# Foals- not suckling



## Bossanova (14 June 2007)

How long after birth would you try to get them suckling before getting help?

I got to the yard where ponies are kept yesterday at 7.30, vet was just on her way to milk mare and feed it by tube as he'd been born at 1.30am and hadnt managed to latch on by then. He got his first feed at about 8am, 7 and a 1/2 hours after birth.

To me this seems like a long time and he was definitely fairly weak when the vet got there, though still able to kick nicely when we held him down!!


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## sallyf (14 June 2007)

Rightly or wrongly we bottle some colostrum down any of ours that are slow getting up or havnt suckled within 2 hrs and it usually does the trick and gives them the energy to have a go themselves .
People have there own ideas about it though but our way has always worked for us and there is nothing worse than a tired hungry foal who then starts to get distressed.
I had a phone call the other night at 10 o clock from a client who's mare had foaled at 8 and they couldnt get the foal to suckle.
As she is miles away i told her to get the vet who promptly came out and worked the oracle.
Igg then came back fine the next day.
I always worry that too long a gap means foals wont get enough passive immunity transfer from the mare in time.


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## Tempi (14 June 2007)

the Proset baby born at our yard last year wouldnt suckle for the first 3days, so was bottle fed until then........anyways, thats besides the point.......after 3 hrs of him not suckling he was then bottle fed, but he had a very difficult birth aswell - so not sure if the vets thought it more important to get him fed more quickly than say a foal with an easier birth.

Do you see what i mean? Sorry i havent explained what im trying to say very well


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## Spot_the_Risk (14 June 2007)

Ours couldn't seem to latch onto the teat, and whenever she did get near the (maiden) mare barrelled her over!  So we intervened and after 2 hours the mare had settled and the filly had had a little bit of milk, but it was on three hours that she finally got the hang of it.  Mind you, after three hours of handling her all over she is now a very people minded girl - great for bonding!


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## henryhorn (14 June 2007)

I tend to think four hours and get the vet, we also have frozen colostrum (damn totally forgot to get anymore this year) which we bottle feed if necessary.
Two years ago the vet came out and it was not our normal one, he attempted to stomach tube a reluctant foal and the tube was obviously too big. After struggling for ages I stopped him and said we would cope ourselves with bottles, upon which said foal broke free, ran back to Mum and drank as if his life depended upon it..
I did comment to our senior vet I was disppointed the other chap didn't have the smallest tube required, and I think now he carries one.


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## vicijp (14 June 2007)

My foal was slow getting up and mare wouldnt let him on when he did.
I milked and syringed 40ml down him every half hour from 1 hour onwards.


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## Bossanova (14 June 2007)

Thanks guys. We've got a foal due soon and I wanted to check as this seemed too long to not have the foal feeding.
Obviously it shows as his IgG came back low so tomorrow he's having a plasma transfer. Poor baby 
	
	
		
		
	


	





When I compare him to our babies in the past, he is very lethargic, though not weak as such.


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## GreedyGuts (15 June 2007)

Foals should have a suck reflex within 20 mins, stand within an hour, suck within 2 hours, and the mare should pass the placenta within 3 hours. It is advisable not to intervene and try and help the foal to latch on because this affects the learning process. If these time limits are not met then the vet should be called. It is preferable to have a foal tubed than bottle feeding it as this does not affect nursing and reduces the chance of aspiration. I would avoid syringe feeding foals.  
Foals must drink within the first 6 hours as they have no glucose or fat stores and will starve.


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