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How to Raise a Healthy Foal HOW TO RAISE A HEALTHY FOAL
Care of the Newborn Foal

  • Attending the Birth of Your Foal
  • Helping Your Foal to Nurse
  • Colostrum
  • Digestive Problems
  • Normal Body Measurements
  • Tips for Bottle/Bucket Feeding
  • Good Management Practices


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    ATTENDING THE BIRTH OF YOUR FOAL.
    Successfully rearing a foal requires lots of time, patience and work. Immediate attention to the newborn will increase its chance for survival and development into a healthy foal. If possible, your veterinarian should attend the foal's birth. If your veterinarian is not present, the following suggestions should be helpful:
    1. Provide a clean birthing area.
    2. Remove any mucus which may be covering the foal's nose and mouth immediately after birth.
    3. Rub the foal with a clean towel. This will dry the foal and help stimulate breathing. Allow the mare to muzzle and bond with the foal.
    4. Allow the umbilical cord to break naturally. Do not cut it off. If necessary, umbilical clips or ties are available from your veterinarian and should be placed a few inches from the abdomen. Disinfect the navel with 7% iodine solution several times over the next three days. Your veterinarian may also advise using a sterile gauze pad to compress and protect the navel after applying the iodine solution.
    5. Consult your veterinarian regarding any antibiotic use and medical treatment for your foal at birth and when signs of disease are present.
    6. Maintain close observation of the foal to ensure its good health and to alert you to signs of stress or disease.
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    HELPING YOUR FOAL TO NURSE.
    Healthy foals should nurse within the first three hours after birth. Vigorous foals may nurse within the first 30 - 45 minutes. If the foal does not show interest in nursing after three hours, it may need some help and encouragement to get started. Also check for signs of illness or possible birth defects. Before helping the foal, be sure the mare's udder and nipples are clean. Place one hand under the foal's jaw and point its nose and muzzle toward the mare's udder. With your other hand on the foal's tail or thigh area, gently push the foal toward the mare. You may need to massage the mare's udder to get a few drops of milk (colostrum) into the foal's mouth.

    The mare should also be examined soon after birth. Check the udder for abnormalities and tenderness which may prevent the foal from nursing.

    1. If the udder is full or sensitive, milk the udder by hand to relieve some of the pressure and tenderness. The mare may then be more willing to allow the foal to nurse. The milk which was removed by hand milking can also be fed to the foal from a bottle or bucket. See Tips for Bottle/Bucket Feeding .
    2. If the mare doesn't accept the foal, she may need to be tied with a halter to allow the foal to nurse. In extreme cases, greater restraint or tranquilization may be required.
    3. After nursing, gently massage the mare's udder.
    4. Some mares may have small nipples, especially fillies that are foaling for the first time. If the foal has trouble nursing, milk the mare by hand, then feed the fo from a bottle or bucket.
    5. Milk flow is normally stimulated by the foal nursing. If the mare is not producing an adequate supply of milk, consult your veterinarian about injections to help increase milk flow. To provide adequate nutrition to the foal, mare's milk should be supplemented with Grow-N-Glow Foal Milk Replacer. If the mare rejects the foal or the foal is orphaned, fostering to another mare may be difficult if the foal has already bonded with its own mother. Grow-N-Glow Foal Milk Replacer should be used to replace mare's milk. See Tips for Bottle/Bucket Feeding .
    6. Tube-feeding. Consult with your veterinarian before attempting to tube-feed a foal. Since the tube can easily be incorrectly inserted into the foals lungs causing respiratory infections and death, tube-feeding must be done only by experienced people.
    7. Avoid feeding fresh cow's milk or calf milk replacer to foals. Grow-N-Glow Foal Milk Replacer is highly recommended since calf milk replacer, or milk replacer for other animal species, will not provide adequate nutrients levels and may result in unbalanced nutrition for the foal.
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    COLOSTRUM. The first milk produced by the mare is called colostrum, and is essential to the health of the newborn foal. Colostrum contains very high nutrient levels and is a critical source of antibodies, or immunoglobulins, for the foal. A newborn foal cannot produce sufficient antibodies early in life to protect itself from diseases so it must receive this protection from the mare. Since the mare does not pass antibodies to the foal prior to birth, the foal must consume a sufficient amount of colostrum to provide adequate disease protection. More colostrum consumption in early life provides more disease protection. Colostrum also has a laxative effect on the foal.

    1. The newborn foal should receive at least 4 - 6 feedings of colostrum from the mare within the first 12 hours after birth. The foal should also consume as much colostrum as possible during the first 3 days of life. Naylor and Bell suggest that the foal receive 250 milliliters of colostrum each hour for the first 12 hours after birth. This colostrum should contain at least 3,000 mg/dl of immunoglobulin.
    2. If a mare dies, ask your veterinarian about sources of colostrum from other mares. Several internet sites are available to help horse breeders locate frozen mare colostrum. If mare colostrum is not available, use a commercial colostrum product for calves. While this is not the first choice, it is highly preferable to no colostrum at all.
    3. If the foal dies, the mare's colostrum should be collected and frozen for future use. One quart plastic milk containers make ideal storage containers for this purpose.
    4. Do not use a microwave to thaw frozen colostrum as the immunoglobulins may be destroyed.
    5. Colostrum fed to the foal after the first 48 hours will not be absorbed but may offer some protection from pathogens in the intestinal tract.
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    DIGESTIVE PROBLEMS. Diarrhea is caused by overeating, overfeeding, poor digestion and/or diseases. If overeating is the problem, it may be necessary to milk the mare by hand or muzzle the foal between nursings. Ingestion of manure from the mare is also a cause of diarrhea. Body temperature should be checked when the foal has diarrhea. If the foal's body temperature is elevated during diarrhea, or if diarrhea persists more than 24 hours, it is usually an indication of disease and your veterinarian should be contacted. Quick diagnosis and treatment usually means a quick recovery. See Normal Body Measurements.

    Constipation in newborn foals is common. The newborn foal should defecate within 12 hours of birth. If it does not, consult your veterinarian. Enemas may need to be administered.
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    NORMAL BODY MEASUREMENTS
    Body temperature
         99 to 102°F
    Respiratory rate
         60 -80 breaths/minute at birth
         30 -40 breaths/minute after one hour
    Heart beat
         60 or more beats/minute at birth
         80 - 130 beats/minute after one hour
         80 - 120 beats/minute after 5 days (normal)

    		 Healthy Foal
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    TIPS FOR BOTTLE/BUCKET FEEDING. Strong, healthy foals will usually accept bottle feeding readily. Some foals will drink from a bucket once their muzzle has been introduced into the milk/milk replacer. Gradually start the foal on milk replacer to avoid digestive upsets. Patience is essential during this process.

    1. Place a small amount of milk/milk replacer on the foal's nose and into its mouth to help get the foal started. With clean hands, insert your index finger into the foal's mouth to help stimulate suckling. For bottle feeding, immediately place the nipple into the foal's mouth. For bucket feeding, introduce the foal's muzzle into the milk/milk replacer.
    2. Baby bottles with nipples or other bottles with lamb nipples may be used to feed the very young foal. Calf nipples are usually too hard and stiff for foals to use.
    3. Older foals may be trained to drink from shallow pans or buckets. Foals generally do not like to put their heads into deep buckets. Shallow bucket-feeders should be tilted at a slight angle and placed toward the center of the pen.
    4. Bottles and buckets should be positioned at the shoulder height of the foal.
    5. Wash the feeding equipment after every feeding in hot soapy water. Rinse thoroughly with hot water and allow to drain and dry before the next feeding.
    6. There may be some hair loss around the foal's muzzle during milk replacer feeding. The hair will return normally after weaning.
    7. Older foals will not usually accept bottle or bucket feeding as readily as younger foals.
    Facilities and Environment. Young foals should be protected from the weather. Heat lamps may be needed, especially at night in cold weather. Environmental temperature at the foal's level should be about 65 - 70°F for the first 1 - 2 weeks of age. Otherwise, maintain this temperature for older foals only if they are sick or weak. Make sure the pen stays clean and free from manure. Provide dry bedding, plenty of fresh air, and ensure the mare and foal area is free from drafts.

    Exercise is important for new foals. The mare and foal should have access to good clean pasture ground after the first week. The mare and foal should also have a shelter from weather and a protected area for feeding. After the first week, the mare and new foal can be allowed to join other mares and foals.

    Dry Feed. Grow-N-Glow Foal and Horse Pellets and a 16 - 18 % grain ration should be offered starting at the end of week 1. Sprinkling a small amount of dry milk replacer powder on top of the pellets or grain may help encourage the foal to start eating dry feed. Feed that is not consumed each day should be discarded, or fed to the mare, and fresh feed offered to the foal.

    Good quality alfalfa hay which is free from dust and molds should be offered to the foal at about 3 weeks of age. Some foals may seem to get diarrhea from very good alfalfa. If this happens, feed 50% alfalfa and 50% good quality grass hay. Good quality pasture is also an option. Clean, fresh water should be available at all times as soon as the foal is born. A complete foal feed will generally provide adequate minerals and vitamins, but free-choice access to a salt block is also recommended.

    Weaning. Separation of the mare and foal at weaning should be complete with the mare and foal remaining out of sight and out of hearing distance of each other. Continued occasional nursing will usually result in increased stress for the foal and mare, more manage- ment problems with both horses, reduced feed intake in the foal and longer re-breeding periods for the mare. The milk products in Grow-N-Glow Foal and Horse Pellets will help ease this transition. Newly weaned or orphaned foals should be housed with other horses for companionship. Socialization with other horses is important for the young foal, otherwise, behavior problems may arise as the foal gets older.
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    GOOD MANAGEMENT PRACTICES
    Successfully rearing a foal requires lots of time, patience, and work. Immediate attention to the newborn will increase its chance for survival and development into a healthy foal.
    1. Colostrum is essential to the health of the newborn foal. The immunoglobulins found in colostrum provide early protection from many diseases. Foals should consume at least 4-6 feedings of colostrum from the mare during the first 12 hours of life. The more colostrum consumed during very early life provides more protection from diseases. Continue feeding as much colostrum as possible during the first 3 days. After the first 48 hours, colostrum will not be absorbed, but may offer some protection from pathogens in the intestinal tract.
    2. Follow feeding instructions carefully and feed at regular hours each day.
    3. Clean, fresh water should be available at all times, starting immediately after birth.
    4. Foals must be protected from the weather. Make sure the pen stays clean and the mare and foal have dry bedding and plenty of fresh air, free from drafts.
    5. Starting at one week of age, Grow-N-Glow Foal & Horse Pellets and a 16-18% grain ration should be offered. At this time begin providing clean, good quality forage free of dust and molds.
    6. Exercise is important for new foals. After the first week, the mare and foal should have access to good, clean pasture ground.
    7. Establish a health program with your veterinarian regarding all vaccinations and deworming as well as any antibiotic treatment.

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    MERRICK'S, INC.
    A Subsidiary of Merrick Animal Nutrition, Inc.
    2415 Parview Road * P.O. Box 620307 * Middleton, WI 53562-0307 USA
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