Colt Born at New Bolton Center with World Watching

Thoroughbred mare My Special Girl gave birth to a colt at 9:22 p.m. on March 29 at the New Bolton Center. The foal weighed 104 pounds and measured 39.5 inches from crown to tail.
Share
Favorite
Close

No account yet? Register

ADVERTISEMENT

It’s a boy! With the world watching, mare My Special Girl gave birth to a colt at 9:22 p.m. on March 29 at the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine (Penn Vet) New Bolton Center. The foal weighed 104 pounds and measured 39.5 inches from crown to tail. And, beginning today (March 31), the public will help decide the colt’s name at www.vet.upenn.edu/foalcam. Voters can choose from eight proposed names during the week-long contest.

The birth was broadcast via a live foal cam, a first in PennVet history. The live feed from My Special Girl’s stall in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) has been available since Feb. 26. Since then, more than 133,000 people in 116 countries have tuned in to monitor the mare and await the birth of the foal. My Special Girl and her newborn will be on camera for two more days, so viewers are encouraged to keep watching.

My Special Girl’s water broke at 9 p.m. and the foal was delivered at 9:22 p.m. It was a tight fit, but the presentation, position, and posture were all normal. Due to the tight fit, New Bolton Center clinicians decided to assist with the delivery. The birth canal was lubricated and the colt was delivered with moderate traction. The total duration of Stage 2 labor (the time between the water breaking and the actual birth) was 22 minutes. This is normal for a mare. Members of New Bolton Center’s NICU and reproduction teams were present. NICU clinicians took samples of the mare's allantoic and amniotic fluids and also drew blood from the foal to run tests that are routinely run on all foals born in the NICU.

"It was good that we were here," said Regina Turner, VMD, PhD , Dipl. ACT, associate professor of large animal reproduction. "It was a strain for the mare because it was a tight fit and the colt's shoulders were hung up briefly in the birth canal. We were able to assist the delivery with some lubrication and traction. We are all so happy that the mare and foal are bonding so well. It looks like My Special Girl is going to be a great mom

Create a free account with TheHorse.com to view this content.

TheHorse.com is home to thousands of free articles about horse health care. In order to access some of our exclusive free content, you must be signed into TheHorse.com.

Start your free account today!

Already have an account?
and continue reading.

Share

Written by:

Related Articles

Stay on top of the most recent Horse Health news with

FREE weekly newsletters from TheHorse.com

Sponsored Content

Weekly Poll

sponsored by:

How much time do you usually spend grooming your horse?
435 votes · 435 answers

Readers’ Most Popular

Sign In

Don’t have an account? Register for a FREE account here.

Need to update your account?

You need to be logged in to fill out this form

Create a free account with TheHorse.com!