The primary concern for foals orphaned at birth must be that the foal has received sufficient amounts of colostrum. Colostrum is secreted by the mare during the first 24 to 48 hours following parturition. There is no placental transfer of antibodies during pregnancy from mare to fetus, thus the foal is born without any protection from disease. Gastrointestinal tract absorption of colostrum begins to decrease after 12 hours, with minimal absorption occur-ring 24 hours after birth. Ideally a foal should receive 250 ml of colostrum every hour for the first six hours after birth.
Colostrum can be bottle fed, or administered via stomach tube by a veterinarian.
A total of two to three liters of colostrum should be divided into three to four doses given at hourly intervals. Foals that do not receive sufficient colostrum within the first 24 hours can receive 2-4 liters of blood plasma intravenously. Intravenous infusion should be done under veterinary supervision. Plasma may be prepared locally if an acceptable donor horse and equipment are available. Without either colostrum or plasma, foals will have insufficient antibody protection and will most likely succumb to infection.