New Filly Not Nursing HELP!! Picture Added page 4

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rcfarm

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My mare foaled a filly at 12:30 am , it is now 4 am , she has not nursed. She was up and walking great by 1:15. She did a bit with my help, but did not latch to nipple yet. I will call vet by 5:30 if she hasnt. Hope someone has a ideal?
 
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My mare foaled a filly at 12:30 am , it is now 4 am , she has not nursed. She was up and walking great by 1:15. She did a bit with my help, but did not latch to nipple yet. I will call vet by 5:30 if she hasnt. Hope someone has a ideal?
Hello,

Have you tried to milk the mare and syringe some into the foal. Best of luck!

Debbie
 
Yes I got only about 5 tablespoons ,going out to milk again. She has the suckle reflex, but cant seem to the teats.
 
[SIZE=12pt]Typically if I have a foal that doesn't seem to find the teats easily I milk the mare and slowly syringe the foal with the colostrum/milk every (30) minutes until they are able to do so on there own. I also smear some the colostrum/milk all over the mares teats as well. [/SIZE]

If your having trouble milking the mare by hand you can utilize a 60 cc syringe with some minor adjustments to it. Please see the following information from LB.

[SIZE=14pt]Mini Horse Breast Pump[/SIZE] -

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This works really slick for those times when you may need to milk a mare to feed a foal. You take a large syringe (60 cc) and take the plunger out. Cut off the end that has the tip on it so the plunger will fit into that end (just reverse of the end it originally went into). Put the plunger into the end you cut off. Pull the plunger back about 1/2 inch to start the suction. Put the open end tightly against the teat and slowly pump the plunger back and forth. When you get about an inch or two of milk, pour it into a container and start over again. This works easy and fast (much better than doing it by hand). When I showed it to my vet the last time she was here and our colt wouldn't nurse, she was going to extract the milk by hand and tube the baby. Well I talked her into trying this and she was amazed !!! I really works well. Hope this little hint works for you, as it does save time and is so easy to make.
 
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I remember reading folks smeared a bit of Karo's syrup on the teats too..... My first foal took about three hours to get nursing. She just couldn't seem to find the milk bar. I expressed milk into my hand and rubbed it on her muzzle while she was searching and close and she followed my hand.

Hope you've got a foal with a belly full of milk now....
 
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My husband had the idea a couple years ago to smear pancake or kayo syrup on the teats and ever since then, we try a little w/o it, then run get the syrup. It has really, really made it easier on everyone. Helping a foal find where to nurse can be so frustrating, but this is a trick that has really helped us get it going faster. I hope your filly is nursing on her own soon!
 
Might be a "dummy foal" and will need feedings of some mares milk every 1/2 hour. Can take up to 24 hours before she figures things out.

We have had 2 foals over our horse experience which required this kind of treatment.

You can fashion a little milker out of a syringe.

We use molasses on the faucet and some molasses on the nipple of the bottle.

We fed the foal by putting the bottle thru between the back legs so she got used to looking there for milk.

One time when she goes looking for the bottle nipple she will get Mumma and you are away.

SHe needs the colostrum right away.
 
She may be premature. Or she may not have the ability to 'latch and hold'. I've not had any luck getting enough colostrum down those by syringe. Your best best would be having your vet tube colostrum down her until she is able to nurse on her own. If she appears to be sucking everything else, have you tried holding the mares' back leg up when the foal is close to the udder? I've found that helps the foal find the udder much quicker. If that fails, then you will need vet help for sure. Good luck with her!
 
The reverse syring that Kimberle posted is really a lifesaver if you have to milk the mare out for awhile. Getting it down the foal is a little trickier sometimes, easy for them to aspirate it when they are struggling with you. I agree with Becky, if she's not nursing pretty quickly I'd be calling the vet out to get colostrum down her one way or another. Good luck, and hang in there. Seems like the harder you try to help a foal nurse, the harder they resist. I routinely milk out and feed all my foals a time or two right at first now - gives them a little extra energy to find it on their own.

Jan
 
I wouldn't worry too much if she's up and walking around. Sounds like she is healthy. May just be a dummy foal who hasn't quite gotten the hang of things. Don't worry though, she will!!

A few years ago I had a colt that just could NOT figure things out. It took him TWO WEEKS before he was a big boy and could nurse himself. Luckily his dam was wonderful and let me milk her with no problems. I fed him once every hour-only a syringe or two full. He couldn't take much more than that. Quite a pain, but he was so sweet. He was an in your lap type of baby after that
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A lot of good advice here, we basically do the same. Syringe the milk to the foal until it latches on. Please keep us updated on what is happening with your baby.
 
Any luck with the foal? I realize a lot of time has passed, so I was curious on how everyone was doing!
 
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Thanks everyone. She is starting to latch on but not for long. Vet came out said she was a premmie. So she has some of the dummy signs. Only thing I worry about is if shes getting enough, she gives up on sucking rather quickly. Vet could not tube her, but she got a lot of milk out of mare.

Keep our little one in your prayers.
 
Why couldn't your vet tube her? You're going to have to get plenty of colostrum/milk in her or her outlook isn't going to be good. Is the foal plenty warm? If she is too cold, then she won't try as hard. Even in a warmer climate a premature foal can be too cold. Blanket and heaters if needed. Heating pad too. Keep working with her. She needs to be fed hourly if she is to survive. Praying for you and the little one.
 
Prayers from us too!!

Like Becky said, make sure the foal gets at least something once every hour

Lots of luck and keep us updated
 
I have had foals take a full 24 hours till they really got the hang of it they would nurse of course but seemed like each time was the first time- they were not dummy foals I think that term is sometimes throw around a bit to easy but just perhaps not the brightest bulb in the bunch
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And for those who have not had foals before it is very common for them to nurse just a minute or two each time and do it very frequently until they are comfortable with working their legs to stand and there neck to bend all at the same time. Those taller foals tend to take a bit longer to be able to nurse and look competent at it
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We are helping her nurse every hour. She is sucking better, just for short periods. Then she will totally pass out, go limp and fall down. The vet did not have a tube small enough. She stayed and got 2 almost full 60cc's down her. I have a heat lamp on her, and will put a blanket on tonight. I did have one on after she was 3hrs old. Then took off this morning when sun came up. So tired hope I made some sense. Have some help tonight, so maybe I can get a few hrs sleep. Thanks everyone for your help.
 
Did your vet check to see if you have a "Blue Baby/ RH Factor" problem????
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Having her go limp like that after nursing is NOT good. You need to call your vet NOW and ask........even if it's the middle of the night. If it IS an RH Factor situation, it is an emergency!
 
Ni - Neonatal Isotherysis, or Rh factor issues, usually show up after 24hrs, You will notice yellowing of the eyes as it attacks the liver. She could be a dummy foal or a fainting foal. I just have her in my prayers it all goes well.
 

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