Steps to take to ensure your newborn foal’s health

URBANA, Ill. — Although equine neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) are available at a few select specialty hospitals across the country, there are a few measures owners can take to prevent having to visit their newborn foal there. In many instances, just knowing how a normal foal should behave and when to call the veterinarian can go a long way.

Equine specialty

Dr. Pamela Wilkins, who specializes in equine internal medicine and critical care, is head of equine medicine and surgery at the University of Illinois Veterinary Teaching Hospital in Urbana. She says, “if a foal is not standing and nursing by three hours of age, owners should call their veterinarian.”

Neonates have minimal stores of glucose, and going without nursing for more than a few hours can cause hypoglycemia and lead to a downward spiral of events. Owners should also be on the lookout for meconium, or the foal’s first feces, which appears dark brown and sticky. Urine will not be produced until 8-18 hours after foaling, so owners should not be concerned if the neonate doesn’t urinate soon after birth.

Physical exam needed

“One day after the foal has been born, a veterinarian should perform a thorough physical exam and draw blood to measure IgG levels,” Wilkins said. Measuring whether or not a foal has received an adequate amount of antibodies from its mother’s milk is critical in newborn horses. Because the mare’s placenta is much thicker than a human’s, the fetus is born with a sub-par immune system—making it very susceptible to disease if it does not nurse the mare soon after birth.

If a blood test reveals an unacceptable level of antibodies in the foal’s blood, it is termed “Failure of Passive Transfer” or FPT. To correct FPT, foals need to be treated immediately by a veterinarian with either plasma given intravenously or colostrum orally. If not treated, FPT foals are likely to become septic (have an infection in their blood) and die.

Problems can develop

Now that the foal is one day old, is nursing well, and gets the thumbs up by your veterinarian, there are a few other signs to be on the lookout for. Because a few of the problems foals develop, such as a ruptured urinary bladder or meconium impaction, cause abdominal discomfort, Wilkins recommends that, “owners should observe the foal for signs of colic and make sure it is nursing frequently.”

Call your veterinarian if you notice the foal pawing at its belly or rolling excessively on the ground. If you happen to find your newborn with milk dripping on its head, it is a good indicator that it is having a hard time finding the teat and may need human intervention and veterinary attention.

Too many risks

Finally, it is interesting to note that although equine medicine has progressed rapidly over the past decade with regards to neonatal care, “C-section and chemical induction of labor is not a place you want to go,” Wilkins said. Both of these options pose significant risks to the unborn fetus, and unless there is a medical reason to go this route, a mare should be allowed to foal when her body says it’s time.

For more information on equine neonatal care, contact your local veterinarian.