Need some advice

[YHFF Miniature Horses]

Our first foal of the year was born this morning and he won't nurse. He's not premature and he is sound in every way, but he just won't nurse. We've got him to nurse some, but only if we hold him in place next to his mom. We've even tried bottle feeding him, but he just doesn't want to suck. Although he will suck our fingers. we're making sure he gets a drink at least every hour, but I don't think he will last till morning. His poor mom is doing everything she can, and he's her first baby . Have I forgotten to do anything ? I've talked to all of the horse experts in my area and we're out of ideas. For now, I'm just keeping my fingers crossed that he will be okay, and making him nurse as much as possible (I've been in the barn all day). Well I'm going to go hang out in the barn with the little guy some more and do what I can. Thanks,

Courtney

 

[Marnie]

Try putting Karo syrup or molasses on her nipples. Until he does nurse, be sure you keep milking her and very carefully, as he kinda sucks on your fingers, squeeze it into him very slowly so he gets his colostrum and milk or he'll get weak. I'm sure others will have some ideas too. Good luck.

 

[Minimor]

Oh no, he's GOT to last through to tomorrow....and longer!!

What kind of a bottle did you try for him? If he will suck on your fingers then he obviously has a suck reflex, which is the main thing. Now to just get him to suck on the right thing!!

Our little filly that we had to start on a bottle last year (milked the mare & bottle fed baby) would try & suck on anything & everything except the lamb nipple we had for the bottle. She didn't want her mom at all at that point. We started out with syringing milk into her mouth--carefully of course--but preferred to have her sucking. Finally, when all else failed, my mom hunted up a kitten bottle, & offered that to the filly. She latched right onto that tiny little nipple, & said that was just perfect for a little foal to suck on. We bottle fed her through the night, then the next day she started nursing on her mom. I don't suppose you have a kitten/puppy bottle to try??

I'm sure to start with you tried standing back & letting baby find the lunchbox on his own? I find sometimes when people try too hard to help the foal nurse, the foal just backs off & won't try. Are her nipples full, or are they kind of pointing in toward each other?

 

[Beccy]

So sorry he is having a difficult time. We syringe feed babies that don't get going quickly. What about having the vet tube feed him?

Is he warm enough? If they are chilled they sometimes are not very vigorous.

Good luck.

Our little filly that we had to start on a bottle last year (milked the mare & bottle fed baby) would try & suck on anything & everything except the lamb nipple we had for the bottle. She didn't want her mom at all at that point. We started out with syringing milk into her mouth--carefully of course--but preferred to have her sucking. Finally, when all else failed, my mom hunted up a kitten bottle, & offered that to the filly. She latched right onto that tiny little nipple, & said that was just perfect for a little foal to suck on. We bottle fed her through the night, then the next day she started nursing on her mom. I don't suppose you have a kitten/puppy bottle to try??

Good suggestion Holly, that is exactly what we started our preemie girl with after syringe feeding her the colstrum. She has graduated to a bigger bottle now, but the kitten/puppy bottle worked really well at the start.

 

[Mona]

If the mare's bag is tight and hard, then you need to keep milking her so that it loosens up. If it's that hard, that could be the reason he is having a hard time latching on good. Squeeze some molk into the palm on your hand and rub it all over her entire bag. If your mare is patient and will let you, sit in the stall beside her, near her rear, with your arm between her back legs. With your hand wet with mare's milk, give the colt your finger to smell and/oe suckle. Very slowly, move your hand backwards, so that his little nose is following it back up to the udder. Spread more milk on her bag id neededed, and hopefully he's get a smell and taste and figure out where it is coming from. Also, I know it's hard, but it might also be best to site back and let him figure it out, instead of trying to force him to nurse. Just guide him in there, and watch from a distance to see if he nurses. I will often move the mares tail out of the way and look from between her back legs, or crawl on the other side of her so you can look up from under her that way. Good Luck!!

 

[Angel2]

Our first foal of the year was born this morning and he won't nurse. He's not premature and he is sound in every way, but he just won't nurse. We've got him to nurse some, but only if we hold him in place next to his mom. We've even tried bottle feeding him, but he just doesn't want to suck. Although he will suck our fingers. we're making sure he gets a drink at least every hour, but I don't think he will last till morning. His poor mom is doing everything she can, and he's her first baby . Have I forgotten to do anything ? I've talked to all of the horse experts in my area and we're out of ideas. For now, I'm just keeping my fingers crossed that he will be okay, and making him nurse as much as possible (I've been in the barn all day). Well I'm going to go hang out in the barn with the little guy some more and do what I can. Thanks,

Courtney

Have you given him an enema...sometimes they are so full they won't nurse until they get cleaned out.

 

[YHFF Miniature Horses]

We didn't intervene for an hour and a half, at that point we wanted to make sure the foal got some colostrum. The mares bag is vary hard and full her teats are poiting straight down. My mini mentor, who has raised hundreds of foals says sometimes he has one that will wait til the next day to nurse, so Iam still hopeful. We have a tarp over the pen and it's definately warmer in there than the rest of the barn. I also have two small sweaters on the foal to keep him warm. We used a baby bottle maybe two times, but he prefers to nurse the mare when we hold him. He acts like he wants to nurse on his own sometimes, but struggles to find the right place. Once he actually looked and sounded like he was nursing, but without interfering it's hard to tell if he had a teat or not. Well....back to the barn....hopefully he will have nursed on his own when I come back in.

 

[Mona]

We used a baby bottle maybe two times, but he prefers to nurse the mare when we hold him. He acts like he wants to nurse on his own sometimes, but struggles to find the right place. Once he actually looked and sounded like he was nursing, but without interfering it's hard to tell if he had a teat or not.

This sounds very optomistic. When he is under there looking around nuzzling for the nipple, put your arm between the mares back legs, grab her nipple and squirt his muzzle with some milk. Then rub som on her nipples. And again, make sure you milk her somewhat, so the bag is not tight and hard, as that makes it very difficult for them to latch onto. Good Luck!!

 

[Becky]

A newborn foal needs 1 ounce of milk per 10 lbs body weight per hour. If he weighed 20 lbs he would need 2 ounces per hour or 60 cc.

He won't be able to adequately absorb colostrum after about 12 hours, so it's imperative that he is nursing now. You've had some really good suggestions, so keep working with him. I've had a preemie that had a suck reflex but couldn't latch and hold. She needed to have a nasogastric tube sewn in place and was tube fed for the first 48 hours or so until she was able to nurse on her own. I would strongly recommend having your vet out if the foal still isn't able to nurse now.

 

[Manyspots]

The enema is a good idea also. If you can have a vet it wouldn't hurt. He may be a dummy foal and need a little assistance. Good luck and best wishes.

 

[YHFF Miniature Horses]

Good news! When I went out he was bouncing around, much more lively, and all I had to do was push him over next to my mares rear end and he reached down to get a drink on his own. I felt where his mouth was the three different times he nursed, he had a teat two of the three times. I did milk the mare some, not to feed him, but to relieve some tension. I think it's finally safe to say he will be okay. I'll check on him again at 9:00pm....My mom will check when she gets home 10 - 10:30pm. And if necessary again at 1:00. Otherwise we'll see how he is at 6:00am tommorrow. Feeling much more optimistic, and relieved! Wow, today has been very long!!!!!

Thanks for your replys, they're very helpful and much appreciated!

Courtney

"A newborn foal needs 1 ounce of milk per 10 lbs body weight per hour. If he weighed 20 lbs he would need 2 ounces per hour or 60 cc. "

Thanks Becky, I was just going to ask that question as he's been getting about 2 oz each hour and he weighs around 15lbs. He is all legs out of a 30" mare. I'm going to write that down for future reference as well. Thanks!

 

[runaway ranch]

Hurrah! I hope that he will be fine now.

 

[Miniv]

Great news! :aktion033:

Just want to add....even though you don't need this now

: but we always give our newborns a few cc's of mom's milk before they've found the "milk-bar". Kind of gives them a jump-start. We also smear a little milk around the teats so once they've had a taste and smell, they know where to look.

If they haven't found the teats after 2 hours of searching, we give them somemore......It's rare they go much over 3 hours from birth.....and the ones that do are usually the BOYS!

:

MA

 

[MeadowRidge Farm]

:aktion033: :aktion033: Great News!!! Keep us posted in the morning as to how he is doing. Corinne

 

[Beccy]

That is wonderful!! Thanks for the update!

 

[YHFF Miniature Horses]

He made it! He also nurses completely on his own all the time, so his mother's bag isn't hard anymore either. I've decided to name him Dusty, since he is a grayish white color. I'll have to take some pics, we didn't take many yesterday in case he didn't make it. He's pretty lively today, Pattiecake (his mom) has got her hands full with him now

! Thanks for your advice and support !

 

[Mona]

:aktion033: YAAYYY!!! That's GREAT news!!

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