We had a filly born last week that probably would have died if no one had been there. She was born with dangerously low blood sugar levels. Not sure why. She just lay there and shivered and didn't attempt to stand or anything. We called the vet and they came out, ran her some fluids with glucose and after that she was fine.
There are times when it's a breech birth (foal coming butt end first instead of head first) that the mare can't deliver it. By that point, though, you've probably lost both the mare and the foal. I've never heard of a successful c-section in horses.
They generally try to turn the foal don't they? To avoid breech births?
