Keep Your Foal Healthy
August 21, 2008
Dr. Tom Lenz offers nine warning signs that your foal might be sick and in need of immediate veterinary attention.
The foal doesn’t roll up on its chest or exhibit a suckling reflex within 20 minutes of birth.- The foal fails to stand and nurse within three hours.
- The foal seems dull and depressed.
- The foal’s navel is raw, red or swollen.
- Urine drips from the foal’s navel.
- The foal’s joints are hot and swollen, or it appears lame.
- The foal’s gums are white, or the gums and the whites of the foal’s eyes are yellow.
- The foal’s body temperature is outside (too high or too low) the normal range of 99 to 101.5° F.
- The foal loses its appetite (most foals nurse 4-5 times an hour during the first week of life).
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4 Comments on “Keep Your Foal Healthy”
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August 23rd, 2008 at 4:01 am
Hi we have a problem with clostridium what do you suggest?
August 23rd, 2008 at 5:23 am
Do you mean colostrum? And what exactly is the problem?
August 28th, 2008 at 4:41 pm
We vaccinate all of our pregnant mares for Clostridium with their 10 month pregnancy vaccinations. We foal out around 150 mares a year and this vaccination helps keep the cases of foal diarrhea down. Consult with your local veterinarian for any other suggestions or possible other causes to the symptoms you’re seeing. Good luck!
February 25th, 2011 at 8:39 am
[...] of the esophagus. Place the foal’s nose under your arm and place the nipple over the tongue. A healthy foal will only nurse until it is full, so allow it to drink [...]