The Center for Animal Reproduction and its specialist team guarantee intensive care for your foal around the clock, day or night.

Without having to separate the foal from its dam, we can provide your foal with infusions, medications, and oxygen, and feed it via a nasogastric tube. If the result of the rapid antibody test in the stable is inconclusive, this is re-checked with a more accurate measuring device. Not every foal with low antibody levels needs to be admitted to a clinic. After consultation, your attending veterinarian is welcome to obtain hyperimmune plasma from us and administer it to the foal in its home stable.

Owners are welcome to bring their mares to us for monitoring of foaling. Mares should be admitted to the Center for Animal Reproduction approximately 14 days before the calculated date of birth. Monitored is particularly recommended in case of high-risk pregnancies and ensures rapid intervention in an emergency and optimal care for the newborn foal.

Foals are born without a fully developed immune system. The vital antibodies are absorbed from the mare's first milk (colostrum). Colostrum uptake requires that the foal is able to stand and suckle from its dam´s udder.

Schedule for the newborn foal

After birth, a foal should...

• be in sternal recumbency within 2-3 minutes after birth,
• show a normal suckling reflex within 20 minutes,
• stand within one hour,
• suckle its dam´s udder within 2 hours after birth and take up milk at regular intervals thereafter.

Development of the immune system

Foals should take up colostrum as early as possible after birth. Colostrum contains vital antibodies that have accumulated in the udder during the last weeks of pregnancy. Once ingested by the foal, the antibodies are transported directly into the blood via specialized cells in the intestine. This important mechanism of antibody uptake exists only during the first 8 hours of life and its efficiency decreases rapidly thereafter.

Initial examination of the newborn foal and assessment of antibody uptake

An initial veterinary examination of the newborn foal should be scheduled during the first day of life. Most important is a check for adequate colostrum uptake by determination of antibody concentrations in a blood sample from the foal. Analysis is made by lateral flow test and result are available directly in the stable within just a few minutes. Furthermore, the foal is checked for maturity, birth-related traumata, malformations, and signs of neonatal infection.

Treatment of inadequate antibody uptake (failure of passive transfer)

If routine testing of foals older than 12 hours reveals failure of passive transfer, antibodies can only be administered directly into the blood via transfusion. For this purpose, equine hyperimmune plasma is available commercially. Colostrum itself can only be used for foals less than 12 hours old. Thereafter that, the intestinal barrier is virtually impenetrable for the vital antibodies.

If failure of passive transfer is not treated, it I highly likely that the foal will develop bacterial infections, also known as septicemia. The first signs are more time spent in recumbency and reduced milk uptake. The condition may deteriorate rapidly with many foals developing septic shock within just a few hours. In less severe cases, foals will show diarrhea, umbilical infections. Pneumonia, neurological symptoms and or polyarthritis. The timing and severity of the infection depends on the initial antibody uptake.

Septic

In septic foals, not only the antibodies are provided by plasma transfusions, but long-term antibiotic treatment, supportive care and parenteral nutrition must be provided for several days. Even with intensive care, it is not always possible to save the foal's life.