My mare foaled a huge filly 3-26-12. A few hours later she passed away. Vet thinks she ruptured her uterus or spleen. We located a nurse mare yesterday. They gave her shots to help her produce milk. Another shot this a.m. So far little milk produced.
A. Should I wait or start looking for another mare?
B. We got her Foalac. Is Buckeye a good alternative? How should it be fed?
Any advice is appreciated...ASAP. Thanks..
Orphan Foal Advice
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Orphan Foal Advice
"Politicians should be limited to two terms, one in office and another in jail." Anonymous
When this happened to me, we were fortunate the foal got two days of the mare before the artery gave way - so no colostrum panic. I am assuming they milked the colostrum out of the mare and fed the filly.
I bucket raised my orphan on Buckeye Mare's Milk Plus and Buckeye Foal Pellets which were the very best on the market at that time. Had to drive 90 miles to get the stuff. He got fresh mixed milk every six hours around the clock for four months. He went through a Lot of the pellets. However, he was not properly socialized and later had difficulty adjusting to the other weanlings in a paddock.
If I had it to do over again, I would still do the milk and pellets but I would have worked to find him a "mother" to bond with and teach him that he was actually a horse.
I bucket raised my orphan on Buckeye Mare's Milk Plus and Buckeye Foal Pellets which were the very best on the market at that time. Had to drive 90 miles to get the stuff. He got fresh mixed milk every six hours around the clock for four months. He went through a Lot of the pellets. However, he was not properly socialized and later had difficulty adjusting to the other weanlings in a paddock.
If I had it to do over again, I would still do the milk and pellets but I would have worked to find him a "mother" to bond with and teach him that he was actually a horse.
So Run for the Roses, as fast as you can.....
Sorry to hear about your mare.
Google igloo cooler to raise orphan foal and you will find information at - I think - www.fairviewhorsecenter.com - on raising an orphan by rigging an igloo cooler.
A mare for bonding and a little mama discipline is great. If she bonds but doesn't get milk, the foal can be raised on foal formula (we used Land O' Lake's Mare's Match). The good part about the cooler is you can get the foal used to drinking cool milk, then can keep it cool all summer. No flies can get into the cooler & the formula doesn't spoil. You have to really work at keeping the cooler clean (and at some point, a big foal will start pulling the nipple off the cooler).
Google igloo cooler to raise orphan foal and you will find information at - I think - www.fairviewhorsecenter.com - on raising an orphan by rigging an igloo cooler.
A mare for bonding and a little mama discipline is great. If she bonds but doesn't get milk, the foal can be raised on foal formula (we used Land O' Lake's Mare's Match). The good part about the cooler is you can get the foal used to drinking cool milk, then can keep it cool all summer. No flies can get into the cooler & the formula doesn't spoil. You have to really work at keeping the cooler clean (and at some point, a big foal will start pulling the nipple off the cooler).
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Shammy Davis
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Here's the link with some more details on the "cooler" and other helpful information. Sorry about your mare.
http://www.fairviewhorsecenter.com/Orphan_foal.doc
http://www.fairviewhorsecenter.com/Orphan_foal.doc
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Skipitgirl
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My 10 hand pony raised a spotted draft filly orphan after the mare died 3 weeks after foaling. She was raised on milk replacer but the pony taught the filly proper horse manners and her place in the herd. Its funny to see them together now. Princess is 10 hands and Pixie is 17.2. Good luck with your filly and sorry about your mare.
Thanks everyone for your help and support. Quick update. We found another mare who lost her foal yesterday. The first mare was bonding somewhat but was not producing any milk. So we connected the new mare with my filly this afternoon and boom she was elated; started licking her etc. Allowed her to nurse immediately. So it looks like we found a good mom for my filly. She is not producing a lot of milk yet so we are still supplementing this huge filly with milk replacer.
We are also going to build the igloo cooler. Don't know whether we'll need it but any farm should have a couple of them.
I'll take some new pics next week and post on the foal site.
We are also going to build the igloo cooler. Don't know whether we'll need it but any farm should have a couple of them.
I'll take some new pics next week and post on the foal site.
"Politicians should be limited to two terms, one in office and another in jail." Anonymous
My opinion is that if you foal out mares, having an Igloo ahead of time is a great idea. I borrowed our first one from a friend, along with some milk replacer. With a newborn, we first got her "hooked" on the baby bottle (with the flat nipple - they don't seem to like the round ones) & then once we were sure she was nursing well, we showed her the Igloo, she saw the nipple & knew immediately what it was for.
We used either goat or lamb nipples on the Igloo & confused the living daylights out of the clerk at the farm store when I asked for lamb nipples & Mare's Match.
"What kind of animal are you feeding, anyway?" she asked.
We used either goat or lamb nipples on the Igloo & confused the living daylights out of the clerk at the farm store when I asked for lamb nipples & Mare's Match.
"What kind of animal are you feeding, anyway?" she asked.
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Joie
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zinn21 wrote: So we connected the new mare with my filly this afternoon and boom she was elated; started licking her etc. Allowed her to nurse immediately. So it looks like we found a good mom for my filly. I'll take some new pics next week and post on the foal site.
Maybe I'm just getting old and sentimental, but this brought happy tears to my eyes.
Good for you, mama mare, and filly!
Four Leaf Farm
Proud Breeder of Trakehner and Anglo-Trakehner Sporthorses
Proud Breeder of Trakehner and Anglo-Trakehner Sporthorses
KBEquine wrote:
LOL! KB I was thinking why hasn't someone built the Igloo for sale? I can't imagine any breeding operation that wouldn't want one.
My opinion is that if you foal out mares, having an Igloo ahead of time is a great idea. I borrowed our first one from a friend, along with some milk replacer. With a newborn, we first got her "hooked" on the baby bottle (with the flat nipple - they don't seem to like the round ones) & then once we were sure she was nursing well, we showed her the Igloo, she saw the nipple & knew immediately what it was for.
We used either goat or lamb nipples on the Igloo & confused the living daylights out of the clerk at the farm store when I asked for lamb nipples & Mare's Match.
LOL! KB I was thinking why hasn't someone built the Igloo for sale? I can't imagine any breeding operation that wouldn't want one.
