new born foal?

Question

my foal is three hours old and his mother wont let him near her what do i do

Answer 1

good grief! get your vet out there NOW!!!!!!
and try this, take some natural oils, like wintergreen oil, or lavender or any natural oil and if you don't have oil try using FRESH pine needle ground up in your hands, or somthing that smells really strong like that and rub it all over the foals neck and body and head, (BUT NOT NEAR IT"S EYES OR NOSE AND MOUTH) and then rub it on the mares nose and bring her close to the foal, let her sniff it if she will and pray that since the same smell is on her nose (and is all she can small right now) that is on the foal will make her acept the foal as her own! It's worked beofre but it doesn't work every time.... you can atleast try it till the vet comes.... or if you have a bottle, you can milk some colostrum out of the mare and bottle feed the foal..... i'll be praying for the foal to live!
CALL THE VET NOW!!!!

Answer 2

First, it is real important you get this foal to nurse within 18 hours max. The mother's first milk contains important colostrum. We had a mare do this as it was her first foal. My daughter and me stay home that day and would work with the mare petting her and talking. This give the foal time to come close. But, after about 3-4 hours the mother did allow the foal to nurse and everything was fine. IF, you can call your Vet, it not hurt. He may say to wait and see what happen. But, if this foal not nurse you need to do something. The colostrum has important Vitamin A. IF, the mother not allow, the Vet may need to give an injection of Vitamin A. Sometimes they have access to a "colostrum bank" or may give cow colostrum. But, you Vet will know all this. Keep an eye on things and you may try calming the mare and talking. Two people work best here. Hopefully the foal will nurse soon and things be OK.
I will add, the foal need at least two pints of the mother's milk more if possible. After 24 hours the foal will no longer absorb the colostrum.

Answer 3

You need to do 2 things: tie up that mare,( twitch her and hold one of her front legs up, if necessary) and get that colt over to her so he can get his first meal immediately !!! Call your vet AFTER you have seen to the foal- if that colt does not get his first milk within 12 hours of birth, he could very well DIE of infection. The colostrum, which is what this first milk is called, contains live antibodies which will protect the colt from disease until his immune system is developed enough to do the job ( which is usually the case by the time the foal is a week old) and will also give him some energy. I am wondering if the reason his mother is rejecting him is because her udder is so full that it is painful to the touch. If this is the case, then nursing- even if you have to force her to tolerate it- will relieve the pressure and make her feel better, and it will also help to stimulate passage of the placenta in the mare. But don't wait any longer to help your colt, unless you want him to die or develop a serious infection. The 12 hour limit on colostrum ingestion is because the chemistry of the gut changes after that time and the antibodies can't be absorbed by the colt's system as easily. If you tie the mare up and twitch her, and hold her leg up, and she still resists or tries to kick the foal, then call the vet immediately, and tell him or her what's going on. In most cases, mares who do this can be sedated if necessary to force them into allowing the baby to nurse. But please, if this is the case, then make sure that the mare and foal are never left alone together, at least not for the first several hours and few days, as the mare may attack and injure or kill the foal. Rejection of foals is a common thing on some of the bigger farms in places like Kentucky and Maryland, and it is for this reason that many farms will maintain a colostrum bank and keep nurse mares on the property. Foals whose mothers die at delivery or shortly afterwords are also helped by this. If all else fails, and you can't get your vet out to help you, then you need to get some mare's milk replacer ( Foal-lac, made by the Borden company, is the best known brand) and be prepared to bottle feed the baby. You can buy the replacer at most feed stores, and also at Wal- Mart ( look in the pets section at one of the superstores to find this) and it will provide most of the nutrients the colt needs for his first months. He will still need hay, and as he gets a little older, you can substitute the Foal-lac pellets for some of the formula. Good luck, and I hope this helps you.

Answer 4

It is important that you don't leave them alone together, or she might hurt the foal. All that the others said about colostrum and such is true, and you will want the vet out soon. I had a mare refuse a first foal, and eventually tried to kill it when we left them together to work out their differences. We tried twitching, holding up a leg, sedation, a chute to hold the mare...we ended up giving up after three days and raising the colt on a bottle. That is another question to ask later if you end up taking that route! We bred her again several years later - she accepted that colt but was a pretty apathetic mother and left most of the raising to the herd. Anyway, try some of these ideas and see if she comes around. If it is her first, the mother instincts should kick in after a few nursings. Good luck, and you might start looking for a nurse mare if things don't turn around in the next day or so.

Answer 5

Nature should have done its course. But assist the foal NOW GET MEDICAL ATTENTION FOR THE FOAL AND GET A VET ASAP.

One option is to tie up the mom and milk her into a baby bottle or you can lead the foal to the mom and guide it to the teat. I had the same problem with my foal and I tied up the mare and guide him to the teats and he was really hungry and he began to suck while I pet my mare. She was unconfortable. I think the reason is because she was so sore and her teats were full and painful to touch.

I called a vet and there was problems with the mare and needed treatmen.

Just keep a close eye on the mare incase something happens after the vet came and gone.

Best of luck with your problem and I hope things will be okay with your mare and foal.

Answer 6

Is this the mares first foal? Are you sure he has not already had some milk? you can-tell if the foal has eaten, if one of the nipples is a wee bit higher then the other and it will look shiny. sometimes you will need to hold the mare so the colt can find the teat. If you are still worried or not sure if the foal has eaten please call a vet, it is important that the foal get the first milk (colostrum) A.S.A.P.

Answer 7

You might try bottle feeding it. But, try to stay away from it as much as you can. If it has to much contact, the mother might abandoned it completely. You also need to make sure it is up and walking, or it can't nurse at all.

Answer 8

call a vet b/c that could be a serious problem coming ur way

Answer 9

listen to the breeder (the one that answered) most animal parents do this i think not just horses

Answer 10

call a vet