Foal Questions

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MajorClementine

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So now that Perry is here and we're over the surprise of it all, I have a few questions.

When do we vaccinate him?

When do we start trimming his hooves?

When do we start worming him?

We are planning on having him gelded in October once the flies are gone. He'll be 6 months old.

Never had a foal around here and never intended to so we're on uncharted ground around here. FIL has had dozens and dozens over the years but not minis and I'm finding that some rules apply to all equines and some rules differ from big guys to small guys. Just want to keep the little guy healthy and in good shape. Thanks in advance for the advice. This community is the best.

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Trim hooves as needed, some need it quicker than others.

Deworm monthly, starting at one month old.  Alternate between fenbendazole and pyrantel pamoate, giving the foal dosage which is a double dose by weight (if they are 100#, you give them a 200# dose - some tubes are marked with adult dosage and foal dosage on the tube, some aren't).

I'd discuss vaccinations with your vet, as different regions have differing needs.
 
Thank you! I've noticed his little hooves are starting to chip around the edges. Should I just let them self trim for a bit like that and have them trimmed if they start looking long?

I vaccinate my current herd myself and I've talked with the vet as to what our area needs. I'm just not sure when to vaccinate the little guy. There is some differing opinion on when to vaccinate big horse foals around my area so I'm totally lost when it comes to mini foals. 

Is WNV safe for mini foals? They usually give a 5 way around here but should I break that up into a 3-way and a 2-way with WNV as a third vaccine? We usually use the Prestige V+WNV on the herd. We've used it for 5 years with no reactions.
 
On a foal, I'd definitely break up the vaccine into two smaller components, and space the shots a couple weeks apart.

If you have the farrier coming out, I'd have the hooves looked at, it's better to catch something early and address than to let it go on too long.
 
Generally you do not want to vaccinate before 4 months.  Assuming the mare was vaccinated, she will give immunity to the foal for at least 4 months.  Here  we never vaccinated before weaning --since by then it is fall, going into winter, we do not vaccinate until the next spring when the foal is a year old.  If you are gelding your colt at the age of 6 months, he will need a tetanus shot at that time.
 

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