Recent News for Foal Care and Problems
Article
Premature Foals and Possible Problems
December 01, 1998
It's nearing the best time of the year again--foaling season. Although most foals are born in the spring of the year, between February and June, sometimes we see foals in late December or early January. Often these tiny newborns delivered to our... Read More
Article
Foal Pneumonia
October 01, 1998
Your three-month-old foal has made it through the birthing process and the vulnerable neonatal period and now seems to be carefree--your little one just has to grow up to fulfill his destiny as a performance... Read More
Article
Weaning Strategies
August 01, 1998
No one looks forward to weaning time. There's nothing quite as heart-rending as the sound of a panicky foal, galloping up and down the fence line calling desperately for the mother who's been taken away--unless it's the sound of his dam calling... Read More
Article
Umbilical Hernia
May 01, 1998
I have been told that my horse has an umbilical hernia. What exactly is an umbilical hernia and what can be done to correct it? A hernia is defined as a "protrusion of an organ or tissue through an abnormal opening." The... Read More
Article
A Deadly Cough
March 01, 1998
When foals get sick, horse owners can sometimes face many sleepless nights, as well as weeks or months of intensive management, to get these babies through the rough spots. One of the most common problems in the ill foal is pneumonia, caused by ... Read More
Article
Kentucky Thoroughbred Farm Manager's Club: Keeping Mares and Foals Healthy
February 17, 1998
The middle of foaling season was an appropriate time for farm managers in Central Kentucky to brush up on some of the finer points of keeping foals and mares healthy. Veterinarian Karen Wolfsdorf of Hagyard, Davidson, & McGee,... Read More
Article
Predicting Foaling
February 01, 1998
Eleven months is a considerable length of time to anticipate the birth of a foal. A great deal of hope, excitement, dreams, and financial investment can accompany the arrival of a newborn. Because of the long wait, most owners want to monitor th... Read More
Article
Tyzzer's Disease
January 09, 1998
Tyzzer's disease affects many species of animals. It was originally described as an illness of mice, but has also been reported to cause disease in dogs, cats, rats, gerbils, rabbits, guinea pigs, monkeys, muskrats, hamsters, and foals. Tyzzer's... Read More
Article
Newborn Knowledge
January 01, 1998
Final preparations will need to be made so that the newborn foal gets the best chance at life.... Read More
Article
Foal Imprinting
January 01, 1998
A mare goes into labor. Powerful and swift contractions expel a foal that, for a short time, lies helpless in the straw or on the grass. A handler quietly approaches the wet creature that is drawing its first breaths. This... Read More
Article
Cleft Palate in Horses
January 01, 1998
My filly, which is only a few days old, dribbles milk from her nose when she nurses her dam. The veterinarian who delivered her has been back out to check this, and he tells me that she has a cleft palate. Does this mean the same as it does... Read More
Article
Baby Boosters
January 01, 1998
Foals, just as infants, are vulnerable to disease and infection because their young bodies are naive to the world of germs and bacteria. The inclination, particularly for horse owners who choose to vaccinate their own horses, is to... Read More
Article
The Orphan Foal
December 01, 1997
The birth of a long-awaited foal is an occasion to celebrate. All of the planning, breeding dates, pregnancy c... Read More
Article
Bone Cysts
November 01, 1997
The first thing to address in this story is that most "bone cysts" are not typically "cysts," by strict definition. The medical dictionary definition of a "cyst" is, "a structure lined with epithelium (a special cell type) and... Read More
Article
Monitoring Fetal Well-Being
October 01, 1997
Fetal monitoring in horses is similar to the methods used for humans -- ultrasound, EKG machines, and blood tests on unborns all are part of monitoring the health of the fetus. Advances in these areas for equines have allowed for... Read More
Article
Transporting Foals
April 04, 1997
The necessity of foals being shipped can arise for a variety of different reasons, including traveling with the mare to a breeding farm, moving to a new farm after purchase, or traveling to a hospital due to illness or injury of the foal or mare.... Read More
Article
Focus: Physitis
April 01, 1997
Developmental orthopedic disease (DOD) remains one of the top concerns of breeders worldwide. Not one condition, but rather a series of related syndromes, DOD encompasses anything that contributes to poor skeletal development in foals: angular... Read More
Article
Endophyte-Infested Fescue: Hidden Dangers
March 01, 1997
Horse breeders noticed that they were having foaling problems with some mares which were grazing fescue grass or being fed fescue hay. Cattle producers reported that steers on fescue pastures or being fed fescue hay appeared to be unthrifty and that ... Read More
Article
Flexural Deformities
March 01, 1997
It is a sad sight when it happens. The newly born foal struggles to its feet and stands there wobbling on forelimbs and/or hindlimbs that can't seem to bear the weight. There might be a knuckling over at the pastern with the foal literally... Read More
Article
DOD: Developmental Orthopedic Disorders
September 01, 1996
Ask six veterinarians what causes developmental orthopedic disorders in foals and you might get six different answers. According to Tina Kemper, DVM, there could very well be six causes, and possibly more. Kemper specializes in equine internal... Read More
Article
Respiratory Disease In Foals
April 01, 1996
What is the first thing I look for to tell if my foal has a respiratory problem, and what are the best things to do to prevent pneumonia and other problems from happening in the first place? The most important signs of... Read More
Article
Biologic Solutions
March 01, 1996
(Author's note: Sera, Inc., who markets oral and IV equine IgG products approved by the USDA, sponsored a roundtable discussion on Biological Solutions for Biological Problems in Lexington, Ky. Participating in the roundtable were: Michelle... Read More
Article
Jaundice
January 01, 1996
Each year a small percentage of foals are born to mares whose immune systems, in an odd twist of nature, are prepared to battle their own foals. Antibodies from the mare, delivered to the foal in the colostrum it drinks soon after birth, attack... Read More
Article
Dummy Foals
January 01, 1996
Q: My mare suffered a dystocia and the foal had to be taken to a local veterinary hospital for care. The veterinarian termed him a "dummy" foal, but said his chances of being a normal adult were very good. What can you tell me about a "dummy" foal?... Read More
Article
Breaks At Birth
January 01, 1996
In humans you tape them. In dogs you can fix them with a cage that fits outside the chest. But in foals, cracked or fractured ribs can be hard to find, present no easy solutions, and can be life-threatening. Each winter and spring as foals... Read More
