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Poor girl, that must have been so painful with the weight of the foal as well as her own on those dying hooves. It sounds like it progressed quickly. RIP.
“Poor girl, that must have been so painful”
It is. Severe laminitis is horrifically painful.Hmmm. “The treatment went straight to her feet”
“They scanned her feet yesterday and there was no blood flow at all”
“She had the foal this morning and they put her down shortly after that”I know I often give off about people criticising connections on this board , and maybe the laminitis did progress quickly and everything was all for the mare at all times, and maybe there are treatments for mastitis I don’t know about or my knowledge is incorrect.
But.Mastitis would normally be treated with antibiotics and NSAIDs which don’t do the feet any harm. Mastitis- or any infection, like a uterus infection if they don’t pass the placenta after foaling- itself can cause laminitis. I wonder, and I hope it is not the case, if she got severe laminitis due to the mastatitis and they then kept a crippled hopeless mare alive to give her a big dose of steroid to mature the foal’s lungs and induce foaling. Steroids can cause or worsen laminitis and I wonder if they realised she was snookered, gave her a big dollop of steroids to try to save the foal knowing it would put the tin hat on any chance she had (basically none) , and forced her to stay alive for 24-48 hours till the steroids worked.
Instead of just doing a slash Caesar as soon as they realised her feet were not going to recover (shooting the mare and lightning fast Caesarian to get the foal out, or local anaesthetic into the body wall, foal out, euthanase mare) and hoping the foal’s lungs were developed enough to cope.
That’s a pretty grotesque accusation to make if it isn’t true, and I hope it isn’t true.
What an absolutely heartbreaking sequence of events for everyone concerned but especially for Black Caviar.
Just came on to comment, phone screen jumped and I’ve accidentally reported previous poster so at this point I’m going away before I do more damage sorry 🤦🤦 RIP Black Caviar
Her half brother sold for 5 million bucks as a yearling , then died a few months later from laminitus . The purchaser ended up unable to pay for him , it ended up a right old mess to sort out .
No problem EF! We’ve all been there!
greenasgrass: You’ve just voiced all of the things I’ve been thinking ever since I read the news. I, too, hope it isn’t true but when I read that she ‘died peacefully’ my first thought was ‘who are you trying to kid’. I always think back to the great Rachel Alexandra who, when it became apparent that she’d inherited a family problem of having pregnancy difficulties was immediately removed from the paddocks to live out her life as a national treasure. These great racemares rarely produce superstars ( ok we had Ouija Board, Kind and Urban Sea but they are few and far between).Article on the BBC website about it too.
https://www.bbc.com/sport/horse-racing/articles/clyngjl8plko
Poor girl. Hope she didn’t suffer too long and that the foal will be okay. I assume they have a foster mom in place to take it on.
Sad to hear Black Caviar has passed away. Her victory at Royal Ascot was memorable, especially as her jockey dropped his hands and almost snatched defeat from the jaws of victory.
“These great racemares rarely produce superstars ( ok we had Ouija Board, Kind and Urban Sea)”.
Ouija Board and Urban Sea were undoubtedly great. But it is stretching the imagination to put Kind in that company. Her career highlight was victory in a Listed race, which I saw on my one and only visit to Nottingham. She was also placed in Group 3 company. She was a decent filly but nowhere near greatness on the track.
It was a different story in the paddocks, of course.
I hadn’t thought about the steroids angle, but the timing of her being put down almost immediately after foaling certainly could look rather suspicious in that light. I would like to hope we’re just reading too much into the wording of the statement. But…
I can’t read it..just want to remember her as she was the beautiful black beauty who came to Royal Ascot and by virtue of sheer will to win she hung on for victory.
I still have that racecard.RIP Black Caviar
I hope you have produced a foal who will carry on your legacy. 🌈🐎Things turn out best for those who make the best of how things turn out...People need to understand that this is a business and the foal has potentially a huge value, both financially and as a legacy.
Black Caviar would have been given the very best veterinary care and would have been monitored closely in all aspects of this issue, including pain relief.
As tragic as it is, the loss of a mare during foaling is not uncommon, you just don’t hear about it very often. Then of course there are all the foals that don’t make the grade for various reasons, or perhaps people rather not delve into that one.
“People need to understand that this is a business”
Don’t patronise me Griff.
“Black Caviar would have been given the very best veterinary care and would have been monitored closely in all aspects of this issue, including pain relief.”
What pain relief? A jag of bute?
You can use opiates in horses but they make a foetus dozy and less likely to breathe on delivery. Bupivicaine nerve blocks, perhaps, topped up as required. I hope so. I wonder if she could stand on her dying feet.“As tragic as it is, the loss of a mare during foaling is not uncommon”
Um, yes we know that.I keep trying not to think of what she went through ( but it’s not working). Having said that I suppose it would have been even more tragic if her foal had died, too.
Horrible news, but the treatment of a so called broodmare is even worse. After she retired in 2014 she gave birth to a total of nine foals.
I guess it’s safe to say she was rather a breeding machine than a much loved retired racehorse. Her entire offspring seemd pretty much useless on the track with the exception of invincible Caviar who won four from eight races and some prize money in excess of 160k.
The question is: was it worth it? Only time will tell, but breeders must understand that mares are no breeding machines. She achieved enough on the track to deserve a well earned retirement.
Rest in peace Black Caviar and all the best to her latest foal
gallop free Black Caviar 
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