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Orphan Foal Management

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Title: Orphan Foal Management


1
Orphan Foal Management
  • Feeding Caring of the Orphan Foal

Sarah VandenBussche
Saun Bratton
2
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)

3
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

4
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)

5
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

6
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!

7
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

8
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

9
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

10
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)

11
Homemade Formulas
  • 4oz evaporated milk, 4oz
  • warm water, 1tsp white corn
  • syrup
  • 8oz of 2 cows milk, 1 tsp
  • white corn syrup

12
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)
13
Orphaned Foals
  • Expected growth rates
  • General care
  • Serious medical problems

14
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

15
Expected Growth Rates Continued
  • WITH PROPER MANAGEMENT
  • no long term effects on mature size of foals
  • WITH IMPROPER MANAGEMENT
  • growth may be stunted

16
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!

17
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

18
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)

19
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

20
General Care, Continued
  • Rear orphan foal with
  • -another orphan foal
  • -pony/horse/nurse mare or goat
  • Encourages socialization
  • Reduces behavioral problems

21
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

22
Serious Medical Problems
  • Neonatal Maladjustment Syndrome (NMS)
  • Septicemia
  • Failure of Passive Transfer
  • Ruptured Bladder

23
Neonatal Maladjustment Syndrome
  • NMS used to describe a variety of behavioral
    disturbances
  • NMS is also called
  • Barkers
  • Dummies
  • Wanderers

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

25
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

26
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

27
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

28
Septicemia, Continued
  • Primary routes of infection
  • Respiratory tract
  • GI tract
  • Umbilical cord/placenta
  • Usually Gram neg. bacteria
  • E. coli, Klebsiella, Enterobacter,
  • Actinobacillus, Pseudomonas

29
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

30
Treatment for Septicemia
  • Intensive care/close monitoring
  • Should be taken to a hospital
  • - Oxygen
  • IV nutrition
  • Assisted ventilation
  • Broad spectrum antibiotics
  • NSAIDs
  • - IV fluids

31
NMS and Septicemia
  • May appear similar
  • Do CBC and blood chemistry panel
  • NMS foal, normal results
  • Septic results, abnormal results

- Treatment is very similar
32
Conclusion
  • First 24 hours is most important!
  • Ensure adequate colostrum intake
  • KNOW NORMAL PARAMETERS
  • MONITOR! MONITOR! MONITOR!

33
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.


34
Questions Thank You!
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