Rachel Alexandra has baby #2
 

https://twitter.com/StonestreetFarm/...873728/photo/1

Gorgeous picture of her with her Bernardini filly who weighed in at 140 lbs.

That Bernardini is sure a lucky hoss.........................:rolleyes: :zz:

Rachel at Rood & Riddle
 

They say it's serious. :-(

http://www.stonestreetfarms.com/info/?page_id=144

The foal was pretty large, so after last year I did wonder if she'd have problems again. I hope this isn't a sign that she's going to be a high risk pregnancy every year. I'm not clear on what they do during surgery for bruising on a small colon. Would part of it be removed? Maybe do something to reduce bleeding and stitch it up?

I'm wondering if this will be it for her for motherhood. She wound up at R&R for pain management after foaling the colt. This is a lot more serious. :(

The filly is with a nurse mare. Does this mean she stays with the nurse mare until weaning now?

Bloodhorse: Rachel Alexandra Has Post-Foaling Surgery

DRF: Rachel Alexandra has surgery for foaling complications

The baby appears to have heart shape marking. Hopefully this won't be the last picture of thwn together. :(



Attachment 2108

:(

Latest: http://www.kentucky.com/2013/02/14/2...medium=twitter

HRTV Video: Breaking News: Rachel Alexandra Undergoes Colon Surgery

ETA the following tweets:
@DRFBreeding: At Rood and Riddle, waiting on 2:30 press conference on condition of Rachel Alexandra.
@DRFBreeding: Conference will be w/ surgeon Dr. Brett Woodie, attending vet Dr. Bonnie Barr, owner Barbara Banke

@DRFBreeding: (Dr. Brett)Woodie: Her recovery from anesthesia was uncomplicated, doing the best we could expect with recovery.

@DRFBreeding: (Dr. Bonnie)Barr: Too early to make prognosis, prediction on future as a broodmare. Taking it one day at a time.

@DRFBreeding: Woodie: Doesn't think Rachel's dam Lotta Kim's history of foaling difficulty had any bearing on Rachel's situation.

@DRFBreeding: Barbara Banke: It's a beautiful filly, birth was hard for her.

@DRFBreeding: Banke: That morning, Rachel was bright & seemed to be progressing well, then all of a sudden she looked depressed.

@DRFBreeding: Banke: We got her here in record time, and they did surgery right after that.

@flysofree: Dr. Woodie: exploratory surgery to find source of bacterial infection in abdomen. Recovered well doing “as best as we can expect”

@flysofree: Dr. Barr: Rachel having IV fluids, antibiotics, anti-inflam, flushing of abdominal cavity

@flysofree: Dr. Barr: too early to predict full recovery or ability to foal in future for Rachel A

@flysofree: Dr. Woodie: impossible to say whether size of this filly affected Rachel’s complications

@flysofree: Banke: Rachel seemed fine morning after birthing, but suddenly became depressed, rushed her to the clinic. Looks brighter today

@flysofree: Banke: filly looks great, running around, adjusting to nurse mare.

@flysofree: Stonestreet: Adjustment to nurse mare going very well, pair will likely be turned out tomorrow

@DRFBreeding: Banke: Rachel looks brighter today, so that makes me happy. It's a day-by-day, hour-by-hour thing, so it's very serious.

@DRFBreeding: Banke: We ask people to send good thoughts and prayers to Rachel and hope for the best.

@DRFBreeding: Banke: The filly looks great, and wants to run around. She's getting used to the nursemare, so I think the filly will be fine

hoping for the best. we all know she's a tough girl.

Updated Release on Rachel Alexandra’s Procedure and Current Condition
 

From Rood & Riddle:

February 14, 2013-- After foaling Rachel Alexandra was closely monitored by Stonestreet Farm employees as well as Rood & Riddle veterinarians. On Wednesday afternoon around 2:30 a change in her demeanor was noted and she was immediately rushed to Rood & Riddle Equine Hospital to undergo exploratory abdominal surgery to determine the cause of excess fluid in her abdominal cavity denoting an infection.

Surgery identified that the cause of the infection was a section of the small colon that had lost its blood supply due to an injury during foaling causing bacteria to be released into the abdomen. The damaged section of intestine was removed and extensive abdominal lavage was performed to remove inflammatory cells and bacteria. Due to the nature and the extent of the problem the surgery was long and technically demanding but recovery from anesthesia was uncomplicated.

Rachel Alexandra is currently receiving IV antibiotics, IV fluids, anti-inflammatory agents, IV nutrition and medications to counteract the effects of bacterial toxins. Medications are also being administered to aid in the prevention of scar tissue in the abdominal cavity. A standing abdominal lavage utilizing abdominal drains placed at surgery is also being performed several times a day.

Her condition is very serious but it is too early to give an accurate prognosis.

Dr. Brett Woodie (the attending surgeon on the case) said in his press conference this afternoon that she is doing "the best that can be expected”

Very upsetting news. Thanks for the updates.

From Stonestreet's FB page: "There is no change in Rachel’s condition tonight, which is good & she enjoyed a mint. She is so courageous in this most important fight."

I'm hoping it's a good sign that she felt well enough to eat a mint. I've had to make an elderly pet comfortable in his last days, and one of things that gives you a sinking feeling is how they fail to respond to a favorite treat.

I made a comment in the article posted on DRF, and took some heat for it. You know, because that's where all the smart people post when they're not posting here ;p

I've posted some nonsensical garbage as you are all aware. But tonight I'd like to defend my nonsensicalness? Horse and human, they're 2 very different animals with very different anatomies. I get it.

But the description of Rachel's problem- made me compare it to Brock Lesnar's diverticulitis. I did it just to give people a comparison and a little perspective on what's happening with her. Yeah... that comparison didn't go over so well lol.

If you're not familiar with his story, I'll give you the summed up version.Lesnar got really sick while training for a UFC fight. The doctors at the first hosptial he went to couldn't figure out what was wrong with him. So he goes to another hospital after a couple days. They finally diagnose him with diverticulitis. Somehow he had a small hole in his intestine, which was leaking waste and other gross stuff into his blood stream. From that he got a nasty bacterial infection. He almost died from it, because they weren't able to diagnose him for days after he got sick.

At least with Rachel they were able to diagnose her quickly and hopefully she pulls through ok. I said as much in the comment section.

So was the comparison/overall comment really dumb, sorta dumb, or did I not deserve ridicule this time lol? By the way, I do hope the best for her. I don't want that to get lost in all this.

you'd have been better off posting 'i will be lighting candles and praying for you. god is with you rachel'. that wouldn't be ridiculed, while cold hard facts will. but nice try!

oh, and i just stuck a stick in that bears cage and rattled it. this ought to go well. :) yet another question about rachel and getting back to her foal-it simply won't happen.

I only saw one comment from someone else after your post, so I don't think you got all that much ridicule from it. And no, it wasn't dumb; you were basically saying that a hole in the intestines is very serious. Which it is.

Yes, horses and humans are different, but if we were so utterly and completely different from animals, science wouldn't be experimenting with animals for medical treatments. A DVM I used to know once told me when you came down to it, mammals are physically quite similar to each other, whether whale or ape.

What I can't understand is why that same poster who responded to you isn't saying the same thing to all the hysterical "OH MY GOD, NOW SHE WON'T GET TO BE A MOMMY TO HER BABY" posts. Because, lolwut?

that's what cracks me up about some of our fellow humans. they take someone to task and remind them that there are differences between animals and humans, and then turn around and project human emotions onto those same critters.
will her foal go back to mommy...no, no she won't. that nurse mare is the 'mommy' that filly knows now. then there are the folks saying 'i stayed up all night worrying'. seriously?!
someone else posted something along the lines of 'i hope they don't pressure rachel to breed again'. pressure?! like there was a negotiation between people and the horse?! geeez

How does a horse express 'no means no'? Maybe we can teach Rachel to paint it like a Moneigh.

I saw someone point out that by the time Rachel recovers, she'll have lived on decreased grain for awhile and her milk will have dried up. It's not as much knowing the nurse mare as 'mommy' that's the issue. The foal simply wouldn't have food to eat. I heard Rachel was raised on a nurse mare herself because even when Lotta Kim has healthy foals, she's not a particularly motherly type, i.e. her babies are, forgive the Latin butchering, equus non grata.