Question
My mare rejected her foal. No amount of persuasion or persistence on our part induced any sense of maternity or kindness into this mare. I am left with an orphan foal. No nurse mares or commercial milk replacers are available in this part of South America. How can I keep the colt healthy in face of this adversity? Is there a formula for milk replacer that will work?
Answer
Foal rejection is always heartbreaking. Fortunately, there are alternatives to mare’s milk that, when fed correctly, can be used successfully to nourish a foal.* However, this will not replace the social interaction and discipline the colt would normally receive from his dam. For that you may want to find a tolerant older mare or gelding that can teach the foal the ins and outs of socializing with other horses.
Because straight cow’s milk will cause diarrhea in foals, there are some simple modifications to it that will make it usable as a milk replacer. Use 2% fat milk rather than whole milk because it is closer in fat content to that of mare’s milk. If you use whole milk, it will need to be diluted with lime water (2 parts milk, 1 part lime water), so it is much easier just to use 2% milk. The carbohydrate content in cow’s milk is lower when compared to mare’s milk, so adding dextrose will help increase the carbohydrate content of cow’s milk. It is important to use dextrose, not table sugar (sucrose), corn syrup (fructose), or honey (fructose) because they contain sugars that are not easily digested by foals. The amount of dextrose is 20 g (4 level teaspoons) per liter of cow’s milk. If you can’t find dextrose, then the pectin used in making jellies and jams will work because it is primarily glucose. Add one packet (57 g) per 3 liters of milk.
Goat’s milk, on the other hand, does not need to be altered with dextrose like cow’s milk. Even though goat’s milk contains twice as much fat as mare’s milk, most foals tolerate it and grow well. Add 30 ml of mineral oil daily to the goat’s milk if the foal develops constipation, which is common with the use of goat’s milk. If you are fortunate enough to have a live goat to provide the milk, the foal can learn to nurse directly from the goat’s udder. Usually the goat has to be on a platform for the foal to reach the teats. As the foal grows, an individual goat may not produce enough milk so there may need to be two goats available for nursing or the foal could be started on a commercial feed sooner than usual. One benefit of using a live goat is that it can provide companionship for the foal as well.
The other important aspect of feeding the orphan foal is to make sure it is getting enough milk. The average foal will drink 20-25% of its weight in milk daily during the first month of life, which can be 12-15 liters (3-4 gallons) a day for the first month and closer to 20 liters (over 5 gallons) by weaning. This will require frequent feedings because of the size limitation of the foal’s stomach. Feed the orphan foal every 4 hours for the first 2 weeks of life (6 feedings per day). After that, cutting it to 4 feedings per day will be sufficient until 2 months of age. Thereafter, 3 times a day may be sufficient. If too much is fed at one time, it may cause diarrhea and colic. If that happens, don’t feed anything for 4-8 hours, then increase the feeding frequency with smaller amounts per feeding.
Keep your veterinarian up-to-date about the foal’s well-being, and contact him if the foal seems out of sorts in even the slightest way.
*Lewis, L.D. 1995. Chapter 15 Growing horse feeding and care. In: Equine Clinical Nutrition Feeding and Care. Williams & Wilkins, Media, PA. pp. 345-346
