Colostrum Supplements

[vickie gee]

I was just wondering if anyone has ever used either Manno Pro colostrum supplement or Foal Response by Vita Flex. I was about to turn in a supply order for wormers etc and was considering colostrum purchase "just in case" my soon to foal mare has a problem. I plan on collecting and freezing some from her after reading about the interest in colostrom banking. I just want to make sure I am covered this time. This will be my first farm bred foal and I am worried enough about the delivery. Was wondering if anyone has ever used either of these products and if it would be the next best thing in an emergency.

 

[NC Roses]

I was just wondering if anyone has ever used either Manno Pro colostrum supplement or Foal Response by Vita Flex. I was about to turn in a supply order for wormers etc and was considering colostrum purchase "just in case" my soon to foal mare has a problem. I plan on collecting and freezing some from her after reading about the interest in colostrom banking. I just want to make sure I am covered this time. This will be my first farm bred foal and I am worried enough about the delivery. Was wondering if anyone has ever used either of these products and if it would be the next best thing in an emergency.

Yes! We use foal response. It is a very easy way to give any foal colostrum. It is always in our foaling kit. This is what is does......

(Vita-Flex) Immediate Care Nutrition for newborn foals. Provides premium KPx™ colostrum, in a paste form and other essential nutrients necessary for newborns. Studies have shown that colostrum has the ability to transfer its cell-mediated immune response properties to the recipient. This means that your neonatal foal will benefit from the immunoglobulins and many other nutrients found in Foal Response™. KPx™ colostrum is American made and harvested within the first 12 hours post-parturition for peak bioactivity. Ideal for foal care when birth is premature or delayed, access to mare's colostrum is limited, or when foals need extra support. Also excellent for older foals and weanlings. Ideal when used in conjunction with Rejuvenex™ liquid colostrum. Feed entire tube immediately following birth and as needed or directed by your veterinarian.

 

[chandab]

I was wondering the same thing; except I know the Manna Pro colostrum supplement is NOT a colostrum substitute, it is a supplement and just provides nutrients, not antibodies. [Found out about it through our vet for the calves, for which they recommend a really good calf colostrum product that does provide the antibodies, not the Manna Pro brand.] So, now I"m looking for a colostrum product to have on hand for the foals; and the Foal Response sounds pretty good.

 

[Kim~Crayonboxminiatures]

All of the items mentioned here will not provide any immunity (that I am aware of), used to be you could buy a product that was freeze dried hyper immunized mare colostrum, but it't not on the market anymore. You have to use Seramune orally that is the next best thing to frozen banked mare's milk colostrum. I think you have to get Seramune from a vet, I have never had to use it. I would also check with your equine vet, I know mine has a bank of colostrum, they tease that the Thouroughbred mares produce milk like a cow.

You could also use goat milk colostrum as a supplement, but again they will not get any immunity from it.

 

[Reble]

I just bought McIntosh Pro line: called Jump start (colostrum paste supplement)

On tube reads:

Premium quality dried bovine colostrum with essential nutrients normally provide in a healthy mare's colostrum with essential nutrients normally provided in a healthy mare's colostrum. Ideal for the extra boost a foal needs at birth when mare's colostrum is limited or the birth is stressful.

Beneficial for all foals at birth prior to nursing.

 

[chandab]

All of the items mentioned here will not provide any immunity (that I am aware of), used to be you could buy a product that was freeze dried hyper immunized mare colostrum, but it't not on the market anymore. You have to use Seramune orally that is the next best thing to frozen banked mare's milk colostrum. I think you have to get Seramune from a vet, I have never had to use it. I would also check with your equine vet, I know mine has a bank of colostrum, they tease that the Thouroughbred mares produce milk like a cow.

You could also use goat milk colostrum as a supplement, but again they will not get any immunity from it.

I had saved some colostrum last spring from my only foaling, but forgot about it when the power went out for 4.5 days, so it thawed and was wrecked. I highly doubt any vet around here has any banked mare's colostrum, just not enough horse farms for that. Doesn't look like Seramune requires Rx, and its in the Heartland vet supply catalog.

Edited to add: looks like Heartland has both an OTC seramune product and an Rx product, I don't know what the difference is.

 

[Jill]

If a foal doesn't get enough colostrum w/in 12 hours after birth, the ONLY supplement is really a plasma transfusion. There is no oral colostrum supplement that works for successful IgG transfer (not even Seramune in our own personal experience -- you can order it online from a number of suppliers but I do NOT recommend it). After 12 hours following birth, the cells in a foals digestive tract start to close and no longer can it absorb the immunity it needs orally. At that point, it has to be done by a plasma transfusion. If there is a failure of the foal to get enough colostrum, you really don't know unless you have the vet do an IgG test (not expensive). If the foal has simply gotten enough calories / energy from the milk but there is no colostrum (this can and does happen), the foal will not act sick. You'll have an apparently healthy, energetic foal. You won't know it didn't get enough colostrum until the foal gets sick sometimes weeks later (joint ill, etc.).

Not at all trying to scare you. I know how scary it is waiting on foals at first and currently (I get nervous every spring). Just what I have learned first hand and from reading others' experiences here -- too many people think if the foal acts energetic, it got enough colostrum and you simply cannot tell w/o the test.

Good luck! Usually, everything goes perfectly fine and the vet's IgG test is just for peace of mind. It is not typical that a foal will need a plasma transfusion but if it does -- it REALLY does (and you just won't know until it becomes sick). All the colostrum supplements or boosters, honestly, are just energy enhancers and syrup will work just as well. I worry because I know when you read the promises of those products, including the comparably more expense Seramune, you feel like they are a great safety net for you when they just are not. It's the illusion that those things will fix anything that is dangerous imo... Owners put faith there and are mislead.

PS the reason I know Seramune does not hold up to its promise is that we used it in a filly that we had to have tubed. I put milk from her mom and more than the recommended Seramune DIRECTLY into her stomach and she did not get sufficient IgG from it as advertised and in fact needed plasma transfusions 2x (24 hours apart). It is about $400 total for the plasma if I remember right -- like $290 for a bag and you can use it 2x w/in 24 hours. If the foal only needs to be "hooked up" (IV) to it 1x, about $400 covers it with my vet.

 

[Jill]

Back again... I wanted to mention one other thing regarding Seramune, which is a blood product. This past year, we had three foals get plasma transfusions 2x each, not because of failure of passive transfer but because we had some sick foals from another farm previously and this is a step we've taken to insure that our foals stay healthy. In two of the three foals when it came time for their 2nd plasma transfusion, they had reactions. They vet had to give separate IV injections to stop the reaction. It was VERY scary. Harvey was here for one of them and I was here for the other. I had to hold our filly up on her chest while she was convulsing and the vet ran to get whatever it is he gave her to stop this reaction.

I point this out because this same type of anaphylactic reaction can be caused by Seramune (per the package instructions / warnings). It just makes me kind of mentally gasp thinking of an owner administering this orally and watching this reaction w/o a way to make it stop. It's just very scary to watch and I would think would result in death w/o the medicines to make it stop. The vet did two injections into the IV line. I think one was probably epinephrine and the other may have been some sort of a steroid. But for years now, you cannot buy epinephrine w/o a prescription.

Sort of rambling but I just know how I felt when I ordered our Seramune the first year foaling out horses. I felt it was really good and a safety net -- to give this to all the foals and that it would insure they got enough immunity. Maybe even superior immunity than if they had only mares milk. Reading the material from the company, that's what you're supposed to think. However, like I said, we know it didn't work in a filly who got it directly into her belly the first 12 hours of life, and I know this kind of product can cause the scary (I'm sure potentially fatal) anaphylactic reactions we had during plasma transfers with the vet on site last year. How awful knowing it could happen to someone thinking like I did -- "here's a great way to make sure our foal has all he/she needs and then some!"

 

[Becky]

The bovine based colostrum supplements are just that - a supplement. They will NOT replace equine colostrum for needed immunity in a foal. I have used them in the past and I do think they will give a foal a boost, it just will not replace mare's colostrum.

I have Seramune here. We have used it in a foal who's dam had a very small udder and I wasn't sure if the foal had gotten enough maternal colostrum. My vet tubed the Seramune. The foal did pass it's IgG test a day later. In all probability, it recieived enough antibodies from it's dam.

Jill, I know there have been improvements made to Seramune. I was recently reading a study that showed all test foals receiving an earlier version of Seramune failed passive transfer. The company improved it and it is supposed to provide adequate antibodies, but I likely wouldn't trust it's use alone.

Yes, foals can react to Seramune or plasma transfusions. I do know the transfusions have to be done slowly and the foals heart rate and breathing monitored. Very scary indeed when these things don't go right!

 

[vickie gee]

Thank you everyone. Now I wonder...is IgG test routine? I just hope and pray the colostrum is there.

 

[Miniv]

Is the IgG test routine? No, but not out of the ordinary. If you have ANY question about how much colostrum your foal got from its dam within the first 12 hours (preferably within the first 6), I would have your vet do the test. OR, you can purchase the IgG Test and do it yourself.

The Seramune shouldn't be used as a colostrum replacement, IMO. But it can be available as a "stop gap" until a test is done and the plasma transfer is given. We have used the OLDER version Seramune when we were feeling unsure about how much natural colostrum our baby had received....... The foal was behaving normally, but we had him tested and he was fine.

 

[Marnie]

My vet sells me a liquid form bottle of Equine IgG to replace colostrum if needed. I've never needed it completely but have supplemented my new born foals at times to make sure they did get enough colstrum. He says the bottle is for a full sized foal so this bottle should be good for 4 mini foals. So Equine IgG must be to totally replace the colostrum if needed, I always have some in my fridge. Hope this might help you if you need it, a bottle is about $80.

 

[Kim~Crayonboxminiatures]

For me yes, getting the IgG test done is routine for every foal. I just like "knowing" the foal I worked so hard to get on the ground received the immunity. You have no other way of knowing, the foal will show no signs until it crashes and at that point it can be too late to save it.

I always have the vet out approx 12-24 hrs after foaling to check mare & foal, do the IgG test on the foal, and check the placenta. My vet practice is great to work with, and I know I am very fortunate to have them available 24/7!!