Mid-Texas Veterinary Associates, PC (MTVA)

04/16/2026

Palpation of the ribs is just one of the things we include in all neonatal exams. The most common area for foal fractures is the costochondral junction right behind the elbows.

Rib Fractures in Neonatal Foals
Brian S. Burks, DVM
Diplomate of the American Board of Veterinary Practitioners®
394 Fox Road
Apollo, PA 15613

(724) 727-3481
www.foxrunequine.com

Rib fractures are a common injury in neonatal foals, occurring in 3-5% of foals. Fractured ribs can cause no symptoms and be an incidental finding or can be a cause of trauma to thoracic organs and a significant cause of death. Rib fractures cause death in about a third of foals with thoracic injuries.

Rib fractures can occur following dystocia or an apparently normal birth. Repositioning the foal can cause significant trauma, leading to injury. The elbows may become positioned over the third to sixth ribs, increasing the pressure over them, leading to fracture, most commonly at the costochondral junction (bone and cartilage connection).

Risk factors for increased birth trauma include a mare that is giving birth for the first time, a difficult birth or one which requires excessive manipulation with an assisted delivery, and a narrower than usual pelvic canal and associated vaginal structures. The shape of the chest, particularly in Thoroughbred foals, has been considered a risk factor. In addition, lifting foals from under the chest may lead to rib fractures, so it is best to never lift a foal from under the thorax or abdomen, but rather from either end. This becomes even more important if rib fractures are present, as further thoracic trauma may occur from handling.

Clinical signs seen in foals with rib fracture/s may include:
• Mild to moderate pain
• Increased respiratory effort
• A depressed demeanor
• A reluctance to make sudden movements
• Swelling and bruising over the ribs around the fracture sites

Rib fractures may lead to the following:

• Internal bleeding leading to hypovolemic shock.
• Pneumothorax if the pleural lining around the lungs is damaged.
• A diaphragmatic hernia if ribs lying close to the diaphragm are fractured and lacerate the diaphragm.
• Sudden death if the heart muscle is lacerated.

If several consecutive ribs are fractured a ‘flail chest’ may occur where a section of the foal’s chest wall will sink in during inspiration rather than expanding as air is inhaled, making it difficult for the foal to breath.

Rib fracture should be suspected in a foal that grunts or groans during thoracic palpation, especially if there is edema over the ribs. Ultrasound is the leading imaging modality to identify a rib fracture, being four times more sensitive than radiography. It also allows assessment of the surrounding soft tissues, allowing identification of any fluid around the heart or contusions of the lung.

Affected foals may also present with concurrent septicemia or hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy, which can influence case management. Otherwise healthy foals, with non-displaced fractures, can be managed conservatively, but foals with multiple, displaced fractures that have traumatized thoracic organs may require surgery.

Medical treatment involves several weeks of complete stall rest and an attempt to keep the foal quiet, as increased activity may cause fracture displacement and sudden death. Initially, foals with complex problems should be cushioned with the affected side down to maximize function of the unaffected lung and ribs. Intranasal oxygen will help to maintain proper blood oxygen levels. If there is substantial air within the pleural cavity, it will require evacuation to reinflate the lung. Hemothorax can be life-threatening due to lung compression and severe blood loss. Treatment will be required for shock and the cause of blood loss addressed.

Surgical treatment should be considered when the affected ribs are near the heart or where there is significant internal injury. This stabilization reduces pain, the risk of additional life-threatening injury, and improves respiratory function. Healing will take 4-6 weeks, after which the surgical implants may require removal.

Rib fractures heal well in most cases. The prognosis is influenced by secondary thoracic trauma and concurrent diseases. Once the foal has survived the initial injury, it will have a healthy and productive life.

Fox Run Equine Center

www.foxrunequine.com

(724) 727-3481

04/15/2026

Thank you to my absolutely amazing staff. They are bad ass! Amber Miller, Carlos Boehm, Hannah Blalock, Winnie Van Camp.

04/15/2026

04/15/2026

Bucking Stock Mare and Foal

04/14/2026

Hot Sauce update:

Today went as good as it possibly could go! He got his brace on and was able to get up on his very first try. We were all completely surprised. They typically fight the brace, fall and can do more damage. He can lay down and get up without any trouble. He has a very long road ahead and we are cautiously optimistic. Hot Sauce is a fighter and deserves a chance. Like we said earlier, we will spare no expense to save him.

Thank you Dr. Willis and team at Mid-Texas Veterinary Associates, PC (MTVA) for taking on this challenge and kicking butt today. We are beyond grateful for y’all.

We appreciate everyone’s prayers. Please keep them coming!

04/14/2026

Some fractures in cattle are not able to have surgery due to the extent of the damage, the weight of the animal and the temperament. Cattle can heal really well with lower limb fractures that maintain good blood supply. Hot Sauce has a severe fracture involving all the soft tissue of the stifle and multiple pieces (“compound fracture”) of the tibia (upper limb fracture). The veterinarians and surgeons at Kansas State went above and beyond to see if there was any possible way to repair this surgically but there was a very poor chance he would recover. The owners are willing to try everything possible so we placed a large splint with hopes it can stabilize the fracture enough it can heal. He will not be able to use his stifle joint but if he can survive this splint, then bucking bulls have a great chance of being able to be used for breeding due to their athleticism and heart. We all take an oath to first “do no harm” so we do not take these splints lightly as some animals can lose a lot of condition and rehabilitation is necessary once healed. The vast majority of animals do not stand this well the first time with a splint and some take a few days to learn how to use it. Please say your prayers for this fella! He has the biggest heart!

04/13/2026

These bucking bulls are the most well cared for animals and truly loved by their families. This is a great demonstration for those that don’t understand that these bulls all have their own personalities and are not treated in any cruel way at all. They love their job and we love them and the people who care for them.

04/11/2026

This could be a great opportunity for anyone in the Abilene area!

Thanks for everyone’s help we got a barn hand hired

We are looking for full time barn help. Duties include stalls, feeding, general facility maintenance, exercising horses both under saddle and on the walker. If you rope, duties can include spinning me steers🤣🤣. Wouldn’t be opposed to you keeping a horse here if that were to be the case. Payment can be in the form of paychecks, cash, working off a vet bill, or basically anything short cocaine.🤣 If you’re interested email the clinic at westtexasequineclinic@outlook.com for everyone’s

04/10/2026

RABIES - A couple of days ago I killed a rabid skunk just moseying around in broad daylight in front of my house (not uncommon in central Texas as we are endemic). I decided to post a couple of videos from previous cases to show how Rabies can present in different ways and mimic many other diseases. In May 2021, the cow in this video presented for lameness in the right front but when she arrived she was just acting "weird". Things did not feel right with her and there were no obvious lesions to explain her lameness. Over the next few days she quit eating and drinking from not being able to swallow and just sat sternal in her pen and bellowed all day. Her head was sent in to the Rabies Lab in Austin (Has nothing to do with the CDC. All states handle rabies testing different) and she was confirmed positive rabies. As veterinarians, we are all vaccinated and trained to identify possible rabies suspects. There are no tests available while the animal is alive so it is always a difficult decision as to when an animal is displaying clinical signs enough to warrant sending the head in for testing. The most common reason we send in rabies suspects for testing is when there has been human exposure.
The video I posted of the young bucking bull was filmed on June 2, 2016. That bull immediately made me worry about rabies due to the strange constant low bellow that he kept making for no reason but I did not know for a fact he had rabies based on that. I DID tell my staff to not stick their hands in his mouth or otherwise become exposed. He would just stare at his food and water because he was hungry and thirsty but did not have the ability to swallow. I second guessed myself the entire time because I was not sure whether I missed something that could be treatable. We eventually sent his head into the Rabies Lab in Texas and he was positive.
The video I posted of a commercial cow weak in her hind end was filmed on May 1, 2017. She presented on a ranch call for being "down" (laying down in pasture and would not get up). When I arrived she got up and walked around like she was in the video. At that time rabies was a concern since we are endemic, BUT I DID NOT KNOW SHE HAD RABIES. Hypophosphatemia, obturator nerve paralysis, breeding injury, hypocalcemia, grass tetany and many other differentials were on the list. It could literally have been anything. The rancher was able to load the cow onto his trailer via horseback and then I was able to examine her. Re**al palpation confirmed she was not pregnant or had any abnormalities except she kept straining and bellowing and when we attempted to give her oral CMPK gel she could not swallow it. That is when Rabies shot to the top of the list. The rancher was in denial because he had cattle for 50 years and never had a rabies cow (that he knew of), but since there was human exposure (his son who caught the cow and got saliva thrown in his face), I sent the head to the lab and it was confirmed positive.
I see rabies every 12-24 months in our area of Texas but it is not a new pandemic to panic about. The government is not dropping rabies out of the sky to turn us all into zombies. This virus has been around since any of us were even remotely thought of and we are lucky to live in a country where we have rabies vaccination and AWARENESS to prevent human death from it. If you want to get really freaked out, google humans in third world countries that are infected with rabies!!!
One common presentation of Rabies is a cow appears to be choking and the rancher sticks their arm down cows mouth and becomes exposed. Just understand the risk.
The point of my post was to spread awareness, not fear.
If you own a cattle ranch do you need to vaccinate all of your cows for rabies? NO - You might want to vaccinate the valuable bulls or donor cows if you live in an endemic area. But this is nothing new. There is no uptick of rabies. Just because you never heard of it before doesn't mean it hasn't been going on all around you.
Can you get rabies from eating infected meat? No - But also neurological animals can not be processed for food in USDA facilities.
There is too much about rabies to understand from a single post. Ask your veterinarian if you want more information. Some parts of the US have only sporadic cases reported. Some variants are more from raccoons where in Texas we deal with the skunk variant. I will answer questions when I can but we are a solo large animal practice in Central Texas that was just wanting to spread awareness.

04/08/2026

04/08/2026

We just killed a rabid skunk on our property. It’s very important to vaccinate your animals against rabies and to understand the clinical signs. Cattle often present with a strange bellow or straining, down or lame or weak in the hind end, or what some people assume is a “choke” because they have difficulty swallowing. Horses can have colic signs, lameness or severe neurologic deficits. The only way to prevent rabies in your herd is to vaccinate.

This beef cow presented as a 'downer' but would keep getting up and walking with both hind feet knuckled. Confirmed positive rabies.