Orphan Foal Management

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Orphan Foal Management

• Feeding Caring of the Orphan Foal

Sarah VandenBussche
Saun Bratton
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Two Goals

1. Instill in you the basic information on how to
   care for and treat a recently orphaned foal
   (on-farm situation)
2. Guide you on how to help owners with continued
   orphan foal care (feeding, general care, and
   socialization)

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What we will cover

• The first 24 hours
• FPT testing for treatment
• Milk replacers
• Feeding program
• Expected growth rates
• General care owner
• recommendations
• Serious medical problems

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Causes of an Orphan Foal

• Mare sickness (colic, colitis, infectious dz)
• Poor milk production
• Injury or dz of mares udder (laceration,
• mastitis)
• Mare death (ruptured uterine artery during
• parturition, euthanasia)

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The First 24 Hours

• THE MOST IMPORTANT!!!
• Make sure foal receives a sufficient amount of
  colostrum
• 250ml every hour for the first 6 hours after
  birth, or
• 2-3L total divided into 3 to 4 doses, given at
  hourly intervals

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Failure of Passive Transfer

• In horses, defined as serum IgGlt200 mg/dl at 24
  hours of age
• Incidence varies from 2.7 to 24
• Most insurance companies now require
  documentation of adequate passive transfer of
  immunity before the foal can be insured!

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Testing for F.P.T.

• radio immunodiffusion
• - latex agglutination
• enzyme immunoassay test (CITE), can be done
  stall-side
• - an IgG level gt800 mg/dl is considered protective

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Colostrum

• Should be thick sticky with a SGgt1.060,
  (corresponds to an IgG concentration gt3000mg/dL)
• Collect from mares after foaling when a
  sufficient amount is present, (200 to 500ml can
  be milked without compromising antibody passage
  to the foal)
• Should be frozen for saving
• Shelf-life of 1 year

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Feeding Program 2 Options

• Once sufficient immune protection has been
  established!
• Nurse mare or goat?!
• Manually feed (bottle or bucket)

• feed 10 of foals weight at day 1 and increase
• to 25 from day 10 through weaning

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Milk Replacers

• commercially available replacers (Foal Lac)
• homemade recipes should only be used for a
• short period of time, when a commercial
• replacer is unavailable
• fresh cows milk (whole) should be avoided
• (2Xs fat and only 2/3 sugar content of mares
• milk, causes loose stools)

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Homemade Formulas

• 4oz evaporated milk, 4oz
• warm water, 1tsp white corn
• syrup
• 8oz of 2 cows milk, 1 tsp
• white corn syrup

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Orphan Foal Feeding Program
DAY FEED SCHEDULE FEEDINGS PER DAY
0 18 hrs Colostrum ¼ pint hourly 18
19 hrs 13 Equine milk replacer 6 quarts daily 8
14 34 Equine milk replacer Creep feed Week 3 7-9 quarts Week 4 4-6 quarts Week 3 ½-1 pound/feeding Week 4 2 pounds per day 6 6 2 2
Day 35 Discontinue milk replacer Continue creep feed Hay 2 pounds per day 2 Free Choice (hay)
36 66 Continue creep feed and hay .75 pounds per 100 pounds of body weight 2 Free Choice (hay)
67 180 Continue creep feed and hay Increase to 1.5 pounds per 100 pounds of body weight 2 Free Choice (hay)
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Orphaned Foals

• Expected growth rates
• General care
• Serious medical problems

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Expected Growth Rates

• Orphaned foals under management
• 30 days old
• smaller in size
• slower growth rate

-

• 180 days old
• no difference in wither height
• only a slight difference in weight

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Expected Growth Rates Continued

• WITH PROPER MANAGEMENT
• no long term effects on mature size of foals

• WITH IMPROPER MANAGEMENT
• growth may be stunted

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General Care Information for Owners

• MONITOR! MONITOR! MONITOR!
• Illnesses in foals are often vague
• KNOW NORMAL PARAMETERS!
• Dramatic changes in health can occur quickly
• Dont wait and see
• Any ill foal is an emergency!

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Normal Parameters

• Body Temp first 4 days, 99-102 degrees
  Fahrenheit
• HR first 5 minutes, 70 bpm
• Resp. Rate - first 15 minutes, 60-80 br/m
• - then 20-40 br/m
• First urination - avg. 8.5 hours after birth
• - colts earlier than
  fillies
• - First stool within 24 hours

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Normal Parameters, Continued

• Righting Reflex established within 5 minutes
• Suckling Reflex established within 30 minutes
• Attempts to Stand within 1-2 hours
• Ability to Stand Unassisted within 1-3 hours
• Time to Nursing avg. 2 hours (range of 35-420
  min)

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General Care

• Provide dry, clean,
• warm environment
• During cold weather
• -heat lamp set at 68 degrees
• -down vest
• When stronger, turn out
• into pasture for exercise

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General Care, Continued

• Rear orphan foal with
• -another orphan foal
• -pony/horse/nurse mare or goat
• Encourages socialization
• Reduces behavioral problems

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General Care, Continued

• Best overall care Nurse Mare
• - Mare must have good disposition
• - DO NOT leave nurse mare and foal
  unattended until foal is accepted by mare
• - May need to tranquilize mare

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Serious Medical Problems

• Neonatal Maladjustment Syndrome (NMS)
• Septicemia
• Failure of Passive Transfer
• Ruptured Bladder

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Neonatal Maladjustment Syndrome

• NMS used to describe a variety of behavioral
  disturbances
• NMS is also called
• Barkers
• Dummies
• Wanderers

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NMS Continued

• Noninfectious
• Due to hypoxia?
• Due to difficult birth?
• Seen within first 24 hours of birth

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Signs of NMS

• Loss of suckling reflex
• May appear blind
• Teeth grinding/chomping
• Abnormal vocalization,
• similar to a barking dog
• Anisocoria

• Low body temperature
• Jerky, stiff movements
• Seizures/paddling
• Abnormal respiration
• Coma, death

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Treatment of NMS

• Control seizures
• Maintain body temp., hydration, electrolytes,
• acid-base balance, and blood glucose
• Oxygen therapy
• Broad spectrum antibiotics
• Prognosis good if not also septic
• Recovery 2-7 days

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Septicemia

• High cause of death in neonates (one-third of
  all
• foal fatalities)
• A TRUE EMERGENCY!
• Again, foal may appear normal but may
• deteriorate within hours

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Septicemia, Continued

• Primary routes of infection
• Respiratory tract
• GI tract
• Umbilical cord/placenta

• Usually Gram neg. bacteria
• E. coli, Klebsiella, Enterobacter,
• Actinobacillus, Pseudomonas

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Signs of Septicemia

• - See previous 10 signs of
• NMS
• Cyanotic or bright red MM
• Hemorrhages in oral MM
• Blood shot eyes
• High HR and RR

• Respiratory Distress
• Severe depression
• Unable to rise or arouse
• Diarrhea
• Straining to defecate
• Colic

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Treatment for Septicemia

• Intensive care/close monitoring
• Should be taken to a hospital
• - Oxygen
• IV nutrition
• Assisted ventilation
• Broad spectrum antibiotics
• NSAIDs
• - IV fluids

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NMS and Septicemia

• May appear similar
• Do CBC and blood chemistry panel
• NMS foal, normal results
• Septic results, abnormal results

- Treatment is very similar
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Conclusion

• First 24 hours is most important!
• Ensure adequate colostrum intake
• KNOW NORMAL PARAMETERS
• MONITOR! MONITOR! MONITOR!

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References

• Equine Clinical Neonatology, Anne M. Koterba, et
  all,
• c1990, Lea Febiger, U.K., pp. 4-5, 9, 11,
  71, 74-81,
• 275-290, 302-303, 482, 627, 631-635,
  639-641,
• 730-731, 735-744, 772-773, 777-778.
• http//www.horses-etc.com/Foals.shtml
• http//www.ianr.unl.edu/pubs/horse/q1237.htm
• Merck Veterinary Manual, Eighth edition, c1998,
• Merck Company, Inc., New Jersey, p. 1595.

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Questions Thank You!