Foal care in the first month: what you need to know

The first hours: colostrum and the stand-up reflex

Within two hours of birth, a foal must be standing and drinking. Colostrum — the mare's first milk — contains essential antibodies that protect the foal until its own immune system kicks in. The gut can only absorb these antibodies for 12 to 24 hours, so timing is everything. Check that the foal is actively nursing: a healthy foal drinks every 30 to 60 minutes. If the foal is not standing after two hours, or is not drinking, call the vet immediately. Keep frozen donor colostrum in the freezer as a precaution — 500 ml per portion is a convenient amount.

First 24 hours: the basic checklist

In the first day, check a number of things quickly but thoroughly.

• Umbilical cord: disinfect the navel within the first hour with iodine solution (10%)
• Meconium: the foal must pass its first dark droppings within 3 to 6 hours — if this does not happen, an enema is needed
• Breathing and heart rate: normal is 60 to 80 beats per minute at rest
• Eyelids: check for entropion (inverted eyelid), a common problem in newborn foals
• Joints and leg conformation: watch for fetlock laxity, which often corrects itself but should be monitored

Week 1 to 2: routine and social development

After the first critical hours, the focus shifts to daily observation and habituation to people. Handle the foal daily: pick up the hooves, touch the ears and mouth, and lead it briefly in a halter. The younger the foal is when it gets used to human contact, the easier training will be later on. Make sure the foal can always go outside together with the mare — movement stimulates bone development. During the first weeks, the mare produces up to 15 litres of milk per day; check her udder daily for warmth or hardness as a sign of mastitis.

Week 3 to 4: health check and registration

Around day 21, schedule a first official vet visit for a general health check. This is also the time for the first deworming using a foal-appropriate product based on fenbendazole. Have the blood checked for IgG levels at the same time if you did not do so in the first 24 hours — a value below 4 g/l indicates insufficient colostrum uptake. Do not forget registration either: in the Netherlands, a foal must be registered with the studbook organisation no later than day 30 for microchipping and passport issuance. Record all findings in the EquiSight horse profile so you can easily look everything up later.

Nutrition: when do you start with roughage?

A foal starts experimenting with grass and hay as early as weeks 2 to 3. This is normal behaviour and part of gut maturation. Offer clean, fine hay that the mare also receives, but do not force anything. Milk replacer is only necessary if the mare produces too little or is no longer available. In that case, use a foal-specific milk powder and feed small portions: a maximum of 1 litre at a time, spread over 6 to 8 feedings per day. Around week 4, you can begin offering a small amount of foal pellets — a maximum of 100 to 200 grams per day as a supplement.

Use EquiSight for overview and reminders

A foal demands a great deal of attention during the first month, and the moments when you need to act are time-critical. Use the calendar in EquiSight to set reminders for the navel disinfection, the first deworming on day 21, and the registration deadline on day 30. Save all observations, weights, and vet results in the horse profile — this way you immediately build up a complete dossier that is always at hand for potential sale information or medical queries. EquiCoach also assists you with specific questions about symptoms or feeding advice based on age and weight.