Bates recommends having different cuttings of hay tested to determine the protein and energy levels in the hay. This makes it easier to plan a feeding program during the winter. We don't like our sports teams to lose, our stock market funds to decline or business or personal failures. It's the failure of a newborn foal to acquire adequate immunoglobulins from the colostrum of its dam. Colostrum, the first milk, is rich in immunoglobulins.
Immunoglobulins provide immunity to the foal against diseases.
In pregnancy, there isn't any transfer of maternal antibodies across the placenta to the fetus. So newborn foals are without any natu ral protection against disease. The foal's immune system is intact when it's born, but it doesn't function until the foal is about 4-6 months old. Foals come in contact with a number of opportunistic microorganisms in nature. The greatest risk of death in the first week of a foal's life is septicemia.