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Woman uses CPR-like rescue breaths to resuscitate 'dead' baby horse

By Ben Hooper
Suzanne Hall gives CPR breaths to an unresponsive foal at a rescue in Australia. Screenshot: 9News Gold Coast/Facebook
Suzanne Hall gives CPR breaths to an unresponsive foal at a rescue in Australia. Screenshot: 9News Gold Coast/Facebook

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WARRALL, Australia, Aug. 26 (UPI) -- A woman in Australia was recorded successfully resuscitating a "dead" baby horse using a CPR-like lifesaving technique.

Suzanne Hall, who runs the North West Equine Rescue in Warrall, New South Wales, said she found the foal, Esmeralda Sparkles, unresponsive in her stall early Wednesday morning.

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Hall was recorded giving the foal mouth-to-nose rescue breaths and massaging her lungs until the baby horse began to move and breathe on her own.

Hall said in a Facebook post she sprung into action when she found the foal "dead."

"I did the only thing that I could think of -- I put my mouth over her nostrils and started blowing air into her lungs -- but nothing happened -- her tiny chest did not rise in response -- her airway was blocked," she wrote.

"It quickly became evident, that even though she was only 2 days old she had tried to eat the soft hay bedding that she was snuggled up on- and she had choked and stopped breathing.

By pushing my fingers as far down her throat as I could, I managed to grab the bundled up hay that was lodged in her throat and had caused her to stop breathing.

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As soon as her throat was cleared I could breathe air into her lungs and at the same time gently massage her chest and throat to stimulate circulation and her breathing reflex.

Gradually we made ground, and she started to revive -- twice she slipped back, but twice she came back for me.

Eventually, as her breathing became more spontaneous and self regulated our tiny girl tried to sit up."

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