Premature Foal Spends Month in UC Davis NICU

Dave Aguilar took precautions and tried to be fool proof by foaling out his mare Sierra (Cajos Wild Angel) at his primary veterinarian’s clinic. Sierra had multiple healthy foals in prior years and usually foaled near the same number of gestation days each time. However, this year she gave birth to Banks (MP My Goodbye Banks) about three weeks early.

Her primary veterinarian, Dr. Kristen Wallert, was in attendance for the premature birth and quickly noticed that something was wrong – Sierra was having a red bag delivery, which occurs when the placenta detaches too early from the uterus, trapping the foal inside and depriving it of oxygen. Dr. Wallert quickly intervened and was able to remove Banks successfully, saving his life.

But Banks did not respond normally after birth and was inappropriately quiet, unable to stand, and unable to nurse. Dr. Wallert knew an immediate referral to UC Davis was in order.

Aguilar quickly arrived at the clinic and loaded Sierra in the trailer and Banks in the back seat of his truck, secure in the arms of his son. They made the nearly three-hour drive to the UC Davis William R. Pritchard Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital (VMTH), arriving within five hours of Banks’ birth.

Upon arrival at the VMTH’s Large Animal Hospital, Banks was admitted to the Lucy G. Whittier Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) by large animal resident Dr. Hillary Bunay and Dr. Emily Berryhill, a board-certified internist. Banks was quiet and small, with a silky hair coat and curled ears indicative of prematurity. X-rays of the bones in his knees and hocks showed incomplete mineralization, another sign of prematurity. In addition, Banks had signs of severe systemic bacterial infection (sepsis), a life-threatening situation in new foals.

Banks was treated aggressively with IV antibiotics and IV plasma to provide antibodies needed for a strong immune system. A feeding tube was placed since he was not strong enough to nurse on his own. His organ functions—including his brain, kidneys, and GI tract—were monitored closely, as these organs are easily injured during oxygen deprivation and can stop working normally until they heal from the damage caused by the deprivation. He received oxygen supplementation, and his ability to breathe was also monitored closely since premature foals can have trouble inflating their lungs fully and their respiratory muscles fatigue easily.

In addition to medical care, Banks had a member of the UC Davis Foal Team—students who volunteer to help in the NICU and gain experience in foal care—sit with him around the clock. The Foal Team members are critical in monitoring foals day and night, along with dedicated technicians and veterinarians, and have an important role in preventing premature foals from standing and crushing their underdeveloped bones until they are fully mature.

Banks remained critical for several days but responded well to treatment, transitioning from tube feeding to nursing from a pan, gaining energy and strength, and having normal organ function. He underwent intensive physical therapy to gradually help his bones and soft tissues get stronger without putting them under too much stress at any given time.

The NICU is equipped with dual mare/foal stalls, so Banks was closely monitored by Sierra in the adjoining stall. Throughout his hospitalization, she remained devoted, watching and talking to him, letting the team milk her regularly, and just being a great girl.

Banks was hospitalized in the NICU for 29 days and cared for by numerous technicians, students, residents training to be specialists in equine internal medicine and critical care, and faculty veterinarians within the Equine Internal Medicine Service. His veterinary team included large animal medicine resident Dr. Karen VanLier, along with Drs. Fiona Wensley and Gary Magdesian, both board-certified internists.

“Seeing the change from a foal barely able to lift his head and unable to stand to a bouncing, bucking, and nursing baby brings everyone so much joy,” said Dr. Berryhill, chief of service.

Now 6 months old, Banks is an active colt running laps in his corral as if nothing out of the ordinary ever happened.

Aguilar, whose small breeding operation has produced about a dozen foals in the past 15 years, plans to keep Banks.

“There was never a thought to selling him after what we’ve been through,” said Aguilar. “There’s just no way we’re letting him go.”

In a few years, Aguilar plans to prepare Banks for a career in barrel racing. There are big shoes to fill in his lineage.

Banks’ paternal grandfather is The Goodbye Lane (b. 2001), a sire of more than $20 million in earners. His paternal great great grandfather is Dash Ta Fame (b. 1989), the nation's all-time leading sire of barrel racing horses, whose offspring have earned nearly $40 million, with 71 horses earning more than $100,000 each.

Banks’ maternal great grandfather is Rocket Wrangler (1968–1992), a famous American Quarter Horse stallion and champion racehorse. He was the champion 2-year-old colt in 1970 and winner of the Grade 1 Rainbow Futurity and Quarter Horse racing’s flagship event, the Grade 1 All American Futurity. Rocket Wrangler was inducted into the American Quarter Horse Hall of Fame in 2010.

Aguilar looks forward to Banks’ potential and is grateful to UC Davis for giving him that opportunity.

“I can’t say enough about the care he received at UC Davis,” said Aguilar. “That team cared for him as if he were their own. I’ve never experienced better care in any other veterinary or human hospital.”

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