrum that helped save his life was introduced to him through the fence (she has always been a motherly type) and she did a little 'nicker' to him, her ears were forward and she seemed pleasantly interested in him. Until he strengthens up in his rear fetlocks he won’t be introduced her in a more personal manner but we were very happy to see that this initial introduction went well.
 

 

Chance kicking up his heels...
and getting a close encounter of the "Mare" kind!

Mare and Chance		Enjoying the sun together

Day 15

I got a call from Kamloops Large Animal Veterinary Clinic with the news that they had a mare that just gave birth but the foal didn't survive. Thinking that there might be an opportunity for the mare to accept Chance, the mare was quickly trailered up to the Ranch. Initially things looked positive as the mare 'nickered' at Chance and seemed interested in him but it was short-lived - she ended up making her displeasure known. 

Day 17

We took Chance out into the grass for a little bit of exploration and he appeared to enjoy the chance of scenery. After a little while we haltered "Mare" and brought her out to share the same space with Chance - Mare is the one we're hoping will be Chance's nanny. So far so good!

Day 20

Quite a lot to report in the last few days. When in their paddocks, Chance and Mare (the prospective Nanny) are next door to each other and we feed them at the fence that separates them - that way they can get used to be nearing each other. Things seem good and they quite commonly touch noses through the fence so that's a very good sign!

Chance graduated from bottle feeding to using a 'goat bucket' as soon as it was introduced to him. We're keeping an eye on him to see if he's feeding a little bit at a time (and often) or if he's guzzling it all at once. Additionally, we've introduced him to Foalac pellets which will also help to get him through the nights more self-sufficiently.

Chance and Mare are getting some time together each day out on the lawn, and we're at the point now where both of them are unrestrained. Chance is a bit nervous of her but he is getting more and more comfortable with her each day. It was very rewarding to see Mare act very protectively over Chance when the horses from the bottom field came up to the fence line to have a look at him. Mare got quite animated and wanted to keep herself between the other horses and Chance. Nice!!

Chance has also started to nibble at grass so we're hoping he has been picking up those mannerisms from watching Mare and the other horses.
 

Day 17 ~ Having a romp in the grass for a little change of pace.

After Seven Weeks

Chance is approaching two months of age and, overall, continues to do very well!

Health-wise, a few weeks ago it was determined that Chance had an umbilical hernia. It's not entirely uncommon for foals, and Chance's hernia isn't big enough to require surgery but the Vet has instructed us to keep an eye on it - which we're doing.

We have continued to turn Chance and 'Mare' into the front lawn together and then we also introduced another mare 'Cookie' (who is presently in foal) into the mix. Everything between the Chance and the two mares has gone well but I decided it was time for a change of scenery after Chance decided that my flowers were particularly tasty!

Chance continues to be fed using the 'goat bucket' each hour during the day from 6:00 a.m. through to midnight, plus he also gets Foalac pellets and Mare-and-Foal pellets four times a day, and he is eating hay regularly. From midnight to 6:00 a.m. he gets water and pellets.

Because of Chance's new-found love of my flowers, this week we put him in a larger paddock with a loafing shed. He really enjoys the extra room and zooms around to his heart's content! Everything was good during the day, but come nightfall he became very agitated so we brought him back to his stall with nanny 'Mare' next to him and he was fine!

After giving Chance a couple of days to get used to the large paddock we brought 'Mare' in with him, and their relationship continues to grow. 'Mare' gets very protective of Chance when other horses approach at the fence - she shields Chance from the others and 'nickers' instructions to him so it appears that our desire for him to learn horse rules, manners and socialization skills has a real shot at working!

Chance is overcoming his shyness with other horses and he occasionally visits with the horses in the next pasture through the fence - even touching noses with 'Fortune' our yearling colt.

For the last two nights 'Mare' and Chance have spent the night in the larger paddock with the loafing shed and, as we've witnessed time and time again, the little guy is very quick and willing to adapt to new situations.

The Vet has recently examined Chance and she thinks he's absolutely fabulous and says his health is great. We're all very impressed with him and his progress!

A Helping Hand

There's so much time and effort required for hand-rearing a foal, but there are also so many costs which includes a small fortune worth of Foalac (horse milk replacement). I would like to express my heart-felt thanks and appreciation to the following people for their very thoughtful donations which will help us provide Foalac and other essentials for Chance.

Kamloops Large Animal Veterinary Clinic
Jen Wind
Douglas Lake Ranch
Nina
Meghan
Andrew Thomas
Wendy and George Roberts
Donna Kerby and David Callaghan
Geri Helmer
Rob Bennett
Sara Dixon
Deborah Beasley
Greenhawk - Kamloops
Terry Tobey
Jah and Rebecca
Ruth Foley
Ole and Christen
 G Stan B Callaghan

If you would like to make a donation to help us help Chance it would be appreciated more than words can say. The Veterinary Clinic has indicated that donations can be sent directly to them at the following address:

Kamloops Large Animal Veterinary Clinic
1465B Cariboo Place
Kamloops, BC V2C 5Z3
(250) 374-1486

My website designer set up a PayPal account for people who would like to make a donation on-line. Simply click on the "donate" link shown below. In all instances 100% of donations will go towards Foalac and other essentials for Chance.

Message from webmaster - You do not need your own account to make a donation using Paypal (click here to view an image that shows you the three steps)

“It is by chance that we met, by choice that we became friends.”