Rachel Alexandra in danger

[erins isle]

http://www.bloodhorse.com/horse-racing/ ... ng-surgery

Let's hope for the best.

[Nancy T]

[Barbaro06]

Hoping for the best...and I hope they give her a break from breeding this season and let her recover fully.

[Georgerz]

If she survives, maybe retire her from breeding, and let her live a peaceful life.

[Heidilady]

C-sections are always a possibility, but the risks would have to be weighed. She could do that 2 or 3 times with a break in between, then be pensioned with 15+ years to just hang out, eat grass, and welcome, visitors. We can have our hay and eat it too if the vets think she'd make a good candidate. Given the fact that she's carried healthy foals to term and the big problem is getting them out without bruising, maybe cesareans are an option.

[dublino]

I am gonna put my crash helmet on.

Karma for poor breeding choices maybe, lets see what happens with Havre de Grace....

[madelyn]

Prayers for Rachel.

[dublino]

Prayers for Rachel.

If there was a God why would he inflict pain?

If there is a God this is his will, why pray against it?

[zinn21]

madelyn wrote:
Prayers for Rachel.


If there was a God why would he inflict pain?

If there is a God this is his will, why pray against it?

Enough with the obnoxious, nit-witted, nit-picking comments made towards someone showing genuine concern..

[erhrdt3]

Hope to God she survives, its not her fault she was put in this position in the first place. 2 foals, 2 problems. Are they going to DARE put her at risk again??? Let us hope not! At least the public can get in to see Rachel whereas the folks with Zenyatta will not let the 'little folk' in to see her.

Someone told me on the Zenyatta forum that being pregnant every year is GOOD for mares. Well, I'm sorry, even in humans, any pregnancy carries possible problems of any sorts. If you are not PG then you won't have these problems! Kinda makes a bit of sense.

I don't think they will breed Rachel again after almost losing her. She has given them 2 championship possible foals, by great sires, and let her live her life in peace after what she's been through.

I had the same thing happen to me, only it was a doctor who literally took out the wrong part, instead of removing a cyst on my right side, he took out part of my lower left colon and did not catch it. Two days later an explosion happened in me and I was so sick my heart literally stopped and they had to inject it with something to get it going again. Needless to say, I do not have children due to this, and to make matters worse, the doctor got away with it in the courtroom seven years later. This happened back in the late 90's and I still have pain from that series of almost 40 surgeries to repair my abdomen.

So for anyone to say that its 'good' to be pregnant for these animals year after year, they are not considering the possibility of a tragedy of some type.

Don't know what is going on with the Zenyatta folks, I know so many people and kids too would love to get in and visit with her.

And a mighty congratulations to Black Caviar, they decided to not retire her and breed breed breed her but to let her do what she loves the best; winning.
What a girl!!

[mehile]

I'm with Heidilady. If she pulls through and is still breeding sound C-section seems like the only option.

erhrdt3 while you have a point that pregnancy always comes with risks it's not like we can just stop. There have to be pregnancies for there to be a next generation. So some of them have to be bred and as long as she's breeding sound I'd much prefer to see the next generation coming from top level mares like herself.

If it were me and she gets back to full health I would think hard about flushing some eggs/embryos and freezing them. It's not currently allowed but in the next few decades the JC will more then likely start allowing embryo transfer (I don't understand why they don't now for this exact reason) and they would still get to keep her genes while letting her just be a pasture puff. Granted it's a long game plan in a short game business but just a thought.

[xfactor fan]

If there was a poster child for allowing embryo transfer, then Rachel Alexandra would be it. Great racemare, popular, and with a risk at delivery.

I think hte Australian Jockey Club ruled against an Australian breeder who tired to get embryo transfer accepted. The mare was live covered, then the embryo flushed and implanted in other mares.

Maybe it might be time for another run at the issue.

[erhrdt3]

Never thought of harvesting eggs from her, it would be much less dangerous to her and her lineage could live on. I do wish the JC would allow some things that are really not that harmful to the breed. She's a great filly and she could do great things with her offspring, but not the normal way. Her life is more important than breeding her the normal way.

If not, she'd be a great addition to the KY Horse Park, to see another champion, and I'm not sure if they have a female horse there or not????

[Pan Zareta]

I think hte Australian Jockey Club ruled against an Australian breeder who tired to get embryo transfer accepted.

Bruce McHugh's suit v. the Australian Stud Book, Turf Club, Racing Board and Breeders Assn. argued that their restriction on AI (not ET) amounted to restraint of trade. Late last year the Australian court ruled against him. Even if the court had ruled in his favor any TB foals conceived in Australia via AI would not be recognized as TB by other member nations of the International Stud Book Committee which encompasses most of the globes' TB registries. AI, ET and other forms of assisted reproduction have their many obvious advantages but do these advantages justify losing control of a breed registry to the judicial system? That is precisely what's happened to the AQHA because it allowed AI.

[madelyn]

Hang on here. Embryo transplant is performed after the egg is fertilized within the mare, usually using artificial insemination, prior to its implant in the uterus. We are not at the petri dish point of breeding horses yet.