Dealing with a Dummy

Click here to read this PDF article by Stephen Mulholland Ph.D.; Dealing with a Dummy

An extract of this article is below, click on the link above for a pdf of the entire article.

In December 2011 we had a cria that got very sick. We were lucky that our veterinarian recognized what we were dealing with, a dummy, and put us on the path to saving her.

The term “dummy” comes from the horse world, the so-called “dummy foal.” The condition is also known as Neonatal Maladjustment Syndrome, or more technically as Hypoxic Ischemic Encephalopathy.

Practically this means that the cria did not get enough oxygen to its brain (and possibly other organ systems in the case of severe oxygen deprivation). This lack of oxygen could have come from a wide variety of sources and may have happened before birth (inadequate placenta, anaemia in the dam, early placental separation), during birth (early rupture of the umbilical cord, various constrictive dystocias) or even after birth (intact membrane preventing the cria from breathing).