Help !!!!!

[minihorselover27]

I have a call in to my vet. I need to know what type of milk I can give a foal other than foal lac. Can you give them Simalc for babies?? Baby was born Thursday afternoon and mom was letting him nurse. I noticed last night he woould try to nurse and she would walk away, I checked her bag and it was ful and tight got him to nurse a little then she would move, this morning her bag was not full and tight like he had nursed during the night. This evening her bag is full and tight and she will not stand, I tried milking her out, I could only get a very little milk. The foal will drink it from a bowl. We are getting ready for Dennis and all the feed stores are closed. Is there anything I can give him other than Mom's milm or foal lac??? Please give me any advice. I have waited on this baby for 3 years.

 

[backwoodsnanny]

Of course moms milk is the best but I think someone mentioned goats milk but Im not sure but will bump this up and hope someone can help you.

 

[Marnie]

No ones answered you yet so I'll try. I think it has to be foal milk replacer, goats milk or mares milk. Some people have a recipe they say can be used with cows milk but I don't know what they ad to it and wouldn't feel right telling you because I don't know for sure if that stuff is ok but the first 3 things listed here is ok. I don't think you can use human baby formula.

 

[Marnie]

Is this a first time mare? Is there anyone that you can get to help you to get the mare to stand, hold a foot up, do whatever you have to so the baby can nurse, that'd be best, try to get her to except it unless she really is drying up. Do you think the foal could be nursing enough and you don't know it? I'm just guessing here, I don't know for sure what to tell you except to suggest to try to keep the baby on the mare if possible.

 

[minihorselover27]

Thanks for the info. This is not a first time mare. I may be in panic mode because i have already lost a foal this year. I was able to get 2 oz of milk from mom, the little guy drank some from a pan then he went to mom and nursed a little. He seems to be very alert when he is up. It seems to me he is laying around more than I think he should be. I have took his temp and it is normal, his gums are nice and pink seems that he has a good refill on his gums. His eyes look bright, the whites of his eyes are not yellow. I will be keeping a close eye on him. It has been very hot here in the upper 90's and humid. Would that keep them from nursing as much?? I did notice him last night at his moms water bucket and it looked as if he was trying to drink water, could he be filling up on water?? Thanks in advance for any info.

 

[Margaret]

If she wont let him nurse, can you hold her so he can nurse? If not I would keep milking the moma and getting as much out of her, to give to him as possible, until she settles into her role. I had a mare that was tender cause she was full, and tight, as the baby wasent nursing enough because it was so hot, and he wasent feeling well. when he did stand up to nurse she nipped at his hindquarters, because she was so tender, from being so full. So either hold her, so he can nurse her down, or I would hand express the nipples, and give to baby. they will drink water to keep from dehydrating, but in some cases that is a good thing. My foal almost died because a wormer had a bad effect when I wormed the mare... Come to find out, it got in her milk and the baby instintivly would not want to nurse as he did not like it, and chose to drink water insted durring that time. In this case the water was his preferred choice.

 

[minihorselover27]

Morning Update.. He nursed several times last night, I have let them out of the stall this morning and he was running and bucking then he would go nurse. Mom was full and tight this morning on one side but not as full and tight on the other side. We are getting everything in order for Dennis. I will be keeping a close eye on them and milk mom if I need to. His has good refill on his gums and his eyes are still bright and white. Maybe I am just in panic mode. Thanks for all the advice. I still have not heard from my vet, that is not like him at all.

 

[Minimor]

You can use goats milk, with a bit of karo syrup added. Foals seem to like it much better than the prepared formulas. There is also a few recipes for cows milk--the one I like best is:

1 can evaporated cows milk

1 can water

4 tablespoons lime water

1 tablespoon sugar or karo syrup

The lime water should be available bottled at larger drugstores.

But, with Dennis coming you're in a hurry to come up with something, I'd make one stop at the grocery store & go with the goats milk & syrup!

I too would keep watching/trying to see if the foal will nurse off his mom. We have mares that at certain times (like when they are eating grain) don't want to let the foals nurse--earlier we had 2 mares that we were watching really close as we noticed at times they'd get quite crabby at their foals. However, it turned out to be only at certain times; for the most part they were letting the foals nurse and our two fillies did fine without any help from us.

 

[wcr]

My suggestions would be to go out every couple hours and hold the mare to let him nurse. Mother's milk would be the best for him. Last year I got one of my mares who had a baby to accept an orphan foal by putting a halter on her and holding her to let the baby nurse. The next day I gave her grain and she would stand while eating her grain. That became our routine as I would go out about 6 times daily and grain her so the baby got a good nursing. You might try that.

 

[wcr]

Also forgot a handy hint. Take a larger size syringe and cut off the part the needle attaches and turn the plunger so it goes into the needle end. Using the smooth end of the syringe against the udder, pull back on the plunger and you have a handy pump for expressing milk.

 

[Lauralee]

I agree that mother's milk is best.

Even if you have to twitch the mare every 2 hours to let him nurse, do it.

It sounds like you got them straightened out, though. Congrats on your new arrival.