Southern States Corp

Foal Management Practices

Reduce exposure to bacteria by providing a dry, draft-free stall.

Sanitize and disinfect the foaling stall and bed it with clean straw prior to the foal's birth.

The foaling stall should be cleaned regularly after the foal is born to help reduce bacterial and viral disease and ammonia levels.

A high level of ammonia is a cause of foal pneumonia

Foals are born with no disease fighting antibodies in their system. Dip navel in iodine immediately after birth to prevent the invasion of bacteria.

Colostrum

Be sure foal eats high quality colostrum within 2 hours of birth. Getting the colostrum into the foals as soon after birth as possible is crucial for its survival.

A foal is only able to absorb colostrum during the first 24-36 hours after birth.

Be ready with frozen colostrum and a high quality milk replacer if the mare should fail to give milk.

The better the colostrum quality, the better the chances for survival. Use a colostrumeter to measure the colostrum quality.

If a mare dies giving birth, has no milk, or if her colostrum registers low, you can use high quality colostrum that has been taken from other mares and frozen.

Frozen colostrum has to be stored in plastic containers, like freezer bags, and not in glass containers. That's because the antibodies stick to the glass. If it's frozen in plastic, colostrum can be stored for over a year and still be effective.

When you thaw colostrum, do it at room temperature; don't microwave it or boil it. The colostrum can lose its value to the foal. Use a colostrumeter to re-check the reading after it thaws.

If you don't have any colostrum available or it registers less than 1.065, colostrum banks are set up in some states to help you. For more information, contact your local veterinarian at a local university animal science department.

The foal should be standing up when it drinks colostrum, whether from its mother, its nurse mare, or a plastic bottle.

If the foal can't suckle, a stomach tube might be needed. The procedure is very delicate and if done wrong can be fatal. A veterinarian should be contacted to do the procedure. A blood test can be taken at 12 hours of age to know for sure if the antibodies have been absorbed. If you can't get colostrum into the foal, ask the veterinarian for help.

Signs of a healthy newborn you can check for yourself:

  • The foal should be able to sit up on its chest within minutes of birth.
  • Mucous membranes should be red or pink.
  • It should be breathing easily within 15 minutes and have a suckling reflex within 20 minutes at the maximum.
  • The foal should be able to stand within 20-30 minutes and nurse within 1 hour of less after birth. It should also be alert and able to recognize its mother.

A veterinarian check of the mare and foal is suggested 12 hours after birth. The veterinarian will check the mare's general condition and do a worm check to prevent further contamination of the foal's environment. The foal will also be given a general check for color, cleft palate, heart, legs, suckling reflex, and condition of the navel stump.

Foal Milk Replacer

A foal needs to drink about 25% of its body weight each day in reliquified milk. That's about 4-1-quart feedings. Larger foals usually need more volume of milk replacer the first week. Check the feeding instructions on the back of the Mare's Match® pail.

Teaching the foal to drink from a bucket is the next important step. Bottles are difficult to clean and are a source of bacteria. They should be avoided. A clean bucket is the best choice. Dip your fingers in the milk replacer and let the foal suck two of your fingers so it gets the taste of the milk replacer and starts the sucking action. Slowly bring the bucket of milk replacer up to the foal and let it discover the milk replacer on its own. Don't force it. Soon it will be feeding itself.

Any unused milk replacer not consumed after several hours can become spoiled and unpalatable; it should be discarded. Remember that bacteria can grow if your equipment isn't kept clean. Completely clean the buckets and all feeding and mixing containers after every use.

LAND O LAKES Mare's Match® closely matches mare's milk and in combination with your good management will help you raise strong, healthy foals.