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[RC] Lightening strike - foal death - Amy CieriI know there are a few of you out there that experienced the horror my friend and I did yesterday. Our foal and his mom where struck by lightening. Fortunately the foal appears to have died instantly. No signs of struggle.
Mom on the other hand is obviously neurological, has pulmonary edema, facial paralysis, nystagmus, etc.
From the evidence on the ground and her body, she may have been forcefully driven into the ground head first.
She is able to swallow, and as of this morning, still ataxic with all the facial issues she had yesterday but has a drive to eat and drink. The vet is optimistic that she'll recover but feels 48 hours will be our turning point. We're giving her water that had beet pulp soaking in it. She's slurping that just fine but we haven't tried soft shreds yet, too afraid of aspiration even with a good swallow. She is bright in spite of her trauma and has not had any extreme measures done to save her. It's been only supportive.
Any uplifting stories of recovery out there? Any advice on keeping her comfortable and unafraid until her vision returns to normal.
Also, how do you assist a mare who's udder is full and hard. Her babe was 6 weeks old. I did encourage let down yesterday and being a labor and delivery nurse I know it takes about a week for an engorged human mom to start to have relief after the baby is gone. What about a mare?
She is getting steroids for the CNS swelling and the vet felt that would help her dry up. Anything else we could do?
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