The Horse

MAR 2018

The Horse:Your Guide To Equine Health Care provides monthly equine health care information to horse owners, breeders, veterinarians, barn/farm managers, trainer/riding instructors, and others involved in the hands-on care of the horse.

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In the past she'd leased nurse mares, but this year Walden wanted to spend less. The $3,500 mare rental plus $1,000 in shipping each way from Pennsylvania to her Total Quarter Horses, in Farmersville, Texas, yielded a disappointing cost-benefit analysis. So, because the foal had nursed for at least eight hours before the mare died, negating the need to find a colostrum (the mare's antibody- and nutrient-rich first milk) source, Walden called up some experienced colleagues and a reproduction specialist to discuss her options. She then formulated a plan and worked with her veterinarian to ensure a good outcome for the foal. That filly is now 8 months old and, although slightly less socialized due to being raised outside the group, on par with her peers and doesn't exhibit negative "orphan foal behaviors." Read on to find out what worked for Walden, along with two veterinarians' recom- mendations for managing orphans. Feeding & Health Issues Your first concern with an orphan foal is getting colostrum into him. And not just at any point in time, but within the first few hours after foaling. "Foals are born naive, meaning they have none of their own antibodies," says Pam Karner, VMD, of Starland Veteri- nary Services, in Trumansburg, New York. "So they've got to get colostrum within the first 24 hours and preferably within the first 12, because immuno- globulins (IgG, aka antibodies) in the colostrum are very large molecules, and after 24 hours the foal's gut can no longer absorb them." In fact, a foal absorbs 85% of the co- lostral antibodies in six to eight hours. Walden says she uses an older-type manual human breast pump to collect colostrum from her heavier-milking mares to freeze for future needs. And if the dam has died within the past few minutes, she milks out the colostrum from the mare's udder. Virginia Buechner-Maxwell, DVM, MS, Dipl. ACVIM, director of the Cen- ter for Animal Human Relationships at Virginia Tech, in Blacksburg, who has both raised orphan foals and worked with other owners of orphans, says this technique only works if the mare has just died (so the milk is not tainted). "For foals that do not suckle well or are reluctant to eat, it's best not to try to force them to eat, as the milk can easily end up in the trachea and cause pneumonia," she says. "Instead, refrig- erate the colostrum and immediately call your veterinarian to come look at the foal and provide the colostrum by passing a nasogastric tube and deliver- ing it directly into the stomach." In the absence of mare colostrum, some horse owners have had success with colostrum from other species— particularly goats or cattle. From a veterinarian's viewpoint, cow and goat colostrum might work in a pinch, but mare colostrum is ideal. Many large breeding farms bank and freeze mare colostrum in case they need it and could be a source for individual owners. The best colostrum, regardless of species, contains a large amount of immunoglobulins that will protect the foal against common infections as well as local pathogens. Obtaining colostrum from local mares that are well-vaccinated against diseases such as influenza, herpesvirus, strangles, Po- tomac horse fever, rabies, and tetanus provides the best protection against bugs foals are likely to encounter, says Buechner-Maxwell. "You want your foal to be protected from the pathogens around them, so you want them to get colostrum from animals in the same environment," Karner says. "Once those antibodies are used up, the foal is making its own antibodies." When evaluating an orphan, Buechner-Maxwell right away uses a quick, simple, stall-side blood test to measure IgG transfer (the amount of antibodies received from the colostrum) and, so, check its immunity levels. "If it's inadequate, I'll provide ad- ditional protection immediately," she says. The substitute might be a commer- cial colostrum replacement or plasma product. Commercial colostrum re- placement products come in powder or DIANE RICE W hen breeding farm owner Nicole Walden lost one of her broodmares to a slow, imperceptible hemorrhage about 10 hours after foaling, she found herself strug- gling with the best way to handle the orphan filly. How to handle your orphan's diet challenges and behavior issues Caring for ORPHAN FOALS 32 TheHorse.com THE HORSE March 2018 SHAWN HAMILTON/CLIX PHOTO

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