Newborn Foal Care. To a foal everything is new and how you handle him, feed him and care for him will lay the foundation for the rest of his life.

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Agnes Skinner
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1 Newborn Foal Care To a foal everything is new and how you handle him, feed him and care for him will lay the foundation for the rest of his life. Delivery and Newborn Foal Care It may seem like waiting for the birth of a foal takes an eternity, but the average gestation length for most mares is days (range days). Normal signs of impending delivery include gradual udder development 2-5 weeks prior to delivery. The mare s teats wax within hours to a few days prior to foaling. Her mammary secretions change from clear and watery to opaque and sticky as delivery approaches. Contact your veterinarian if your mare demonstrates vaginal discharge and/or premature udder development or begins leaking milk well before her due date, as these can be warning signs of placental disease and a compromised pregnancy. What to Watch For: PARAMETER Temperature Heart Rate Breathing Rate at Rest Standing Suckling Meconium (first dung) Nursing Frequency NORMAL OBSERVATION 38.8 degrees Celsius beats/min breaths/ min by 72 hours (70 bpm at birth) < two hours < 3 hours Passage complete by hours Average of 3-5 times per hour Delivery (Parturition): The foal should be presented with both forelimbs extended (one slightly ahead of the other) followed by the outstretched head after the placenta ruptures and the mare expels a large volume of foetal fluids. Delivery should progress rapidly with the foal being born within minutes. If your mare experiences prolonged labour without the delivery of a foal or if the foal appears to be in an abnormal position contact your veterinarian immediately. The mare should pass her placenta within three hours of delivery. It is important that your mare does not retain her placenta, as that could lead to a uterine infection that may affect future fertility, cause laminitis or become potentially fatal.

2 Save the placenta for your veterinarian to examine to look for signs of disease and to be certain that the entire placenta has been passed. A normal placenta should weigh approximately 10% of your foal s birth weight. A heavy placenta may be indicative of infection or congestion. It is recommended that all newborn foals receive a routine neonatal examination by a veterinarian within the first 24 hours of life. Early disease detection in both the newborn foal and the postpartum mare can be life saving. Newborn Foal Care and Observation The first few hours of your foal s life are critical. A healthy newborn foal should be able to stand within one hour of delivery and should be nursing within two hours. If your foal is too weak to stand and nurse, contact your veterinarian immediately. Common causes of newborn foal illness include overwhelming bacterial infection (septicaemia), prematurity and/or neonatal maladjustment syndrome (neurological dysfunction associated with lack of oxygen before or during delivery). Early veterinary intervention can be lifesaving. Dip your foal s umbilical stump with dilute chlorohexidine or iodine twice daily for 2-3 days or until the stump is dry. Every foal should pass its first manure, or meconium, within the first hours after delivery. Meconium is pasty or pelleted in consistency and dark brown or black in colour. Following meconium passage the foal s faeces should be soft and light tan in colour. A prophylactic enema administered shortly after birth helps reduce the risk of meconium retention/ impaction. Your foal should ingest at least 1-2 pints of good quality colostrum during the first 6-12 hours following birth. The primary antibody in colostrum is IgG. Healthy foals that have nursed and absorbed adequate colostrum have an IgG concentration in their bloodstream of at least 800 mg/dl. Your veterinarian can measure the IgG concentration for you. Newborn foals with IgG concentrations less than 400 mg/dl should receive supplemental colostrum and/or plasma transfusion to provide vital antibodies that help reduce the risk of serious bacterial and viral infections during the first few months of life. You should observe your newborn foal frequently during the first few weeks of life to detect early signs of disease. Often the first sign of a sick foal is lethargy and decreased nursing vigour accompanied by an overly distended udder on the mare. Young foals are at risk of a variety of respiratory diseases and diarrhea. Monitor your young foal s breathing rate and effort, body temperature, nursing behaviour and manure consistency. Foal Nutrition Your healthy newborn foal should consume 15%-25% of his bodyweight in milk daily and gain on average 1-2lb per day. Excessive weight gain, unusually rapid growth spurts or a diet unbalanced in calories, protein, calcium, phosphorous, and trace minerals may place your foal at risk of metabolic bone disease. Developmental or metabolic bond

diseases include conditions such as physitis, contracted tendons and defects in bone ossification (e.g. OCD, subchondral bone cysts, wobblers syndrome).

Typically creep feed should be introduced from three months of age at rates of 0.75-1 kg of creep feed per 100kg of foal body weight.

Consult with the brochure on Feeding Mares and Young Stock on this website. It is easy to see why early care is so important to the long-term health of your foal.

It is important to monitor your foal for contracted tendons, physitis, and other angular limb deformities.

3 diseases include conditions such as physitis, contracted tendons and defects in bone ossification (e.g. OCD, subchondral bone cysts, wobblers syndrome). As your foal grows he will need a gradual transition from an all milk diet to solid feed. Typically creep feed should be introduced from three months of age at rates of kg of creep feed per 100kg of foal body weight. The type of creep feed offered will depend on the amount and quality of hay and/or pasture in the diet. Consult with the brochure on Feeding Mares and Young Stock on this website. It is easy to see why early care is so important to the long-term health of your foal. By the time he is six months old your foal will already have attained about 80% of his mature height and half of his mature weight. It is important to monitor your foal for contracted tendons, physitis, and other angular limb deformities. You can use Body Condition Scoring, a system based on visual appraisal and body palpation of six areas, to assess the relative body fat of your mare and growing foal. The ideal body condition score for a foal is between five and seven. Consult your veterinarian if your foal s body score is higher or lower. Check for body fat in the following areas: A: Along the neck B: Along the withers C: Crease down the back D: Tailhead E: Ribs F: Behind the shoulder D C E B F A

4 Description of Body Condition Scores Condition Neck Withers Back Tailhead Ribs Shoulder 1 Poor animal extremely emaciated; no fatty tissue can be felt Bone structure easily noticeable Bone structure easily noticeable Spinous processes project prominently Tailhead, hip joints and lower pelvic bones project prominently Ribs project prominently Bone structure easily noticeable 2 Very Thin Faintly 3 Thin Neck accentuated 4 Moderately Thin Neck not obviously thin 5 Moderate Neck blends smoothly into the body 6 Moderately Fleshy Fat beginning to be deposited 7 Fleshy Fat deposited along the neck 8 Fat Noticeable thickening of the neck Faintly Withers accentuated Withers not obviously thin Withers rounded over spinous processes Fat beginning to be deposited Fat deposited along the withers Area along withers filled with fat Slight fat covering over base of spinous processes transverse process of lumbar vertebrae feel rounded; spinous process are prominent Fat build up about halfway on spinous processes but easily, transverse process cannot be felt Slight ridge along back Back level; (no crease or ridge) May have slight crease down back May have crease down the back 9 Extremely Fat Bulging fat Bulging fat Obvious crease down the back Tailhead, hip joints and lower pelvic bones prominent Tailhead prominent but individual vertebrae cannot be identified visually; hip joints appear rounded but are still easily ; lower pelvic bones not distinguishable Prominence depends on conformation; fat can be felt; hip joints not Fat around tailhead beginning to feel spongy Fat around tailhead feels soft Fat around tailhead is soft Ribs prominent Slight fat cover over ribs, ribs easily Faint outline Ribs cannot be visually distinguished, but easily felt Fat over ribs feels spongy Individual ribs can be felt, but noticeable filling between ribs with fat Crease down the back Tailhead fat very soft Difficult to feel ribs Bulging fat around the tailhead Patchy fat appearing over the ribs Faintly Shoulder accentuated Shoulder not obviously thin Shoulder blends smoothly into the body Fat beginning to be deposited; point of shoulder not Fat deposited behind the shoulder Area behind the shoulder filled in flush with the body; fat deposited along inner thighs Bulging fat; fat along the inner thighs may rub together, flank filled with fat.

5 Vaccination for Foals When your foal is born he immediately inherits disease protection through his vaccinated dam s colostrum. But eventually those maternal antibodies decline and your foal needs the added protection that only comes through proper immunisation. Work with your veterinarian to develop a vaccination schedule that takes into account endemic disease on your farm and your foal s risk of disease exposure. Preventing disease through a strategic vaccination programme is safer, easier and more economical than treating the sick foal. Timing of the first vaccinations is critical. The maternally derived colostral antibodies that provide the foal with temporary protection are the same antibodies that prevent the foal from mounting an acceptable immune response to vaccines that are administered too early. Deworming The Foal Young foals are generally more susceptible to parasites than adult horses. Exposure begins early. One parasite, Strongyloides westeri (threadworm), can be transferred in the mare s milk. Other parasite eggs can be shed in the dam s manure. Therefore deworming your mare shortly after foaling with a product effective against Strongyloides and a wide range of other parasites is recommended as the first step in protecting your foal from an overwhelming load of parasites. While any worm can affect your foal, the most significant parasites are ascarids, also known as roundworms. Ascarids prey on the naive immune systems of horses less than eighteen months of age and can cause depression, respiratory disease, stunted growth, diarrhea, constipation and potentially fatal colic. Immature ascarid larvae migrate through the foal s lungs and liver (see chart below). Heavy burdens of adult roundworms can cause a life-threatening impaction in the foal s small intestines. As the horse matures into his second year of life he develops a heightened immune response to ascarids, and the threat greatly diminishes.

6 To ensure your foal stays healthy, the best procedure is to develop a regular parasite control programme. Use biannual faecal exams in weanlings and yearlings to evaluate the efficacy of your parasite control programme. Use a weigh tape to estimate your foal s weight and to ensure accurate dosing of all dewormers. Pick up manure frequently and dispose of used bedding. The high temperatures generated by composting can kill ascarid eggs. Older foals on pasture should have creep feed and hay fed in raised containers in an attempt to decrease the number of parasite eggs ingested when horses graze directly off the ground.

Henneke Body Condition Scoring

Henneke Body Condition Scoring 15856 Frederick Road P.O. Box 309 Lisbon, MD 21765 Mission: Fostering compassion and responsibility for horses through intervention, education, and outreach. What it is!