Orphan Foals.

If you have to raise an Orphan Foal or would like some advice on Fostering your foal onto a nanny mare.
Or if you simply need advice on Feeding Programs and Feed Routines for your Orphan Foal....
Please read the information supplied below or send your enquiry... Orphan Foal Enquiry

Be sure to consult your vet as soon as possible and have your foal checked thoroughly
to be sure it is a viable prospect & to rule out any under lying problems.

ORPHAN FOAL KITS Be prepared for the worst have a hand raising kit ready for the foaling season. Your Vets phone numbers (Mobile & Land line contacts) Good Quality Colostrum - check our colostum bank contacts Mare milking pump (optional) Bottle - we recommend glass unless you can be sure of the quality of the plastic used Teat (Lamb teat works the best for foals) All purpose milk replacement powder. (ePro Foal Starter Plus) You may need one of the following if your foal is suffering from stress, check with your vet. *Homeopathy Ignatia, Arnica, Rescue Remedy, Carbo Veg etc. or Ulcer Guard. If your foal looks dull and listless in the first few hours - contact your vet as your foal may need plasma. ***LOTS N LOTS of time and patience.*** The whole process can take hours, days or even weeks to perfect. FOR INFORMATION ON FOALING KITS OPTIMAL FEEDING ROUTINE (for those amongst us with no children, no other commitments and ideally, no life.:) Feeding Frequency: Feeding the orphaned foal every 1-2 hours... 16 feeds per day has been recommended for the first week of life. This can be reduced gradually to 4 feeds per day at 2 weeks of age. Foals with a birth weight of 40-50kg require 14 litres per day, increasing to 18-20 litres by weaning. After 3-4 weeks of age a total of 3 feeds are required each day. If too much milk is fed then diarrhoea and colic may occur. It has been my experience to feed the orphan foal when he is hungry as long as it is hunger and not anxiety. This has proven to be the most successful way to keep his development on parr with foals naturally fed by the mare. If your foal is happy and has plenty of contact, warmth and affection, he will ask to be fed as is normal. If your foal is locked away by himself and has minimal attention he will become depressed and stressed. Like a child, nurture him and he will blossom. Do not mistake nurture with spoiling though or like a child, he will end up a right royal pain in the proverbial. The more often you feed your orphan foal, the less likely you are to end up with a poddy foal. Remember when a foal is with his dam, he feeds when he is hungry and not every 2 or 4 hours on the clock. RECOMMENDED A foal will drink anywhere from 100 to 600mls of milk in the beginning every 2 to 4 hours *** Note the less they drink the more often you must feed. Each foal will be different. Work the volume of milk up to 1 ltr every 2-4 hours. Then 1.25 to 3 ltrs - 2 to 3 times a day ****But remember the lesser the volume of milk means more feeds and that will give you a better foal in the long run****.   Colostrum Colostrum has a high immunoglobulin content and foals, which have been deprived of colostrum, have a higher incidence of septicaemia, diarrhoea, omphalophlebitis, anaemia and joint-ill. 250ml of colostrum should be fed to the foal every hour for the first six hours of life. Absorption ceases by 24 hours of age. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED Before the breeding season check our COLOSTRUM BANK page for a list of suppliers in your state. EMERGANCY MILK REPLACER 1 cup full cream milk powder (from supermarket) 2cups water 1cup boiling water 1cup lime water 2 tbspoon dextose Lime water is a couple of cups of lime into a bucket add about 20 litres water and let in settle, use the water leaving the clumpy bits behind Feeding large quantities of milk in a single meal especially to very young foals will overwhelm the digestive tract's ability to digest and absorb the sugars and protein in the milk and will lead to diarrhoea and the 'pot-bellied' appearance so often seen in foals fed milk replacer. The trick to feeding milk replacer to young horses is to feed small amounts often. When starting a foal, no more than 2.2 litres (2 quarts) of milk replacer should be offered at one time. The milk should be fed in a dilute form (100g of dry milk replacer added to 1 litre(one quart) of warm water. Studies at Kentucky Equine Research have shown that foals fed two quarts of milk replacer six times per day gained less weight than control foals during the first month of age. Their height gains, however, were similar. After one month, their weight and height gains were similar to control foals. In order to mimic normal growth rates in foals during the first month of age, it would be necessary to feed 16 quarts per day, or eight times per day. Feeding this amount of milk in less than eight feedings per day would almost certainly result in problems. IMPORTANT *You may need some Ulcer Guard. This will help prevent and/or treat any ulcers caused by the stress a young foal is susceptible to. Be sure to keep an eye out for signs - such as, the foal grinds teeth or stop feeding. *Always have plenty of fresh clean water available. *Offer hard food as soon as possible, the foal will work out that it is for eating. Foal Feed Mitavite Breeder and L/Chaff ePro Foal Starter Plus dry milk replacement powder, (amount as advised) all the hay they can eat

The Australian Western Horse Showcase recommends the following feed products:

TYPE	PRODUCT	INTERNATIONAL EQUIVELANT
PELLET	MITAVITE BREEDA	EXTRUDED PELLET FEED
MILK POWDER	ePro Foal Starter Plus	FOAL REPLACEMENT POWDER

There are several milk replacer's for foals on the market today. They are formulated to mimic the nutrient composition of mare's milk, and many have additional fortification with trace minerals and vitamins. They are only good, however, if fed properly. Foals normally suckle from the mare dozens of times during a day and ingest relatively small quantities of milk during each nursing session. The digestive tract of a very young foal is simple and fairly undeveloped. When a foal is first born its ability to absorb antibodies from its dam's colostrum declines after 18 hours. The small intestine is permeable to protein for a brief period of usually under 36 hours. As the foal matures its nutrient requirements change and its digestive tract matures

ePro® Foal Starter Plus is a specially formulated milk replacer for orphan foals, rejected foals and foals of nursing mares with insufficient milk production. ePro® Foal Starter Plus supplies the foal with energy, protein, fat, vitamins and minerals that match the nutritional profile of mare’s milk. ePro® Foal Starter Plus contains high quality protein and essential amino acids for optimal muscle development and growth. Adequate levels of minerals to ensure skeletal growth of the young foal. Trace minerals to promote various important biological functions in the body of the foal and a broad spectrum of vitamins and antioxidants at sufficient levels to support body functions and normal growth. ePro® Foal Starter Plus is supplemented with inulin, a natural sugar produced by plants. Inulin promotes the growth of beneficial bacteria in the foal’s digestive system and helps to maintain a balanced micro flora which reduces the development of scouring

Australian Feed Company - Mitavite - Breeda

Concentrates and Creep Feeds: Mitavite Breeda is an ideal feed for orphaned foals. It has a high protein and energy level and can be dampened to make chewing easier for young foals. The steam-extruded nuts of Breeda are highly digestible with over 90% being digested in the small intestine - helping to assist in essential amino acid assimilation and lower digestive disturbances in the orphan foal. Suggested rates of 0.5-0.7 kg of Breeda and 0.1-0.4kg of lucerne can be gradually introduced to the orphaned foals ration after 2 weeks of life (mature weight 500kg). The Breeda, lucerne and milk replacer can be fed in a soft mash. The Breeda and lucerne can be gradually increased to 1-2kg and 1-1.5 kg respectively by weaning at four months and the milk replacer can be gradually removed over this time. (The rates suggested are guidelines for a foal with mature weight of 500kg. Feeding rates will differ with individual horses).

NOTE :

The provision of a balanced, readily digested, high quality feed is necessary to allow the attainment of genetic potential in terms of bone and muscle development. Hard feed, concentrates and supplements must be digested in the small intestine. If they are fermented in the caecum the nutrient value is destroyed. This is because when grains and proteins ferment glucose is converted to lactic acid and essential amino acids are degraded to ammonia. Both are major risk factors for colic, diarrhoea and laminitis. Even when feedstuffs, percentage protein, lysine and methionine levels, mineral and protein supplements are selected with exacting care and the diet formulated to meet the precise requirements of the individual horse, the effort and attention to detail in formulating the diet is wasted if the feed is not digested in the small intestine. Extrusion processing improves digestion in the small intestine from 30 to 92%. Mitavite produces a range of extruded feeds to meet the varying individual requirements of studs and breeders..

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