Pedigree Query

I received the bad news yesterday that one of my babies has a "moderate" cleft palate. Ive been treating her for infection and abcesses so this news is not entirely unexpected but its still an unhappy day. Im told most breeders destroy their foals with this condition but, after with surgery, a few have pulled through.

This is not an expensive foal but I really feel like she deserves a chance to lead a happy life. Im wondering if anyone else has had a similar experience, and if they found the $2,000 surgery helpful.

Thanks.

you will probably get better stats from the Vet that is proposing the surgery.

griff

I have that information but am curious about other's experiences.

Barcaldine wrote:I have that information but am curious about other's experiences.

Hi Barcaldine,
The problem with this surgery is two fold...very few actual surgery's have been performed to give a confident prognosis, the other is due to the site of the surgery...healing can and usually will be a prolonged process, many times causing other problems while it heals. The outcome is dependent on the site of the cleft and the age of the foal when the surgery is done....The earlier the better. Below is a most informative article on the condition and will hopefully aid in your decision. I wish you and the foal good luck. TJ
http://www.thehorse.com/ViewArticle.aspx?ID=446

It seems odd that this was not noticed earlier? The cleft palate is a life threatening deal since horses have no trigger reflex to avoid aspirating food and liquids, and no way to "seal" the mouth to drink properly. Every one I have personally seen has ended up with pneumonia and been put down. Any kind of surgery prognosis depends entirely on the individual situation and can't be even thought about without seeing the problem... best of luck to you and the foal, though.