What would cause 8-9 month abortion?

[caryledee]

A mare at our farm aborted over the weekend. Mare cultured clean; we are still waiting on necropsy results.

When owner found mare, she assumed mare had already aborted because it appeared the afterbirth was being expelled. On closer examination, it appeared to be more like a red bag delivery; the foal was still inside encased in the chorioallantois and malpositioned. We were able to extract the foal who was, of course, still born. The only abnormality appeared to be one hock joint that wasn't entirely formed.

I know the official word will come back with the autopsy report, but I was just wondering if there is a common reason for late abortions like this.

[not again]

Were there many twists in the umbilical cord?

[Lesley Feakins]

That was the first thing to came to mind also. A couple of years ago we lost a foal around the same timing to a multiple twisted umbilical cord...very sad and disappointing.

[Signature]

We lost one at a bit over 7 months last winter due to what appeared to be umbilical torsion. Also, it seemed the fetus had an abnormality in the abdomen, as when we were picking it up for examination, the intestines began spilling out near the umbilical cord. So, it could also have been some sort of developmental problem too.

It will be interesting to see what the necropsy shows. It's SO disappointing and sad when it happens. So sorry for your friend's and the mare's loss. :(

[alliekat]

I can't give a better guess than the ones that have been mentioned, but I am very sorry for your friends loss.

[Equine Reproduction]

I know the official word will come back with the autopsy report, but I was just wondering if there is a common reason for late abortions like this.

First thing is to find out what the necropsy report shows. But, FWIW, late term abortions are not uncommon in mares that have a poor uterine biopsy score, so if the necropsy comes back "idiopathic", the very first thing I would do is have a biopsy pulled on the mare before re-breeding her.

Think of the uterus and placenta as Velco. If the uterus is old and worn out, it's like using old worn out Velcro that's covered in fuzz and dog hair...it's just not going to hold on like a fresh, brand new piece of velcro. As the fetus gets bigger and requires more from the mare's uterus in order to maintain the pregnancy, the more likely that an abortion is going to occur if the "attachment" isn't good and complete. Not the best analogy, but hopefully it gives you an idea. Obviously, if placentitis was involved or the fetus died during gestation, all of those things can cause an abortion.

Hope that helps!

Kathy St.Martin
Equine Reproduction Short Courses
http://www.equine-reproduciton.com

[hendyboy]

Could the mares reproductive hormone levels be to blame? We had a mare abort at this stage and were were told her hormone levels were very low. Just a thought

[Equine Reproduction]

Could the mares reproductive hormone levels be to blame? We had a mare abort at this stage and were were told her hormone levels were very low. Just a thought

I'm assuming you're referring to her Progesterone levels. At that stage of the pregnancy, it is the feto placental unit that is producing progestagens, specifically 5 alpha pregnanes and 5 alpha DHP. Progesterone is not being secreted by anything. Progesterone levels peak in the mare at about 90 days and decline to a zero level from thereon in. So in answer to your question, if you are referring to progesterone levels, no, it's not likely due to that.

Kathy St.Martin
Equine Reproduction Short Courses
http://www.equine-reproduction.com

[caryledee]

Thanks for the replies everyone! Here is some more information: this was only the mare's second foal; the first one she had last year and he died within a couple of months due to an injury.

There were many twists in the umbilical cord; i noticed this but the vet didn't say anything about it. I was wondering if that had anything to do with it. What would cause the cord to twist like that?

I don't know anything about her hormone levels, or even if any tests were run on her. I don't recall them having a hard time getting the mare in foal either year.

In any case, it is a very sad site to see. It was a little bay filly with a star and strip. I am just happy that my friend found the mare early on and the mare didn't appear to suffer any injuries or trauma.

[Equine Reproduction]

There were many twists in the umbilical cord; i noticed this but the vet didn't say anything about it. I was wondering if that had anything to do with it. What would cause the cord to twist like that?

If you saw just how much a fetus flips and spins during pregnancy, you wouldn't be terribly surprised There can be an incredible number of twists in the cord with no deleterious impact on the foal. It's extremely difficult to twist it sufficiently to cut off the blood supply between the mare and the foal and generally speaking, when it "does" occur, there is a huge amount of bruising and trauma to the cord.

How old is the mare? That's probably more relevant than the number of foals she's produced.

Hope that helps!

Kathy ST.Martin
Equine Reproduction Short Courses
http://www.equine-reproduction.com

[clint]

Kathy, when a mare loses a foal to an umbilical twist, what can cause this? Usually the cord looks like twisted ropes after a normal delivery. I have a friend who reported to me recently that she had a mare abort an 8 month fetus, and the cause was supposedly a twisted cord. So, can this really happen? This particular abortion also included a mummified foal, which the attending vet said wasn't the cause.

[caryledee]

Kathy--Thanks for the information! I am not sure exactly how old she is; I am guessing around 8-12 years.

[Hillside H Ranch]

Kathy, when a mare loses a foal to an umbilical twist, what can cause this? Usually the cord looks like twisted ropes after a normal delivery. I have a friend who reported to me recently that she had a mare abort an 8 month fetus, and the cause was supposedly a twisted cord. So, can this really happen? This particular abortion also included a mummified foal, which the attending vet said wasn't the cause.

I'm not Kathy, but my two cents: Abortions are often chalked up to a twisted umbilicus when the vet can't find another reason for the abortion. Kathy is exactly right that a normal umbilicus is incredibly twisted. Just because you have an aborted foal with a twisted umbilicus does not mean that is the cause. Just as Kathy described, there is almost always bruising or "blood" trapped in a section of the cord when this happens. This isn't going to be popular, but in my experience with a lot of different vets a diagnosis of twisted umbilicus means "we didn't find anything else but the owner needs answers". Fetal death from a true umbilicus problem is actually quite rare. It has been my experience that "twisted cord" is a common diagnosis especially when a full necropsy isn't performed.
In the above case, I wouldn't believe that the twisted cord was the problem. A mummified fetus generally indicates a fetus that has been dead for quite some time. Almost always if the death is due to a cord twist (again, rare) the fetus is expelled immediately.

I would also definitely agree with Kathy that the problem could be with the mare's uterus. It seems like there is an increased incidence of abortion around the 7-9 month gestation period. That is often because fetal growth is explosive at that point; the fetus is requiring a huge amount of nutrients, etc. If the mare's uterus is at all compromised the fetus cannot get what it needs and abortion can occur. This is where your uterine biopsy score comes into play; remember the biopsy doesn't give you your chances of getting a mare pregnant. It reflects the mares ability to CARRY A PREGNANCY TO TERM.

[FriesianX]

A few other things to consider. Fescue? Can't that cause late term abortions? And was the mare up to date on her vaccinations? A rhino outbreak could be at fault. I know twinning can cause late term abortions, but generally, you do find two fetuses. I'd also 2nd the thought that maybe something was just WRONG with the foal, and the nature ended the pregnancy.

Sad - it seems much harder to lose one this late in the pregnancy :no: I hope the mare is OK!

[allanglos]

I had this happen about 12 years ago. This mare had never aborted before, and never since. The necropsy was inconclusive. I assumed it was due to Rhino, as I had shipped in a new horse from the New England area a few weeks before this happened.

[Indy-lou]

We all like to have answers to our losses, but sometimes there aren't any. I had a mare abort her 6 mos foal and I paid all the money to have it necropsied. I got no answer for all that expenditure. I had the young mare uterine biopsied post abortion and she remained a perfect 1-A, there is no better score. She had the pneumobort vaccines and there were no added horse to the herd at all during her pregnancy and nobody came and went anywhere. All horses were vaccinated per protocols. No one thought the fetus was anything but normal and nobody thought the umbilicus was twisted. There were no traumatic incidents, nothing anyone could point to. All I got was "it happens sometimes". It's hard to accept that there is no answer sometimes, but what can you do when you have done everything and still no conclusive answer?

[goodmorning]

I believe a friend of mine just had an umbilibal issue...apparently the umbilical was twiste around the foals neck...Ill get more details later..

[Lesley Feakins]

In my situation, my Vet delivered a still born foal in the stall, I remember it well, ot was very late in the evening around 11.30 p.m. and it was the day after Christmas . The foal looked perfectly normal. My Vet at the time looked at the cord and mentioned that he thought that was the cause. At that time it looked terribly twisted.
The necropsy revealed that there were multiple twists (in excess of a dozen) and that the cord was unusually long.

[clint]

Hillside H, thanks for your response. I should have been more clear; in the case of my friend's mare there was a mummified foal in addition to a dead fetus that appeared normal.

[Equine Reproduction]

I agree 100% with Hillside on this one. I think often mare owners want an answer when sometimes there just isn't a readily apparent one. A twisted umbilical cord just seems like an easy answer sometimes, but really and truly rarely is. During the later stages of pregnancy, the fetus isn't able to flip and twist around anywhere near as much as it is in the earlier stages. And, think about it. Have you ever tried twisting a piece of rope over and over again? Now think of attaching something to the end of it that you can't hold into place and try twisting it...the thing on the end "will" flip around unless braced against something! It just doesn't happen very often unless there is some kind of fluke. And, I've counted over 30 twists in an umbilical cord on a perfectly normal, healthy foal.

Mother Nature is pretty darn good at kicking things out that may not be normal. Carlyedee, you indicated that one hock didn't appear entirely formed. That may have been just what you could see and there may well have been other deformities that contributed to the expulsion of the fetus. Was the mare current on her rhino vaccines?

Hope that helps!

Kathy St.Martin
Equine Reproduction Short Courses
http://ww.equine-reproduction.com

[pintopiaffe]

So sorry, somehow it's harder when they come out looking like perfect little horses that just never got a chance to 'finish.'

I've had a set of twins that the second, mummified foal was quite difficult to find, but when we found it, that was the obvious cause. It was very small, and the other foal kept developing until the mare's body just had to reject the dead foal.

I've been reading the umbilical twist info with interest, as has been said, at birth it's always quite twisted. Without a 'kink' or obvious tortion in it, I'm not sure how a vet would determine it as cause of death... except for the bruising Kathy mentions.

I've been a little paranoid about my almost 6-mo mare. She was showing quite generously, now is tucked up. But is very healthy and bright. She is also white, which has the advantage of KNOWING if there is discharge etc. But there's just so much risk, you never really breathe easily, do you...

[Hillside H Ranch]

Hillside H, thanks for your response. I should have been more clear; in the case of my friend's mare there was a mummified foal in addition to a dead fetus that appeared normal.

Then I think it would be highly, highly unlikely that an umbilical twist was the issue. In this case, certainly the mummified fetus could have caused the death and subsequent expulsion of the "healthy" fetus. More than likely because of the mummified twin taking up space the other fetus could not obtain the nutrition that it needed at that stage. I would have listed this abortion as due to twinning.

[caryledee]

Mother Nature is pretty darn good at kicking things out that may not be normal. Carlyedee, you indicated that one hock didn't appear entirely formed. That may have been just what you could see and there may well have been other deformities that contributed to the expulsion of the fetus. Was the mare current on her rhino vaccines?

Hope that helps!

Kathy St.Martin
Equine Reproduction Short Courses
http://ww.equine-reproduction.com

I don't know about the rhino vaccines. Some of the boarders at this barn have strange ideas about breeding. I've heard a couple of them say they believe the rhino vaccines have caused their mares to abort. I don't know if this woman is one of them that doesn't believe in vaccinations; I try to stay out of arguments I know I can't win!! At any rate, she was not exposed to any new horses during the length of time she was pregnant; the field that she is in is huge and at the very back of the property.

I was wondering about fescue; could that come into play at this stage of the pregnancy?