Locals pitch in to help horse with congenital birth defect

[dropcap]A[/dropcap] Dripping Springs resident is reaching out to neighbors through the crowd-funding source gofundme to save the life of a foal born with a rare congenital birth defect.

Barbara is a foal born in January with wry nose, or deviated rostral maxilla, which causes the upper jaw and nose to deviate, or turn to one side.

According to a gofundme page created for Barbara, the foal is a “very robust and friendly foal,” even though her dam, or mother, won’t let her nurse without a human present.

Barbara, a three-month-old Egyptian Arabian foal who lives at Red Horse Ranch in Dripping Springs, needs lifesaving surgery to correct her “wry nose,” which makes it difficult for her to eat and breathe – her upper jaw is offset from the lower jaw and her left nostril is almost closed. Local residents Allen Pogue and Martha Talley have about three months to crowdfund enough money for the operation, as it must be done when she’s around six months of age. As of press time, $5,500 of the $23,000 needed had been raised. (courtesy photo)

Barbara also needs constant help to nurse, as she can’t get enough milk, as her sucking mechanism doesn’t work correctly due to the shape of her upper jaw, according to the page.

“Nursing is important for nurturing, but she is also fed milk replacer from a bucket,” according to Barbara’s Gofundme page. “She aspirated milk while nursing in her first month which led to pneumonia and yes, more bills.”

The deviation in her septum also makes breathing difficult for the exuberant young foal.

Allen Pogue, owner of the Red Horse Ranch, which is Barbara’s home, said it all started 10 years ago when Martha Talley, a renowned Toy Poodle breeder and avid horse lover, decided to adopt a young male Egyptian Arabian foal. She learned the young male foal was the last of the dying breed.

Pogue said after Talley did her research on the ancient Arabian line, she and her husband decided to invest in saving the breed by engaging in “preservation breeding.”

The process involves breeding between a sire from limited, or extinct, stock with a comparable string of blood in the dam. The result is the possible continuation of the dying breed.

But Pogue, Talley and many others who were present at Barbara’s birth were shocked at the horse’s deformity.

Talley’s local veterinarian, who helped birth Barbara, said the horse’s deformity was congential and not from improper breeding. The veterinarian said Barbara’s wry nose is categorized as a level 3 on a scale of 1 to 10.

A level 1 meant it was self-correcting, while level 10 meant euthanasia.

Talley’s veterinarian said no one knows what causes wry nose, but as with other congenital deformities, “it might result from malpositioning in the uterus.”

According to a 2001 thehorse.com article, Dr. Nancy Diehl, VMD, MS, said there is “no good evidence” that wry nose in the horse is heritable or a genetic predisposition.

Pogue said even though Talley was already stretched thin with the required care for her horses, as well as her hectic schedule with her dog breeding and showing business, she refused to simply put Barbara down.

But Tally didn’t have the $20,000 needed to pay for the necessary operation.

After consulting with veterinarian Jim Shoemaker, Pogue instead crafted the idea to crowd source the money needed for Barbara’s surgery.

Pogue said traditionally the surgical procedure to correct wry nose is done in two stages. The procedure innovated by Shoemaker will be completed in one surgery.

The only catch associated with the procedure is that Talley needs to wait until Barbara is weaned, which occurs around six months of age, before an operation can be performed.

Barbara is currently two-and-a-half months old, which means the Talley’s have until the end of July to reach the grand total of $23,000. The amount will also help cover the current costs for Barbara’s care.

Since the page was created March 12, members of the community have so far donated close to $5,000 toward Barbara’s surgery and care.

“Most people would put the foal to sleep,” Pogue said, “But not Martha (Talley), she wants to save her.”