Liesl Baumann, the Operations Manager at Cressfield has taken time out to write down her thoughts on Palia, a remarkable mare that has put Leisl on an emotional rollercoaster as her stud career has produced devastating lows and at last a memorable high!
Liesl Baumann writes - For a long time it felt that the naming of Group I
winner Onemorenomore was prophetic for the breeding future of his dam Palia.Since Onemorenomore's birth in October 2006 it has been a catalogue of breeding disappointment and disaster, taking until 2010 to get another foal from the mare, a full brother named Derwent.
It could be thought nature had given the mare 'Onemore'foal, in Derwent, but then it seemed there was to be 'Nomore'.
For the majority of her breeding life Palia was to be plagued by recurrent placentitis. Her studbook breeding record reading like the type of horror story that only good producers seem to be blessed with.
Slipping to Redoute's Choice in 2007, delivery of a dead full term foal in 2008 coupled with acute laminitis, and missing when rebred to Redoute's Choice.
An early cover by Red Ransom in August 2009 however resulted in a pregnancy that was meticulously managed and treated to obtain a live foal. Derwent, went on to have a modest racing career having just 9 starts and 3 wins.
The realization that Palia was becoming increasingly difficult to get in foal and maintain a pregnancy combined with her advancing years meant the quest to gain a filly became all the more pressing.
A cover by Encosta de Lago in October of 2010 saw Palia go through one of her least treated and complicated pregnancies, however, we were to discover getting Palia to carry to term was now only part of the problem.
Advancing through the normal steps of preparing to foal, Palia, bagged up, waxed up and went so far into labour as to break water. When she continued to stand in the corner of the yard quietly and no foal presented and no labour ensued we knew we had a problem.
Taken to town for an assisted delivery by Scone Equine Hospital, a filly foal was delivered that was unable to be resuscitated.
This loss was felt very keenly at Cressfield, we very nearly had the filly we were so desperate for, and our luck didn't improve when Palia missed to Fastnet Rock in the 2011 season.
2012 Palia was back through the crush with a mating lined up to More Than Ready. After her fourth cover for the season, and with the help of a procedure to flush her oviducts, we found a 14 day pregnancy defying the odds and floating in uterine fluid.
Expecting the worst, we were surprised to see it persist at 30days, and then still there at 45 days. But placentitis was our well known enemy by now and Palia needed to be treated heavily to carry through to term along with constantly battling hoof abscesses, a complication of her chronic laminitis, a strange cellulitis to a hind leg and reactions to a range of antibiotics.
Close to her due date again we found ourselves in a situation where Palia had run milk for days, even looking uncomfortable at times but no labour eventuated. It seemed like Palia was missing the necessary physical cues to foal naturally.
Monitoring of the foals declining health saw the decision made for an elective caesarian resulting in the delivery of a filly foal. Unfortunately after 2 weeks in intensive care with Scone Equine Hospital, this filly succumbed to infection and needed to be euthanised.
Despite the filly never being able to stand and nurse, for 2 weeks the love and attention that Palia gave this filly was truly heartbreaking.
Completely despondent, it was at this point I wasn't sure I could bring myself
to bring her through the crush again but after having 2013 off, Palia, at 20yrs
of age looked and acted like a mare half her age and in 2014 she was back in
the dry mare paddock.After a few unsuccessful covers by Fastnet Rock the season was slipping away and we decided to give her one last roll of the dice with his young son Foxwedge on 13/12/14.
Success!
What followed was 11 months of relatively low maintenance and minimal treatment monitored by Joan Carrick of Equine Specialist Consulting.
Close to term Palia looked to be going through all the usual steps of imminent foaling, bagging up, waxing up and running milk, even her milk calcium indicated that she was ready to foal at any minute.
After a few days of waiting anxiously and watching Palia graze the paddock
without a care in the world, again it was time to make the decision on how we
were going to get the foal out while it still showed signs of good health and
activity as it became apparent that Palia was not going to do it on her own. Palpation of her cervix in the morning found it to be wide open with the foal in position, and after a day of going over our options and seeking various veterinary opinions, at 6pm it was decided to take the somewhat risky option of inducing her on farm.
Getting this close necessitated that all available expertise was on deck, ready for any complication that might occur. What did occur was a quick normal foaling of a lovely vibrant healthy Foxwedge filly.
Giving her mum a hello whinny on her arrival, she reached all the milestones indicative of a perfectly normal healthy foal.
Weighing a robust 58.5kg this filly has exceeded our expectations of what a
21yr old, problematic breeder could produce.
A truly pretty filly, a lovely
head and neck set with good bone and body cover.
Having been involved with Palia since 2006, I have gotten to know well her mix of savagery and softness. Her quirks and issues have become part of my working life at Cressfield.
She has been my greatest learning curve, my deepest disappointments and now one of my greatest working triumphs.
Having been involved with Palia since 2006, I have gotten to know well her mix of savagery and softness. Her quirks and issues have become part of my working life at Cressfield.
She has been my greatest learning curve, my deepest disappointments and now one of my greatest working triumphs.
I respect and love her dearly and it warms my
heart to be able to see her finally nurture and raise a healthy foal.
Much thanks needs to be given to Joan Carrick who invested so much time, heart and energy to get this result and also to the vets of Scone Equine Hospital who have all gotten to know Palia intimately over the last 10 years.
Much thanks needs to be given to Joan Carrick who invested so much time, heart and energy to get this result and also to the vets of Scone Equine Hospital who have all gotten to know Palia intimately over the last 10 years.
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