When Jan Davidson and Ian Lovatt decided to breed a foal from ‘Larney’ (Seskins Popper), a mare they had owned for 16 years, little did they know the heartbreak and stress that was ahead.

Larney competed at British Eventing novice level with Jan, and then proved to be a super schoolmistress taking an inexperienced teenager to the national amateur showjumping championships at Aintree, where she won an accumulator class.

Jan and Ian chose the stallion Balou Star and sent her to Twemlows Stud. Larney was scanned in foal, due April 2018.

“Jan and I went along to the Twemlows open day, where Balou Star was paraded and jumped 1.60m for fun,” explains Ian. “He reminded us of another very good mare we have, Cyloma Z, and I said to Jan ‘I think that’s the one for us’.

“We went and asked the people looking after Balou Star if we could put our mare to him, but they said it wouldn’t work as he was only providing frozen semen — with a 20-year-old mare, a natural covering would give her the best possible chance of getting in foal.”

But after some discussion, it was decided that Larney would go to Twemlows to have fresh semen artificially inseminated once Balou Star had returned from a two-week jumping show in Germany.

“Twemlows called us two weeks later to say that a miracle had happened and Larney had been scanned in foal — we were over the moon,” says Ian.

Jan and Ian had wireless CCTV cameras installed in Larney’s stable, where she would foal at home, with Phil Wardle from the Bazaars Stud and Tom Walters Equine Vets on standby to help if needed.

On Thursday 19 April, Larney started to look uncomfortable. Phil came over and he recognised it was unlikely to be a straightforward foaling.

An internal scan showed the mare wasn’t creating enough room in preparation for the birth and things started to become desperate. But with Phil’s help, a healthy colt foal was eventually born.

Shortly after the foaling, it became clear that Larney’s health was at risk and James Carrier from Tom Walters Veterinary practice attended. Despite everyone’s best efforts, the decision was made to put her to sleep. The focus was now on a foal to save.

“It was such a traumatic experience — Larney meant the world to us, but the race was now on to keep the foal alive,” says Ian.

While dealing with the emotion of having lost their wonderful mare, it was imperative to get Larney’s colostrum (first milk which contains important antibodies) inside her foal. Ian milked as much off Larney as he could.

“We had no experience of this type of situation before,” explains Ian. “The vet said we needed to milk Larney as much as we could — if the foal didn’t get the required amount of colostrum, he would die too.”

The newly named Larry was bottle-fed the colostrum, followed by formula milk every hour. It then became a race against the clock to find Larry a foster mum.

The National Foaling Bank was informed and Larry became the 38th foal looking for a foster mum that season.

Messages were put on Facebook and phone calls were made to studs and vets in the area.

“We had a massive response,” says Ian. “The Facebook post had over 1,000 shares and people were really there to help.”

The most suitable sounding match was found in Essex. The mare had tragically lost her own foal, but sounded ideal as she was an experienced mum, the right size, with plenty of milk and critically, she still had her dead foal with her.

Johanna Vardon from the National Foaling Bank advised Ian and Jan how to prepare for the tricky task of introducing the mare to Larry.

Firstly the stable was modified, dividing it into two with plywood and a mesh grill. The mesh needed to be no lower than the mare’s eye line so that she couldn’t touch noses with Larry. A plyboard gate was also installed to allow access between both sides of the stable, and finally Larry was kept hungry.

After a four-hour journey, the mare, KitKat, arrived. She and her dead foal were put in the stable and she was milked by hand to relive the pressure in her bag and also to give some to Larry if required. The advice given was that once a foal has suckled his mum’s milk, he will begin to smell like her after 36-48 hours.

KitKat was then sedated so that her dead foal could be taken and his skin removed. The foal’s ears were also removed and tied to the grill between the stables on the mare’s side. This allowed her to smell her foal yet see Larry.

The skin was attached to a towel and placed on top of Larry covering his neck and back (pictured top). To add KitKat’s smell to Larry, her droppings and urine were rubbed all over him. Vicks Vapour rub was also placed on his head and in her nostrils to dampen her sense of smell.

The initial introduction over the stable door was encouraging with no signs of aggression from KitKat. Larry was backed into her stable, never allowing her to smell his head. Then it was time to get him to suckle. With a little assistance, Larry got the idea.

KitKat was a natural. She was allowed to sniff his back and legs, but that was all for the time being. Once Larry was full, he was put back on the other side of the boards. KitKat immediately became distressed, which was a good sign but it was too early to leave them together — the fact that she could see him and smell the ears comforted her.

Two hours later, the process was repeated, and each feeding session was more and more encouraging, with the mare showing natural bonding signs such as licking Larry. The foal skin was slowly folded towards his head so that she could smell him.

At 6am Larry fed well independently and the skin was removed. KitKat licked and called out to him throughout. When he was put back into his box, the decision was made that he would be left with the mare after his next feed, and to everyone’s relief it was a success.

It is now a few weeks later and KitKat and Larry are both doing really well.

“I hope that even if this story raises awareness and helps just one person and their mare and foal, then speaking about it is worth it,” says Jan.

Ian says: “It was the worst few days of my life — Larney meant the world to us. But I would like to truly thank Edward from Twemlows, James from Tom Walters Vets and Phil Wardle for all of their expert advice. A special thank you must be said to Stuart Redding and Victoria Selfe for allowing their wonderful mare KitKat to come and save Larry’s life. Additionally they would like to thank their wonderful friends Helen, Mark, Tom, Bridie, Shirley, Darren and Ceri. The loss of their beloved Larney will never be forgotten, but hopefully now that she’s at rest, seeing a part of her living on inside Larry will in time help with the healing process.”

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The founder of the National Foaling Bank is selling all of her horses due to injury.

Johanna Vardon, who set up the support service 50 years ago, will still continue to run the charity.

She is asking the breeding industry to have patience and not to hang up when calling, as her injuries mean it can take time to reach the telephone.

She broke her knee, which needed a full-length plaster cast, after tripping down some steps last month and she also has three collapsed lumbar vertebrae.

Since setting up the bank in 1965, Johanna has provided help and support to the equestrian world at all times of the day and night.

“We do the impossible here,” she said.

“There are no limits to how far I will go.”

She added it does not matter who calls or what type of foal it is, she will help.

The foaling bank is a nationwide service for breeders to pair foster mares with orphaned foals and guidance through the adoption process.

Johanna also gives advice on birthing and post birthing difficulties.

In the past 50 years, she has dealt with nearly 20,000 cases of dead mares and foals.

However, her injuries mean she does have to sell her 25 horses (not pictured above), including a number by Milton’s half-brother.

Johanna said she would like to say thank you to all the breeders that have put their trust in her.

She added it has been “such a privilege” to help them.

Annual membership to the foaling bank costs for £20 cross-breeds and £30 for thoroughbreds and vets.

The foaling bank’s hotline is 01952 811234. Visit www.nationalfoalingbank.com for information and membership forms.

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It’s that time of the year that breeders are waiting for — the foaling season. It is a fact, however, that not all pregnancies will have a happy conclusion, and some breeders will be facing difficult decisions.

It is not pessimistic to be prepared for the worst — equine births that are not progressing normally can go wrong quickly, leaving little time to ensure a positive result.

A 24/7 job

The most heart-breaking outcome is the death of either the mare or the foal — something for which most people are totally unprepared — but the possibility should be thought about and planned for.

For the past 50 years, the National Foaling Bank has offered guidance and solutions to the problem of what to do with an orphan foal, or a mare who has lost her foal. Run since its inception by its founder, the indefatigable Johanna Vardon MBE, the National Foaling Bank has organised tens of thousands of fosterings as well as providing 24-hour advice over the phone.

But even Johanna acknowledges that the time has come to find a replacement to run the organisation, even though she says she will be at the end of the phone “till her dying days”.

“I do need cooperation from the breeding industry and I do want a replacement,” she says. “The National Foaling Bank has to go on.”

Vital service

In order to enable Johanna to help carry on there is currently a membership, for which sport horse breeders pay a nominal sum of £20. It is a cost that few pay or think about until they need the help of the foaling bank, and Johanna’s records show that only eight of the most recent 200 users were paid-up members — not that she turns anyone away, but it seems a small price to pay for a vital service.

While Johanna’s experience is invaluable — she really ought to write the book — the need for a central database of available mares and foals is vital. The National Foaling Bank is still the place that most people call when the need arises. Perhaps it is something the new national British Breeders’ Network could help Johanna with? In the meantime, perhaps all those expecting foals in the next few months could send in their £20 membership — it might be the best £20 you spend.

Johanna will give a talk on orphaned foals and the work of the National Foaling Bank as part of a foaling the mare course to be held at Twemlows Stud on 21 March.

Deadly diseases come closer

Another wake-up call for breeders is the case of the horse in Lower Saxony, Germany, who tested positive for the fatal and notifiable disease, glanders (www.eurodressage.com, 28 February).

Although it later appeared to have been a false positive, Germany lost its “glanders free” status as a result.

The disease, which is not one associated with Europe, is zoonotic, meaning that it can be transferred to people. Prevention involves restrictions on transport, quarantine and strict biosecurity.

Australia, a country hot on who or what arrives on its shores, has currently issued a six-month halt on imports from Germany, including frozen semen — something that would not be good news for British sport horse breeders were the UK to enforce restrictions.

The case once again highlights the increasing possibility of the arrival of deadly diseases in the UK.

In the meantime we must take the threat of diseases we know we have seriously, particularly during the breeding season — peak time for the movement of semen and stock, especially vulnerable foals.

All breeders should check the health status of their mares and foals well before going to stud, and all studs should be asking for the relevant paperwork and, of course, that for imported semen. Breeders need to think twice if nobody asks for, or shows, evidence of current health status.

Ref: H&H 12 March, 2015

The founder of the National Foaling Bank, Johanna Vardon is co-operating with the RSPCA after concerns were expressed about the condition of some of her horses.

Inspectors from the charity and World Horse Welfare were called out to stock belonging to Miss Vardon that was being kept in a field by the A41 in Forton, Shrops, on 30 April.

The 76-year-old, who has bred horses for many years, told H&H she had placed the horses in the care of someone else, as her husband was gravely ill in hospital.

She said she had been shocked to find they were not being looked after.

An RSPCA spokesman said: “The officers spoke to the owner of the horses and a member of staff who was looking after these animals.

“Both individuals were given advice by the RSPCA and the owner is fully co-operating with the charity.

“The RSPCA inspector will be revisiting the location in the near future to recheck the animals’ condition.”

Miss Vardon said the horses were now back at her Meretown Stud in Newport and were putting on weight.

“This is very unfortunate – the horses have been with somebody else and came back in the most appalling condition,” she said.

“My husband [John Baxter] had two heart attacks and a quadruple bypass at the end of February.

“I have a reputation for welfare – this is most galling.”

Miss Vardon set up the National Foaling Bank, a service that puts owners of orphan foals in touch with those of mares that have lost their foals and offers advice, in 1965 and has overseen more than 8,000 fosterings.

She has received a royal warrant after helping with a number of royal foals and

the MBE for her services to the horseworld.

This news story was first published in the current issue of H&H (7 June 2012)

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An equine vet has praised the National Foaling Bank after an orphan foal was found in just three days for a mare whose foal was stillborn.

This was the mare’s third stillborn foal and the vet, Stuart Thorne of Fellowes Farm Equine Clinic in Abbots Ripton, Cambridgeshire, said she was seriously distressed.

Mr Thorne said: “These situations are often very difficult and highly emotional for the owners of both mare and foal. On this occasion the National Foaling Bank made the difference between life and death.”

The mare, Cushy, owned by Juliet Riley of Raunds, Northamptonshire, was initially too agitated to take to the orphan, Pandora, from Uttoxter, in spite of the foal being wrapped in the skin of the stillborn natural foal.

Mr Thorne sedated Cushy and when Pandora started feeding, the mare accepted the foal.

Ms Johanna Vardon, who founded the National Foaling Bank in 1965 said: “I’ve handled over 17,000 cases in the last 43 years, with 380 this season.”

Mr Thorne urged all horse owners to support the organisation: “The National Foaling Bank is a charity and needs support from all involved in the equestrian sector.”

www.nationalfoalingbank.com

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Members and supporters of the National Foaling Bank are being asked to scrutinise their bank statements as a matter of urgency and check that their standing order has not been returned.

The National Foaling Bank, which has over the past 43 years answered more than 72,000 urgent calls for foaling help, also offers a vital service, matching foals of dead mares to mares whose foals have died.

But now Johanna Vardon, who set up the organisation in 1965, is worried about the future of the service that relies on membership subcriptions and donations.

A problem at Miss Vardon’s bank means hundreds of members and donors’ standing orders will have been returned to them unpaid and she cannot find out which supporters this has affected.

“This [The National Foaling Bank] is something I have worked at striven toward for 43 years and now it’s as if we do not exist,” said Miss Vardon.

“We cannot survive without funds, so I would ask all our supporters to check their bank statements and see if their money has been returned to them.”

If you have been affected please call Miss Vardon on 01952 811234 for details of how to make your payment.

www.nationalfoalingbank.com

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