A premature foal who spent a month in intensive care after a red-bag delivery and with life-threatening sepsis is now “running laps as if nothing out of the ordinary ever happened”.
Dave Aguilar’s mare Sierra usually foaled at the same number of gestation days but her 2026 colt MP My Goodbye Banks was born three weeks early.
Vet Kristen Wallert was on hand for the birth, and saved Banks’s life as the mare had a red-bag delivery; premature separation of the placenta from the uterus traps the foal inside and deprives it of oxygen.
Dr Wallert freed the colt from the placenta but he did not respond normally; he was unable to stand or nurse so she referred him to the University of California, Davis (UC Davis), William R Pritchard Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital (VMTH).
“On arrival at the VMTH’s large animal hospital, Banks was admitted to the Lucy G Whittier neonatal intensive care unit [NICU],” a UC Davis spokesperson said.
“Banks was quiet and small, with a silky hair coat and curled ears indicative of prematurity. X-rays of the bones in his knees and hocks showed incomplete mineralisation, another sign of prematurity. In addition, Banks had signs of severe systemic bacterial infection [sepsis], a life-threatening situation in new foals.”
The colt was given intravenous antibiotics and plasma, oxygen and a feeding tube. His organ function was monitored closely as these organs can easily be affected during oxygen deprivation, as was his respiration as premature foals can have trouble inflating their lungs fully.
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The spokesperson said members of the UC Davis foal team – students who volunteer to help in the NICU – sat with Banks around the clock to monitor and ensure he was not injured.
Banks arriving home at a month old
(Image credit: UC Davis)
“Banks remained critical for several days but responded well to treatment, transitioning from tube feeding to nursing from a pan, gaining energy and strength, and having normal organ function,” he said.
“He underwent intensive physical therapy to gradually help his bones and soft tissues get stronger without putting them under too much stress at any given time.
“The NICU is equipped with dual mare/foal stalls, so Banks was closely monitored by Sierra in the adjoining stall. Throughout his hospitalisation, she remained devoted, watching and talking to him, letting the team milk her regularly and just being a great girl.”
Banks spent 29 days in the NICU under the care of the extensive team.
Banks at home, aged six months
(Image credit: UC Davis)
Chief of service Emily Berryhill said: “Seeing the change from a foal barely able to lift his head and unable to stand to a bouncing, bucking, and nursing baby brings everyone so much joy.”
The spokesperson added that at six months old, Banks is “an active colt running laps in his corral as if nothing out of the ordinary ever happened”, and Mr Aguilar said he has a home for life.
“There was never a thought to selling him after what we’ve been through,” he said. “There’s just no way we’re letting him go.
“I can’t say enough about the care he received at UC Davis. That team cared for him as if he were their own. I’ve never experienced better care in any other veterinary or human hospital.”
Eleanor is an experienced journalist who spent over eight years working for local and national newspapers before joining H&H as news editor in March 2016. Passionate about equine welfare and exposing the truth, Eleanor has reported on all aspects of the industry, from Brexit to anti-bullying campaigns, and from dressage rules to mules. Her sport of choice is showjumping, in which she competes her own horses, and she also enjoys reporting at local jumping shows through to international championships.
