We had to put our mare down just a few hours after the birth of her beautiful colt. He is drinking milk replacer from a bottle and seems to be doing fine. His IgG levels were low, so we did the plasma transfer and now his levels are good. He is 5 days old now and I am getting overwhelmed and have to go back to work on Monday. I have seen different post about the igloo method of feeding, but no real directions on how to do it. Which brand of milk to use? I have foal lac right now and it says to throw away after 3 hours. Is there a type I can leave in the cooler all day with him while I am at work? He seems a little interested in the hay when I have him playing in the isle of the barn, but not quite ready to eat it yet. I have looked into nurse mare, but they seem to be way out of my reach. I have a huge vet bill to work on right now, so I want to do the very best for this colt with what I have. Thanks in advance for any advice.
I just wanted to say I am sorry you have lost your mare and wish you the best with your foal.
I am so sorry for your loss. Go to marestare.com click on community then message board. Then go to the section titled Q&A what was that. At the top there is a thread about raising an igloo baby with lots of info. Good luck
I would PM Home Again (Mary Lou), I seem to remember she has been through something similar to this before. So sorry about your loss, OP.
Thank You
[QUOTE=jennywho;6909019]
I am so sorry for your loss. Go to marestare.com click on community then message board. Then go to the section titled Q&A what was that. At the top there is a thread about raising an igloo baby with lots of info. Good luck[/QUOTE]
I guess I have to wait to be approved before I can look at any posts on this site. Thank you for the link.
I have raised a couple of orphans, but there are many others here who know as much or more as I do.
If you do an igloo, you won’t need to throw away the foal lac after 3 hours, as the igloo will keep out flies and keep it from spoiling as quickly. That said, I prefer milk replacers by Buckeye, Progressive Feed, Land O’ Lakes. The Buckeye is acidified (others may be - check them) so it does not spoil quickly even when fed in a bucket. The reason I like the other brands is because their mineral sources are better than foal lac. I did raise one on foal lac because she absolutely refused Buckeye’s after being used to the foal lac. I gave her Buckeye Foalaide paste to supplement her minerals and she grew well.
Info on the igloo:
www.fairviewhorsecenter.com/Orphan_foal.doc
You may be able to find a nurse mare and lactation can be induced in a mare. It will take time and dedication to get any except a seasoned nursemare to accept a foal, but it can be done.
More info:
http://www.ivis.org/proceedings/aaep/2006/pdf/z9100106000259.pdf
http://www.equinechronicle.com/health/alternatives-to-nurse-mares.html
http://www.hhbnys.com/backend/NewsEditor/news_upload/HEALTH_20BULLETIN_2edb.hhbnys-4811.pdf
http://www.thehorse.com/articles/17506/induction-of-lactation-in-the-non-pregnant-mare
http://www.ker.com/library/equinews/v6n2/v6n210.pdf
Good luck!
Maybe you could contact http://lastchancecorral.org
They rescue nurse mare foals only a couple days old. I’m sure they’ll know exactly what to do.
Mary Lou,
Thank you for the advice and links. Do I mix the formula warm and put it in the cooler? Is it better to put it in cold?
I am so sorry. I hope it works out for you.
I have never used the igloo. My filly drank well from her bucket and I used the acidified Buckeye milk replacer (which stays fresh 12 hours) and replaced it every 8 hours. I gave it to her warm for a few days, then gave it at room temp. I would mix and entire day’s formula once a day and store it in the fridge.
My guess is that you can mix the foal lac at room temp and put it into the igloo. Hopefully, someone who has used the igloo method will chime in here.
I am sure your temps are very different from mine here in FL.
OP, 5, one of us cothers, has a thread about your foal. You need help. sometimes we all try to help people in need.
Check with 5.
OP, tell us where you live so maybe a cother can help you out.
We have a thread on “giveaways” where cothers offer help to people. Check there if you are near one of us. Then PM that person.
Very sorry about your mare.
We bucket fed our orphan colt Buckeye Mare’s Milk Plus. As others have pointed out, it stays good for 12 hours. Get him started as soon as possible on bucket feeding, whatever you replacer you decide to use.
And get a companion for him, if at all possible. Our other mare foaled the day after the orphan’s dam, so we were able to turn him out with the other mare and her colt (after two weeks of very cautious introduction). Just find an amicable equine soul who doesn’t mind a baby around, if nothing else.
Our colt turned out fine. I just realized that was 13 years ago. How times flies …
[QUOTE=BLKPAINTEDHORSE;6908997]
He is 5 days old now and I am getting overwhelmed and have to go back to work on Monday. I have seen different post about the igloo method of feeding, but no real directions on how to do it. Which brand of milk to use? I have foal lac right now and it says to throw away after 3 hours. Is there a type I can leave in the cooler all day with him while I am at work? He seems a little interested in the hay when I have him playing in the isle of the barn, but not quite ready to eat it yet. I have looked into nurse mare, but they seem to be way out of my reach. I have a huge vet bill to work on right now, so I want to do the very best for this colt with what I have. Thanks in advance for any advice.[/QUOTE]
Too bad you aren’t closer :(. We lost a foal due to a red bag delivery on Wednesday morning so have a mare without a foal.
With regards to what to do, if you can find a mare that is willing to foster him, put her on Domperidone and keep your fingers crossed. We have had good success with that twice now. The big thing is getting a mare that will take him on. Even if you can’t find one willing to nurse him, at the very least get him in with another horse that will be kind to him and keep him company. Orphan foals raised with no equine interaction are the absolute worst!
Good luck!
a friend lost a foal last week and offered her mare to a TB farm. The mare was more than willing but after 6 weeks, the foal was used to the bottle and would not latch on. 
Best of luck with your foal and so sorry you lost your mare.
Kathy, I had seen your post on FB but I am not a “friend” so could not comment and say how sorry I was.
OP, where upstate are you? Let us know where you’re located, or just pm me if you don’t want to say. Might be able to help, or point you in the right direction…
OP, I am so sorry for your loss of your mare. Sincere condolences.
I can’t add much more than has already been said, especially all the good links from MaryLou.
What I can offer is encouragement - it can be done, and that foal will turn out fine! I (sadly) have had to do it twice.
If you can encourage the foal to drink from a bucket that will make your life easier.
If you don’t have a suitable equine companion (a small phlegmatic pony is good), a nanny goat will work too - except that goats bring their own issues (containment being one).
I found you needed to feed more than the package instructions, more and more frequently.
Both my bottle babes turned out fine.
Best of luck.
[QUOTE=BLKPAINTEDHORSE;6909058]
I guess I have to wait to be approved before I can look at any posts on this site. Thank you for the link.[/QUOTE]
Yes they just went to a closed board recently because of people stealing pictures, etc. Hopefully, they approve you quickly.
[QUOTE=Timex;6910088]
OP, where upstate are you? Let us know where you’re located, or just pm me if you don’t want to say. Might be able to help, or point you in the right direction…[/QUOTE]
I’m in for gas money if we can find a person to trailer one to the other if it works.
