Heat and newborn foals

[kiwifruit]

Of course my mare gives birth on Tuesday and now we are in our first heat wave in the Northeast. I’ve been turning them out for a few hours in the morning but wondering when I can safely turn them out overnight to beat the heat. Also they are in a barn that is protected from the sun but still gets toasty in the dead of summer. I plan to use fans but do I have to be overly concerned about the heat with a new foal?

Thanks

[Home_Again_Farm]

Foals cannot regulate their temperature for about 30 days. I have generally allowed mine night turnout when they are about 4 days old, if all seems normal. Here in Florida, if the mare does not run the foal and they have plenty of access to shade and shelter, I allow them out 24/7 once the foal is about a week old, if all is normal. If the mare is foolish and runs the baby or refuses to use the shade, I keep them in under fans during the heat of the day until the foal is older and the worst of the heat is done.

[dianehalpin]

My new filly, 6 days now, also in the terrible heat of Virginia this week, is in during the day under fans but I’ve turned them out for the last two nights, leaving their stall (dutch doors into paddock into pasture) open so that they can come in if desired. My barn becomes VERY hot on a still, hot afternoon, even though I have a big industrial fan blowing in the center aisle as well as six fans into their foaling stall. My pair have done fine at night in the pasture. If storms were expected, I’d keep them in. Wondering whether or not to clip the baby whose black coat is short but dense…does anyone have an opinion about that?

Diane Halpin/Laurel Leaf Hanoverians: Facebook

[Ticker]

[QUOTE=dianehalpin;7009891]
My new filly, 6 days now, also in the terrible heat of Virginia this week, is in during the day under fans but I’ve turned them out for the last two nights, leaving their stall (dutch doors into paddock into pasture) open so that they can come in if desired. My barn becomes VERY hot on a still, hot afternoon, even though I have a big industrial fan blowing in the center aisle as well as six fans into their foaling stall. My pair have done fine at night in the pasture. If storms were expected, I’d keep them in. Wondering whether or not to clip the baby whose black coat is short but dense…does anyone have an opinion about that?

Diane Halpin/Laurel Leaf Hanoverians: Facebook[/QUOTE]

I would definitely clip the baby…it makes a huge difference. I also give the foals a cool sponge bath on hot days…that helps a lot too.

[Laurierace]

I have had to clip all my foals to keep them from overheating. Not sure that would help a newborn but it is worth a shot.

[dianehalpin]

Thanks, you two! I partially clipped her today and we did a number of sponge baths and spent a lot of time in front of the fans. She actually went to sleep on my rubber pavers in the center aisle in front of the huge industrial 3’6" fan!

[Kerole]

Sometimes our later born foals get caught in filthy hot weather. I leave them out 24/7 as soon as possible. We have excellent shade trees and the mares are good at using them.

I clip the foals out totally, legs, face and all. This works wonders and means the new coat grows through smooth and even, ready for the foal shows If it’s silly hot I will douse them in cool water and leave them dripping. This works well on a short coat but not if the coat is long - there is a real risk the water trapped in the hair will heat up and act like a hot water bottle all over.

[Ticker]

[QUOTE=dianehalpin;7010870]
Thanks, you two! I partially clipped her today and we did a number of sponge baths and spent a lot of time in front of the fans. She actually went to sleep on my rubber pavers in the center aisle in front of the huge industrial 3’6" fan![/QUOTE]

You are a good foal mom…give baby a hug for me

[dianehalpin]

Today, my black filly, just 6 days old, let me clip her to halfway down the sides, ditto rump, and all of her neck, shoulders, and chest, standing right by me as I scratched her with my other hand. She was so good and took a few nursing breaks in between the clip, then I let her take the nap I knew she needed (but she would have let me go on). This is my Sir Wanabi filly and she certainly got papa’s good temperament as well as his conformation and color! I’m so proud of her because it is going to be hotter than **** today! This may have saved her life!

[Home_Again_Farm]

In 2011 when I was having the year from h*ll as a breeder, I clipped all my foals in one morning. I did not need to really hold any of them. They just stood quietly while I clipped away. They seemed to kind of like it - like they’d like a good scratch. Last year the barn manager where my mare foaled out clipped my filly when she was about three weeks old. It definitely helped.

[Fred]

My foals were born thinking it was winter, and have quite wooly coats, so I will be clipping them for sure.
They have trees and sheds outside, but the mares can’t always be relied on to take the foal into the shade, so I bring them in during the heat of the day, and have fans running in the barn.
We have a coyote problem in our area, and I have heard of the coyotes attacking foals, so I am reluctant to leave them out overnight here.

Today it is cool again, so that is a relief.

[PiedmontSporthorses]

I too have been struggling with the heat and my now 11 day old filly. I honestly have not given any thought to clipping her though… so I might give that a try!! She does love her sponge baths though! And at only 11 days, already loves to roll in the shavings immediately after I sponge bath her just like her mother (no health issues that would cause rolling, she is just itchy and wet ;o) ). Anyway, we are turning her out in the early mornings for a couple hours and in the evenings for a bit too. I wish she could go out all night, but the barn I board at isn’t set up for overnight turnout yet for a foal - too many adjoining pastures with other horses. :o( So for now, it is supervised turnout.

Does anyone else worry about horses in adjoining pastures? The barn does have nice 4-board fencing, but she can still stick her curious head through and into even more curious other horses pastures. (It’s amazing how all the horses find her so fascinating!).

Also curious to hear what everyone thinks about fly spraying the babies?

[mbm]

are you guys not worried about your foals overheating if you dont scrape them down well?

i was always taught to scrap them down til no more water comes off… otherwise water traps heat and you make them hotter - not cooler.

maybe that is old “science”?

[Ticker]

[QUOTE=mbm;7013975]
are you guys not worried about your foals overheating if you dont scrape them down well?

i was always taught to scrap them down til no more water comes off… otherwise water traps heat and you make them hotter - not cooler.

maybe that is old “science”?[/QUOTE]

You are correct, excess water should be removed. Since evaporation is a cooling process, having a clipped foal plus a fan will help remove the excess heat. An unclipped foal with a heavy wet coat on a hot summer day is a really bad idea.

My foals are parked in a stall with industrial fans during the heat of the day. My foaling stalls have foal proof mesh doors so the big floor fans can blow at them on their level, but, they can move out of the cooling area when they want to.

My barn is 10-20 degrees cooler in the summer and warmer in the winter due to the insulation we installed which is why our foals are better off inside.
I remember one brutally hot day our 35 year old gelding was acting collicky so we called the vet out. All 13 horses were in the barn parked in front of their high powered industrial fans along with 3 huge isle drum fans.
When the vet team arrived they were sure that our barn was going to be blistering hot and that would be one of the reasons our old horse was having problems. Long story short, the vets were surprised at how cool and comfortable my stalls were.
Insulation and ventalation…the older I get…the more I appreciate it.

[goodpony]

my little guy puts himself in the shed in the heat of the afternoon-doesnt matter if mom is there or not–he loves his shelter. He is also partially clipped–have clipped foals on and off over the years. Thinking of clipping some more now that we are really heating up.