On occasion, you might hear the sad news that one of your mares has passed away giving birth to a foal, or in rare cases, abandoned her newborn (this happens with first time moms). Death or abandonment may not be the only reasons though; a malnourished dame is also a poor milk producer who can’t nurse her foal, so in essence, the foal would technically be regarded as an orphan too.

Many myths surround this mishap, one of them says that such a foal cannot mature as well as one would otherwise if it weren’t orphaned. Luckily, there’s no evidence to it, and with proper nurturing and care, it can and will reach full height and health, and is in no regard less efficient than its peers.

The more worrisome fact is that these orphaned foals require high maintenance. Not only with regards to your budget, but your schedule might be disturbed by checking and feeding them every now and then. So, you’ve already incurred the loss of a well bred mare, and now her baby is at your mercy for its very basic needs.

Here are some guidelines to ensure better care and sustenance for the orphan foal.

Arrange Colostrum

Colostrum is the first milk produced in mammals for the newborn to prevent the fragile child against diseases. It is said to be a must-have for both animals and humans. A foal whose mare had died at birth would not have received colostrums, and it is therefore essential for the owner to arrange it.

A dame whose foal had been a still born could provide with this basic need for your orphaned foal, but such a coincidence is rare to happen at precisely the same time. You could always freeze the colostrum in case the need arises though (it can be frozen for up to two years).

Nursing Mare

It is a necessity to provide the orphaned foal with a nursing mother who can provide him with milk for further nourishment after initial phase. A nursing mare whose own foal is dependent on her can afford to nurture another one, given that she accepts the foal as her own. And the orphaned foal would get the warmth and nutrition which it needs to thrive.  Alternatively, an equine milk supplement may be provided.  A foal milk supplement, such as Foal-Lac or Mares Match can provide milk protein and other essential nutrients needed.

Bottle-Feed

In case it is not affordable or manageable for the herd owner to provide the foal with a foster mother, you would need to bottle-feed. These foals turn out to be more human friendly but it is better to let them mingle with the herd to avoid making them the ‘rejects’. Also, this helps the foal to be raised just like any other horse in terms of behavior.

Solid Time

Most herd owners try to get the orphaned foal started with solids as soon as they could. This means it is done earlier than the mother would have done so. Around a week or two after the birth, milk replacer pellets are hand fed to the foals, and gradually, the amount is increased to get them used to solid food. By the time the foal is consuming around 5 pounds of pellets, it could be weaned off the milk.

Most people dread an orphaned foal. But along with health care and physical training to the orphaned horse, a good diet would easily make him stand next to his peers, and in time, one wouldn’t be able to tell them apart.

Here are a few guidelines to get you started, but please always seek the advice from a veteriancian as not all foals are the same.

How much to feed

The following table provides a guideline for the amount of milk to feed your foal:

Feeding Frequency

For additional information on how to care for an orphaned foal, check out this article "Raising orphan foal worthwhile challenge" written by Kenneth Marcella, DVM.