The Young Foal
The Young Foal
The young foal that makes its appearance normally and is bright and active needs only to be left alone. If proper attention is given to the food and the exercise of the mare, the foal should thrive without special care. Not all foals are equally fortunate, however. Occasionally one loses its life through want of attention at the time of birth. Occasionally one is subject to digestive disorders that must be attended to and remedied at once before they prove fatal. Sometimes one is troubled with that infectious navel disease which may be due to unsanitary conditions at the time of foaling.
The foal's first meal
It is essential that the new-born foal receive the first milk from the dam. This foremilk appears thick and yellow, and is a natural purgative for the removal of material that has accumulated in the foal's digestive tract during the last few days of its development. The prompt removal of such material is essential to the life of the colt. Sometimes the foremilk, or colostrum as it is called, is drawn off as being unfit for the colt, but this practice is a common cause of death to the foal within two or three days after birth.
If the foal receives its first meal of colostrum within an hour after birth, it will ordinarily do well. Usually the bowels move within four to six hours. If the bowels do not move within twenty-four hours, and if the colt presents a droopy, listless appearance, it should be given two ounces of castor oil. Usually in four to six hours relief will have been gained and the appearance of the youngster will have changed greatly for the better.
A foal should never be allowed to draw milk when the mare is warm from exercise. On being brought in after being exercised, the mare should be given a drink, but she should not be allowed to drink too much if she is warm or if the water is very cold. After she has cooled off and some of her milk has been drawn by hand, she may be turned into the stall with the colt with perfect safety to both.
Feeding the young foal by hand
It often happens that the milk of the mare is insufficient to promote healthy, vigorous growth in the foal, and occasionally it becomes necessary to raise a foal independently of the dam. In such cases the best addition to, or the best substitute for, the milk of the mare is that of a cow. The milk of the mare contains more sugar and less fat than does the milk of the cow. The breeder should therefore obtain milk from as fresh a cow as possible; the poorer in fat the milk is, the better it will be for the foal, since mare's milk will average only about one and one half per cent fat while the milk of most cows contains more than three per cent. Jersey milk should not be used for colts, since it is too rich in fat.
Patient effort will soon teach the colt to drink milk readily, but care must be taken that it does not receive too much at first. A half pint is sufficient for a foal two or three days old, but the ration should be repeated often. If from the beginning it is necessary to feed the foal cow's milk, the milk should be modified. Four tablespoonfuls of lime water should be put into a pint jar, which should then be filled with fresh cow's milk. A dessert-spoonful of white granulated sugar should be added for sweetening. The mixture must be warmed to blood heat and the foal should receive half a teacupful every hour at first. If the colt scours, a dose of two ounces of castor oil should be administered and the feed should be discontinued for two or three hours. As the colt grows older, the amount of food should be increased, and the frequency of feeding should be decreased first to twelve, then to nine, six, and lastly four, times each day. The purpose is to give the foal all that it will drink, and to feed so often that it will not require a large quantity at a time.
Common disorders of the young foal
It sometimes happens that the newborn foal cannot breathe. In such a case, measures must be taken quickly to establish the function of respiration by blowing violently up the nostrils and into the mouth, and by briskly rubbing the body. If breathing is slow, a few tablespoonfuls of brandy and water, given after the first few respirations, will help in invigorating the low vital processes.
As soon as the mare has recovered from the shock of giving birth, she should be allowed to tend the foal, for it will be physically benefited thereby. If she refuses to dry and caress her foal, a little flour sprinkled over the back of the latter will often attract her to it. Should she still refuse, the foal must be dried with a soft flannel, aided to find the teat, and assisted to obtain its first meal.
Constipation — Notwithstanding the purgative effects of the colostrum, or first milk, the young foal frequently suffers from constipation of the bowels, especially if the mare has not been in good health during the latter periods of pregnancy. Sometimes the first milk of the dam will not agree with the young foal, or through weakness the foal may not have obtained a good draft. Whatever the cause, if the digestive tract has not been cleaned of its contents within twenty-four hours and if the foal presents a listless appearance, with eyes dull and ears drooping, it is necessary to stimulate the action of the bowels. Ordinarily the bowels will be stimulated to action by the administering of two ounces of olive oil or castor oil, and by an injection of warm water into the bowels. The water should be at blood heat and should have added to it a teaspoonful of glycerin and enough warm water to make four or five ounces — but no more, for only a small quantity is needed. This mixture should be injected gently into the rectum with an ordinary two-ounce, hard-rubber syringe. Care must be taken not to rupture the tender membrane. This injection will lubricate the passage and induce the foal to endeavor to pass the fecal matter, which is a yellowish, rather hard, waxy substance. If given as directed, the injection can do no harm and may be repeated every hour. In five hours relief will usually have been gained and the appearance of the youngster will have changed greatly for the better.
Diarrhea, or scours — This disease is rather prevalent among suckling animals and is often fatal. Although less subject to the disease than calves are, foals often die from it within a short period of time after birth. The causes are not certainly known. Ordinarily it is attributed to changes of an unknown character that take place in the composition of the milk. Two facts, however, have been determined: first, that the causes of scours are many and varied; secondly, that their potency is increased by unclean surroundings, especially by unwholesome stables. Well-known causes are the non-removal of fecal matter from the digestive tract of the foal, and nervous disorders that materially affect the health of the mare, such as a fretful condition when kept away from the colt soon after parturition. If the mare becomes feverish, the quality of her milk is altered, and the foal coming to her hungry gorges itself with the changed milk, which induces indigestion and diarrhea.
Rich foods given to the mare may stimulate the flow of milk to such an extent that, if the foal is permitted to take all, digestive disorders and diarrhea will follow. In early spring when the mare is pasturing on a rank growth of succulent grass, a similar condition is likely to result. For the same reason, a cold, damp bed or exposure to cold rainstorms is to be avoided. While a passing shower, even if cold, may do no harm, prolonged exposure to rain and to a low temperature are likely to prove fatal to a newborn foal. Confinement in close buildings is objectionable to mare and foal alike; in both it induces a weakened condition and leaves the system an easy prey to disease.
The best practice is to avoid conditions that are likely to cause such disorders. If the dam is properly fed and exercised, there is little danger. On the other hand, should digestive disorders appear, the foal must receive immediate attention and the cause must be removed; even then relief may come too late. When the attack is due to an oversupply of rich milk, the dam should be milked in part by hand.
In administering treatment the nature of the difficulty should not be ignored. It is caused by an irritant in the stomach or the bowels that must be removed before a cure can be effected; hence the breeder should be cautioned against giving an astringent with a view to cutting off the discharge. In all such cases the best practice is to expel the disturbance with a laxative, such as two ounces of castor oil, and later, after the irritant has been expelled, to check the discharge by a weak solution of gum arabic or slippery elm or by well-boiled linseed tea or starch. Even this treatment is beset by many a difficulty.
Navel infection — Another disease common to young foals is the so called navel infection, or joint disease. It should be understood that this disease is due to filth germs that gain access to the body of the foal by way of the open umbilical vein of the navel at birth. When these germs enter the body they set up irritation and inflammation; pus forms and is absorbed into the circulation from the navel abscess, and other abscesses are formed in all parts of the body, especially in the joints of the limbs. The foal is seen to have a swollen joint, and the breeder is likely to think that the mare caused the injury; other joints will soon be affected, however, and the condition may affect the throat and the poll as well. It is comparatively rare that an infected colt can be saved after the disease has reached the pus-forming stage.
It has been proved that simple hygienic measures will prevent the disease. The stall in which the mare foals should have every bit of old bedding, litter, and dirt removed, and the young foal should be born only on clean, fresh bedding. Perhaps it would be a safeguard to wash the stump of the umbilical cord—which should never be cut, but should be allowed to break of its own accord—with a saturated solution of boracic acid, and then to dust it with boracic-acid powder.
Feeding the foal
As soon as the foal is old enough it should be encouraged to nibble at grain, preferably oatmeal or wheat bran. It will begin to munch grain and hay at three or four weeks of age. If it is necessary that the foal have milk after it is two months old, skimmed milk should be substituted for the fresh milk of a cow. A colt should never be fed sour milk or milk from unclean vessels. Should there be any trouble from constipation, it will be well to add about one half pint of oil meal to the ration each day. Oil meal can be fed with profit to growing colts, since it furnishes a large proportion of muscle-forming and bone-forming food. The effect of a ration consisting of sweet skimmed milk, ground oats, and oil meal on the growth and development of a foal is remarkable, and in all cases when the foal is likely to enter winter in low flesh such a ration cannot be too highly recommended.
Weaning the foal
Weaning depends rather on the preparation of the foal for leaving the dam than on the actual removal. The simplicity of the weaning process depends on the thoroughness of the preparation. If the foal has become accustomed to eating grain, if it has been permitted to take increasingly more as it grew, the process of weaning should not be difficult; for as the ration increases in amount of grain, it will decrease in the amount of milk consumed. When the time arrives for complete separation there will be little, if any, inconvenience or disturbance to either foal or dam. On the other hand, if the foal must learn to eat after having been deprived of its accustomed source of supply, it will require time to become adjusted to the new condition, and the mare will demand special care because of the removal of the colt before her milk supply has been gradually diminished.
Foals are usually weaned at four to six months of age. If the mare was bred soon after foaling and conceived, it is best to wean the foal early, so that the mare will have time to recuperate and nourish the fetus. If for any reason mare and foal are not doing well, it is perhaps best to wean comparatively early. If, on the other hand, the mare has a full flow of milk and her services are not needed, there is no reason for weaning a foal under six months of age. When dam and foal are separated, it is better for both that the separation be complete. If, after they have become reconciled to the separation, they are permitted to see, hear, or smell each other, all the contentment that has been gained may be lost.
At the time of weaning, the food and the udder of the mare require special attention. Her grain ration should be reduced until she is dry. When the udder becomes so full as to cause her uneasiness, part of the milk should be drawn, but she should not be milked dry; if all the milk is withdrawn each time it will require a longer time for her to become dry.
Care should also be taken to see that the new quarters where the weanling is confined are so constructed and arranged that it cannot injure itself while fretting over the separation from its mother.
Skimmed milk may still be given to the colt, especially if the colt is not in good condition to enter the winter. Clean, sound oats that have been ground constitute the best of all grains for the weanling. As cold weather approaches, the ration should consist of oats with one fourth part corn meal by weight, since the latter aids in producing fat and keeping up the animal heat. If a pint of oil meal is added to this mixture, the weanling will make good gains in spite of the cold weather and the separation from its mother. The breeder does not need to beware of too liberal feeding. During the first six months after weaning, many colts are permanently injured by too scanty a supply of food.
Charming video of a young foal bucking and running
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