How to Care for a Foal After Birth

Care for a Foal

Wednesday 09 December 2009

Foaling is an expensive process; you have to put lots of time and energy into breeding a foal successfully. You should make a plan for what to do after your foal has been born, by doing this you will be able to provide the best possible care for your mare and foal. This article should help you to care for your foal, horse or brood mare.

Foaling Top Tips

• If you are present at the birth of the foal horse and the brood mare lets you, try to wipe away any mucus in the foal’s nose; this will help it to breathe.

• If a vet isn’t present at the birth of the foal make sure you keep the placenta in a bucket away from other animals. The vet will need to examine this later to check it is whole and intact.

• Check to see if the mare has passed the remains of the afterbirth, if not to make sure she doesn’t step on it you can tie it up. Do not whatever you do attempt to pull it out, the mare will pass it on her own eventually.

• Put some iodine in a bottle top and dip the end of the foal’s umbilical chord into it several times a day for the first few days. Do this as soon as you can after birth, it is very important to do this as it prevents infection and dries the chord out; eventually it will fall off.

• Make sure that the foal is standing up and nursing within one hour of birth.

• Call a vet if the foal doesn’t nurse within an hour, if weak it will need help to stand and find the teat.

• Look out for your foal’s mycomium, it will be black and not formed properly and should occur between twelve and twenty four hours of delivery. If your foal looks like it is straining to defecate then give it an enema.

• Your foal should ingest at least one to two pints of good quality colostrum within the first twenty four hours of its life to ensure absorption of adequate antibodies.

• You should give the mare and foal probiotic to stimulate production of good bacteria in the gut.

• You will probably notice that your foal horse eats some of the mare’s manure; this is a natural way of getting the good bacteria but also can pass worms so make sure your mare has been wormed.

• Both the brood mare and the foal will need tetanus vaccinations so make sure your vet is on hand to administer these if you are not confident in doing so.

• Make sure you observe your foal horse regularly during the first few weeks of its life as it is young and susceptible to disease.

• Monitor your foals breathing rate, manure consistency and colour, temperature and nursing behaviour.

• Do not put your newborn foal horse in a paddock with a stallion or a gelding.

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