Down on the farm...Lethal White Part 2

Lethal White Part 2...

How the stallion breeder handled this situation.

While all the heartache of losing my beautiful baby (my daughter named Flicka) was going on; it didn't occur to me what was going to happen next.


I contacted the breeder and she did inform me that her stallion had been tested and confirmed for lethal white. What she didn't know was if the results had been back at the time we bred my mare. Her opinion was that I knew about the disease and was willing to take the 25% chance that I could end up with a lethal white baby.


I assured her that I did not know those risks and knowing the risks I would not have chosen another Overo. I most certainly would have chosen a Tobiano stud. She let me know that there is a live foal guarantee and that a lethal white baby is not considered a live foal. I then asked if what that did mean for me as my mare was no longer alive and my Quarter Horse mare was already at the breeder's. I had no other mares or options.


Kim was very flexible. She told me that I could "lease" a mare, have a baby already on the ground or she had a mare that had not yet foaled. The colt on the ground was going to possibly have dental issues, I could not afford the lease option so we worked out a deal for me to take the baby that had not yet been born.


After many discussions, I asked about bringing the mare to my property for foaling. Many people thought I was crazy. This option made me responsible for feeding, vet care, hoof care, and all other daily management of the mare. My thoughts were; if I had the mare, I could control the nutrition of the mare and foal as well as get to immediately bond (imprint) with the baby.


We trekked over 2 hours to pick up Ginger and here is the beautiful gift we received about a month later...

















I was supposed to wean Misty around Thanksgiving and return the mare, however, I received a call from Kim in October saying that she was ill and having to reduce her herd. For a very small fee would I like to keep Ginger? Needless to say, we now have two additions instead of our one.


Please do not misunderstand this post; there is nothing that will ever replace the beautiful Flicka for me.

I would also like to thank the breeder for her support during this very difficult time for me. I am just sorry that a life was lost due to my lack of knowledge.

Down on the farm...Lethal White

Lethal White

I was so happy last year (2006); I found the perfect stud to breed my beautiful (yet old) Paint mare to. I happily drove her 150 miles dropped her off, before leaving I whispered to the stud that I wanted a loud tri-colored filly. A few weeks later, I picked her up and took her home to wait the 11 months and 5 days. Her due date: May 17, 2007.


I brought her home and started to have some troubles...she was losing weight, having trouble walking on all four of her legs and seemed to be cranky no matter what I did for her. I got her weight back up with the help of three nutritionists and a great feed mill. For her legs I called in three veterinarians (one was a chiropractor) and an equine massage therapist. She hated the massage and all that the veterinarians could tell me was that she was suffering from severe arthritis. I started her on some Bute (a pain reliever), glucosamine and several other joint supplements. The Bute seemed to help but did not stop her from limping. Needless to say the mare was not feeling well and if she was not pregnant I probably would have ended her suffering as I hate to see any animal suffer. As winter progressed Classi had good days and bad days but the good seemed to outweigh the bad. Winter progressed into spring and I finally stated to think that Classi would make it to the foaling date and I would just have to try and hope she would make it through the nursing portion. Nursing a foal takes a lot out of a mare and I was hoping she was up to the task.



On Saturday (May 5th) I went out to the barn to find that Classi had foaled two weeks early. At first I was elated that the baby seemed to be alive; then I looked closer...there was only white on this foal (Paint horses are supposed to be a combination of at least two colors or a solid red, brown, black etc.). I had heard the term lethal white and was so scared that I ran to the house and called the veterinarian.



While waiting for the veterinarian, I ran back to the barn to get a closer look at the foal. I turned the baby over and got her to stand up...no other color, then I looked at her eyes, they were not only both blue, but a very light blue. I thought, okay, this might not bee too bad...an albino. I can live with that; I wanted a filly and that is what I got...Right?



Wrong...
The veterinarian came out and checked the baby over, I asked him about the difference between lethal white and an albino. I was shocked by the answer. The difference is the lethal white baby would not have intestines that worked properly. A portion of the intestines grows together instead of being hollow; in essence the baby could not pass any digested foods. He gave the baby an enema and hoped for the best. This poor beautiful baby could not pass anything. She had to be euthanized.



I called the stallion owner only to find the answers to questions I did not know to ask. Lethal white is a gene that is specific to Overo Paints. My mare was an Overo and so was the stallion. This does not mean that you can not breed Overo to Overo; but it does mean that you should know if your Overo carries the gene. Her stallion had been tested for the gene after the time my mare was bred and he tested positive and I knew nothing about the gene, but now know my mare is positive.

I hope that my heartbreaking story will help others learn from my tragic mistake. If you own an Overo paint horse and plan to breed it. Have it tested for the gene or make certain that the other horse is either negative or not an Overo.