Natural Horse World Orphan

Foal Rejected then Accepted

What a month we've had - Tess, the reluctant mother rejecting her foal presented a whole new learning opportunity for us that has been very time consuming but immensley rewarding.

Unfortunately, and probably because she was a maiden mare with an attitude, she rejected her beautiful palomino colt with savage bites.
Fortunately her owner had handled her teats, so I was able to milk her to get some vital colostrum into the foal, and through the milking she was able to accept him drinking while she was restrained.

At first we held her with a bucket of feed in front to keep her occupied, even shielding her view of the foal which worked but took 2 people initially every hour then ever 2 hours.
We then worked out a stall to enable the foal to drink safely while Tess was tied and eating.
After a few days of this she was able to accept him without needing the stall but had to remain tied and supervised for every feed.

She was also not producing much milk so from the first night onwards, we supplemented the colt with a milk replacer which was initially Divetelact then we gradually swtiched over to plain Carnation milk over a 3 day period.
He started by drinking from a bottle then we taught him to drink from a bowl with the aim of being able to leave milk available for him during the night when we wanted to extend our sleeping hours!
For the first week he was fed every 2 hours during the night and more often during the day when we could as we tried to stimulate Tess' milk flow by more frequent nursing.

We also 'clicker trained' Tess to bond with her colt, named Dakoda, by first getting her to 'target' or touch his bottle while he drank, then getting her to touch him through the bars of the stall.
There were several incidents where as quick as lightening she lunged at him, connecting twice so as we didn't want to risk this type of contact I made a muzzle (from a plastic flower pot with holes cut in for her nostrils) so we could start to leave her with him for longer periods of bonding and this worked very well.

By using the clicker intitally, we got her to touch him with the muzzle on and follow him around. It didn't take long for her to finally accept her baby and even become interested in him. Within a couple of days we could remove the muzzle, trusting that she would no longer try to bite him savagely.

Dakoda was still requiring extra milk but after 2 weeks we managed to cut the night feeds down to one very late and very early morning feed but kept the frequent day feedings going. He learned to drink from a dog bowl with automatic water dispenser for his milk but we still needed to supervise him drinking from Tess as she wouldn't stand for him unless we were there.

Unfortunately, after three weeks her milk dried up and she became frustrated at not being able to provide for him, even though she was very bonded and now protective of him.

Luckily for Dakoda a foster mare became available so at three weeks old, he was trained to drink from a new mum, Amber, who within four days was accepting him as her own. We went through the same steps with her as with Tess to get her bonded as initially she pulled faces at this 'other mares' foal.
Tess was initially seperated into a nearby yard but where she could still see Dakoda however this distracted both Koda and Amber from bonding properly so we had to remove Tess from the scene.
She walked away without looking back or calling so I guess she really wasn't fussed about being a mum.

Amber was then able to focus on bonding with Koda and now she looks upon him as her own in a very protective manner. Its wonderful to see them together and know that Koda will now be raised as a horse rather than thinking he's a human.
Mind you, he still calls out to us and follows us whenever he gets the chance, much to his new mum's concern.
Koda now has Amy to play with who is like a big sister keeping him in line.

Orphan Foals - Part 1

By Cynthia Cooper

The dream of breeding and raising your own foal can very quickly become shattered when you are faced with an orphan foal.
Whether the foal is orphaned through the death of the mare or rejection by the mare, the focus must be on keeping that foal alive for the first week or so, and then give it every opportunity to thrive.

Many first time and small breeders are usually un-prepared for such an emergency but in reality it's an all too common occurance.
Hopefully this series of articles will assist future foal breeders unlucky enough to be faced with an orphan.

At birth, the most urgent need for a foal is to drink enough colostrum to develop sufficient antibodies in order to fight off any infections from the outside world.
It's a good idea to have some colostrum on hand in the freezer or have a supply organised from a vet or larger breeder just in case.

If you have a mare that has successfully foaled, then its ok to milk some colostrum from her in the first 12 hours after the birth - you only need to store 500ml or so to assist in an emergency.

After 12 hours the foal should have drunk enough to stimulate normal milk production so the colostrum reduces as does their need for it and ability to utilise it.
Some mares that drip or run milk for more than 24 hours prior to foaling may not give their foal enough colostrum so the foal may need blood plasma to boost their immunity.
The vet can test the foal's blood to determine if it has recieved anough antibodies, so if you have an orphan who's intake of colostrum is limited or none at all, it would be wise to have this test done.

Regardless of whether the mare dies or rejects the foal, it is vital to try and milk as much colostrum from her as soon as possible.
A live mare may need to be restrained in a crush/stocks or sedated by the vet in order to do this, unless you have taught her to accept touching around the teats before foaling (highly reccommend!).

A large 30 or 50ml syringe with the nozzle cut off and the plunger inserted into that end, will make an effective device to 'suck' milk from the mare. Make sure the udder has been cleaned with mild soap and water beforehand, and is moist to give a good seal.

Always use a clean, sterile container to hold the milk which can then be offered to the foal in a human baby bottle or carefully dripped into their mouth via syringe.
The foal's head must be elevated to simulate the suckling position under the mare so the milk goes down the throat rather than the windpipe. Forcing the foal to take colostrum or milk can result in it entering the lungs and causing pneumonia.

If you don't have ready access to colostrum for some reason, then give the foal some glucose or honey dissolved in boiled water. They usually only drink up to 250ml each feed in their first 24 hours so small amounts every 15-20 minutes simulates a normal drinking pattern.

Once you have give the foal it's first feed of colostrum, you need to ensure it has shelter from either cold or heat, especially at night, when it should be kept warm.
A foal blanket is a good idea, along with deep straw or hay for bedding inside a shed or stable. If you don't have shelter available, then a horse float can make a temorary home, or even a tent/marquee that has a roof and sides.

If the mare has died then it's important to provide equine company over a fence/barrier if you can. If not, then get your sleeping bag out and be prepared to bed down with the foal. You will need to feed it every 1-2 hours to start with so you might as well stay close.

If the mare is alive but has rejected the foal, keep her close but seperate so she can't injure the foal with aggressive biting or kicking. Get the vet to sedate the mare initially to assist with keeping her still for the foal to nurse, depending on how aggressive she is. You may need to distract her with feed and restrict her vision of the foal to enable it to drink. This will need at least two people so get some experienced help if possible.

Set up the fence panel so it swings out and have a rope that can be quickly released behind her. Don't tie her solid, just wrap the rope around a rail in case she gets claustrophobic or caught up in the panel. A feed is always a good distraction and gives her reason to stand in there quietly.

If your mare has died then its time to get on the phone and internet in search of a foster mare. Call all the vets within the area you would be prepared to drive to take your foal or bring a mare home.
Get onto local chat horse discussion groups and spread the word. if you are lucky enough to live somewhere in the world that has a register of foster mares, contact them as soon as possible after the birth.

Some mare owners prefer to keep a foster mare at their property but others are happy for experienced horse people to take their mare to the foal for the period of fostering (until the foal is weaned).

Next, go to the supermarket and buy a dozen tins of sweetened condensed milk and some ordinary evaporated milk. Foals love a sweet taste so starting them on condensed milk is a good way to get them drinking properly. Then they can be weaned gradually onto ordinary evaporated milk after a few days, and then if no foster mare has been found, you can gradually change over to a sheep or special calf milk replacer powder.
However cute your foal is, be warned that it is a very expensive exercise (over $1,500) to raise the foal yourself on the cheaper milk powders.
It is also not the best option for the foal behaviourally because it is very hard for people to be strict enough with discipline while the foal is young and relatively harmless.

Orphan Foals Part 2

By Cynthia Cooper

When you are faced with an orphan or rejected foal, the best solution for the foal long term is to have it accepted by its dam or a foster mare.
Raising an orphan by bucket feeding is less than ideal as they quickly become over-humanised and often miss out on the socialisation skills they learn from other horses. This is why orphan foals often become pushy, insensitive horses when they grow up, as people usually can't provide the strict discipline a herd situation provides.
Even if the foal is kept with other horses (preferably young ones it can play with too), it will be returning to the people may times daily for a drink for the first few months of its life, and this can be a problem if the people aren't strict with balancing love and discipline.

If the mare is alive but has rejected the foal, then there is a window of opportunity in the first few days to train her to accept it before her milk dries up. I've heard vets say it won't work if the mare hasn't accepted the foal within the first few days, but from experience, I found that it could take up to 3 weeks, providing you are willing to put the time and training in.
We did that while waiting for a foster mare to become available, hoping the real mum would retain her milk but sadly, she was unable to, possibly due to the two hours between drinks and the small amount the foal was getting from her initially.

However, it can be done and here's how we went about it:

Initially, keep the mare and foal close but seperate so she can't injure the foal with aggressive biting or kicking. Get the vet to sedate the mare to assist with keeping her still for the foal to nurse, depending on how aggressive she is. You may need to distract her with feed and restrict her vision of the foal to enable it to drink. This will need at least two people so get some experienced help if possible.

The mare will need to be milked every hour to stimulate her supply and possibly even need a hormone injection from the vet to 'let her milk down'. If you are not able to milk her easily then set up a crush with a portable fence panel against a wall as shown in the photo. This will also be of great assistance in teaching her to accept the foal or to introduce a foster mare if you find one.
The process is pretty much the same when fostering a foal onto a mare except you may not have to initially sedate the mare if she's gentle natured.
Some suggestions that can help her to accept the foal range from skinning her dead foal and putting the skin over the orphan (pretty horrible and not always practical), to rubbing the orphan all over with her afterbirth (or part of it such as the hippomane - small brown kidney like part).
If you're going to do either of these things then put a foal rug on the orphan so it is protected a little from any severe reaction from the mare (they will often bite until there is acceptance). You could also put a grazing muzzle (or a home-made version) on the mare if she shows a tendancy to bite rather than kick.

Never assume any potential foster mare will accept another foal. Apart from the fact that she is grieving the loss of her own foal, she will know the orphan is not hers and it will take time and patient training to convince her to take it on.
There are occassional mares who are born 'mothers' who will nurse any foal and these are ideal foster mums - I've even heard of these mares making milk when they haven't even been pregnant themselves. In fact there is now a course of hormone injections you can give such a mare to help start lactation in a non-pregnant mare. Visit www.thehorse.com and search on orphan foals and induced lactation for more info on this.

Having a crush set up in the stable or yard is the safest way for all concerned to start the bonding through drinking process. Feed the mare in the crush a few times first so she is not stressed about going in or being contained there. Use a rope looped around the rail behind her that can be released quickly if she isn't used to being confined like this and gradually get her to accept it rather than forcing her to stay in and possibly hurt herself in a struggle.

Don't tie her solid, just wrap the rope around a rail in case she gets claustrophobic or caught up in the panel. A feed is always a good distraction and gives her reason to stand in there quietly.

Have someone at her head to block her vision of the foal initially and start by washing her teats and hand milking her - make sure she is ok with touching around the flank and teat area first of course! Then bring the foal in and guide it up to the rails - some padding above where it's head will be is helpful as you don't want to put the foal off from going to drink.

Avoid pushing it's head down - this will cause a reaction against the pressure - get it sucking your fingers which should have milk on them from milking the mare to get the flow going, and guide it's head towards the udder.
It shouldn't take long for the foal to figure out how to get to the udder after a few goes - we had to hold this colt back in the beginning as his running towards the mare for his drink would upset her!
Once the mare accepts the foal drinking while her vision is restricted, start to give her view of the foal while it is drinking, and then as you approach with the foal.
When she readily accepts the foal through the panel, you can start opening up the panel and allowing the foal to feed with her tied up. If she's kicking at the foal, this may not be possible, so be patient and possibly consider teaching her to hobble by the back legs if you are an experienced handler or if not, get someone who is able to help with this.

You could also strap up a front leg with a stirrup leather so she's standing on one leg, on the same side the foal is feeding.
Be sure to encourage her with kind words and rewards such as food when she does the right thing, and try to make progress with each feeding session (there's an example of this in the reader's story below).
W hen it comes time to leaving the mare and foal together, you may want to muzzle the mare if she's a biter, to ensure the foal is not hurt. This can be done for short periods and should always be under supervision.

We used 'clicker training' to teach this very aggressive mare to accept her foal by teaching her to 'target' the foal (touch it with her nose) to get a treat. The photo shows us at the stage where she was ready to be turned loose with the foal so the home-made muzzle is on - a plastic flowerpot with a hole in the bottom to allow eating of treats! She has just been 'clicked' for accepting him drinking without turning to bite and later we work on rewarding her only when she has her ears forward (positive attitude).
We also used the clicker training method to teach the foster mare to accept this foal which she did within four days. From experiences related to me, it takes up to a week or so to get a foster mare to fully accept a foal that isn't it's own, so don't expect it to happen overnight!

When the mare is reliably accepting the foal and shows no signs of biting or kicking, then its safe to keep them together without supervision. We provided a safety escape for the foal just in case by putting a rope across into his section of the stable so he could run under it to safety if she got mean with him.

Just because the mare tolerates the foal being near her, don't assume she will feed the foal when you are not there. The mare pictured would only feed her foal when we were visible - we gradually got to the point where we could stand at the gate and tell her to feed him by working on a longer rope then at liberty, all the time using the clicker to reward her.

In the meantime, the foal who was still being bucket fed every 2 hours to supplement his mother's meagre milk supply, had learned to drink his formula from a dog water dispenser so he could access his milk whenever he wanted it. This was a great benefit to us and freed us up from virtually living in his paddock!
When a foster mare became available he was three weeks old and bonded with his mum, so we had to gradually wean him off her. We put the foster mare in the stable beside the foal where she could see him and his real mum was outside in a yard where he could see her.
Fortunately, we realised the presence of his real mum was distracting the foster mare from wanting to accept the colt so we took her way (with not even a backwards glance from her!) and from that moment on, the foster mare focused on the foal and accepted him easily.
So, using nature's instincts in a horse to seek and bond with it's own kind was a real benefit here and had a happy ending with the mare accepting the colt as her own.

Finding a foster mare is not always easy so if you have a mare that loses her foal, please consider offering your mare to foster an orphan foal. Call all the local vets and larger studs to let them know you have a mare available. Get online and spread the word through discussion groups and your email contacts. Until a foal is found, keep miking your mare out to stimulate production, and save the colostrum by freezing it in 200ml quantities.

Both mare and foal owner must be prepared to be flexible about where the foal or mare goes - it will depend on who is more experienced and keen to put in the time initially, or has the right facilities. Whatever the case, it is a short term arrangement that can be formalised in the case of a valuable mare (or foal) with an official lease and insurance if necessary.

Having a mare who has rejected her foal or fostering an orphan onto another mare is a time consuming but very rewarding process, and is far cheaper in the long term than raising a foal on formula. There is a lot of information available online so you're not alone if this happens to you. Treat each case individually and try different approaches if something doesn't seem to be working and you will eventually find success in raising a healthy young foal.
If you have an orphan foal experience you would like to share please email Cynthia (link below).

A READER'S EXPERIENCE with Rejection by Lindi.

My mare Zena rejected her foal, Jazira, two years ago and was extremely violent towards her. She was a maiden mare and foaled very quickly and wandered off before the foal could get up. Needless to say she had foaled unexpectedly in the middle of the day whilst I made a quick visit to the shop!

I got them into the stable but it was too dangerous for Jaz to be in with Zena, though she didn't mind me milking her. The vet came and sedated Zena but to no avail. She was just not having a bar of Jaz. Worse still, we couldn't get Jaz to drink even from a bottle and the vet was pretty pessimistic.

A friend and I spent the the first night out with the foal which was separated from mum by a makeshift gate at the stable door so they could sniff each other. I just had to get the foal suckling and Zena to accept her. I used a twitch to start with which pained me more than her I'm sure, and we started on a 'pressure/release' plan. With the twitch cranked up and a friend assisting the foal to find the teats, we managed to ensure she got the colostrum. Every time Zena relaxed, even the tiniest bit, I released the twitch slightly and made a fuss of her and every time she tensed or snarled at the foal I quietly tightened it again.
By the next morning and lots of sessions with the twitch (trying to ensure the foal fed regularly) I could slacken it off quite a lot quite quickly. As Zena started to get the idea I started to replace the twitch with my hand through the loop but holding her nose with my hand and slackening off the pressure at the slightest opportunity until I was just stroking her face.

By day two Zena would allow the foal to drink when I just put a little pressure on her nose with my hand. I would ensure the foal fed every hour or so. I could then let the halter off without Zena scowling at the foal in the stable and I was soon able to leave them in together. By day three they were out in a small paddock together and Zena and I were reaching an agreement: I would just put my hand on her nose and she would relax and let the foal feed. Gradually the foal risked approaching by herself and did her own advance/retreat system until Zena just seemed to give in! (Jaz was and is quite assertive and definite about things.) Within a couple of weeks the two of them were in with the other horses with Zena playing the part of protective mum. A great relief.

Whilst it did end well, I learned a couple of salutory lessons: don't get cocky or take anything for granted when things seem to be going well and don't put too much pressure on. I had the idea that it would be best to try to replicate the foal's natural feeding patterns by allowing her access to Zena at very regular intervals. In fact at one stage Zena found that too much too often and I wasn't sensitive enough or quick enough to recognise her feelings about the matter.

Because she was responding so consistently, after a while I let my concentration slip and when I put my hand on her nose she bit me! It hurt and I deserved it. It was tricky deciding how often it would be best for the foal to suckle both from the natural feeding and bonding point of view but because things were going well I really didn't need to be so persistent (I can see that now. Hindsight is a wonderful thing). Anyway Zena and I ended up mates again - and Jaz too - and I was lucky as things turned out, not to end up with an orphan foal to manage as I know how tough that can be.

RAISING RORY by Jenny Eddington

Almost a month ago as I write this a brave aged Connemara mare died when her foal was born. As she had no colostrum to be given to the colt foal we were very grateful to a though bred stud that was able to supply enough frozen for the first 24 hours.
The extremely strong foal drank well from the beginning his breeder passed him onto Aimee to attempt to raise not an easy task for one so young, with motherly warning not to get attached in these early days when it was really a one day at time thing Aimee forged ahead with the confidence of youth.
Mother having been raised on a stud farm had raised several foals in the past and also had had those inevitable heart breaks of loss. I had never raised a foal totally from birth without access to mares milk in the first
days.
Towards the end of the first day we began mixing Divetalac mixed at suggested strength with the remaining frozen colostrum . At this stage he was drinking about 4 litres per day and he weighed about 30 kilos.From day 2 he drank pure divetalac and was using a 750 gm tin every day and half. We were feeding him about every 2/3 hours but by the end of the first week he spaced himself to 3 plus hours between feeds. We mixed a spoonful of natural yoghurt with each feed and then as we had ready access to cows milk the change began to that. ( It would cost I estimate in excess of $800 to use Divetalac only until weaning even buying the bulk size).
As mares milk is higher in sugar we added glucose to his feeds and gradually changed the ratio of Divetalac to cows milk. We also added an egg once per day.
By 2 weeks he was drinking about 6 litre per day of cows milk and mouthing hay and grass and some rice based pellets soaked. I don't think he was actually eating it but exploring.
As he approached a month old he is very happy the only slight concern was at about a week he was a little constipated and we gave him a mild enema which solved the problem quickly.
He now is spending increasing times on the grass and is eating a little but still mouthing mostly his teeth are through and we did have a concern when he began rubbing them on wood in the barn. He has some toys and they seemed to distract him and now the teeth are through he doesn't do the wood chewing.
He has an old mare for a friend but she isn't trustworthy enough to be in with him but can sniff and chat through the panels.
He is much more interested in Aimee who is his mother, when she takes him for his daily gallops he ventures of increasing distances just like foals do with their Mum's, when she see something new or scary he runs back to her and hides his head under her arm. We will be bonding him to a pony soon as he needs a four legged leader to teach him about being a horse. He should eventually grow 14 hands plus so he isn't a small pony.
Rory will be given a registered name in due course by his breeder but we have called him Rory on the advise of my Irish Sister Law as it means waif or orphan in Gaelic.
He is a very special little boy and Aimee is very proud of him.

Rory the orphan connemara colt meets new friend, Maggie the miniature pony. Both are lucky to have Aimee to care for them.

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