Hallmark Stables Breeding Barrel Horses with Brains and Bloodlines

Raising an Orphan Foal was a challenge. I was so lost and did not know what to do. I was scared but had help and advice from hundreds of people. I had to learn fast and I thank all of them for helping me save Lucky. There are so many people that helped me on this Journey. I could never name them all. Lucky was born on April 23 2009 and we lost Sarita 36 hours later.

Here is my experience and what I learned

Colostrum is vital for the foals survival. Without it the foal will die. You can get Colostrum from your local vet, a breeding barn and there are colostrum banks that take orders.You can milk it from your mare as well. If you have an emergency like I did post Foal needs colostrum! on any Internet forums. You will get all the help you need from hundreds.  

Be Patience with bottle feeding it takes the foal a little bit of getting used to. Try to stand the foal close to your side and neck right under your arm pit. That way you can wrap one arm around his head and feed with the other hand. That way you do not have to chase the foal around the stall. The foal will feel coddled this way. Foals like to feel safe and the closer you can hug the foal to you the better off you two will be. You can use any milk replacer for foals. All Milk, All Stars and Purina brands I used with great success. The formula is thick and sweet Lucky loved it.

Make sure to read directions carefully if you mix milk replacer wrong you can make the foal very sick. DO NOT ADD MORE WATER TO MAKE MILK REPLACER GO FARTHER!This will stunt the growth of your foal.. IF you can't afford to feed the foal the right way PLEASE find a barn or agency that will. There are plenty that will take in Orphan foals..

Every 2 hoursyou will be feeding the foal for at least the first 2 weeks. It is hard but worth all the work. I fed Lucky while taking care of my 2 year old son and kept up with both of them so if I could make it, you can too!

I had to feed Lucky with a Turkey baster. He would not take a nipple of any kind. I found there are no nipples that resemble a mares at all! Goat nipple were the best I could find. I had tried every thing and nothing worked so we used the turkey baster for 2 weeks. Make sure to wash and clean you feeding tools every time so the foal does not get any bacteria in his system. Bad Bacteria can be deadly!

If using a Turkey Baster try to insert it into the side of the foal mouth and only a 1 1/2 inches deep. If you push the baster in to far it will jam into the top of the foals mouth, Make sure while the foal is sucking he milk that he is also breathing! If milk start coming out of his nose stop feeding and let him get a breathe.   

The 3rd week was a lot better feeding were every 4 hours so I could sleep a little. We still used the Turkey baster Lucky was used to it. I could put it in the corner of his mouth and he would drink away.

By the 4^th weekLucky was learning to drink from a bucket. This made feeding so much easier. A lot of people rig up a igloo cooler with a spout and nipple if the foal will not take to a bucket. I introduced grain by a small amount only half a cup once a day. Too Much grain will make them sick and have diarrhea. I used Omolene 300! Lucky loved it. Once you get your foal to eat out of a bucket or igloo cooler it is a breeze raising your foal. You can give you foal hay but straight alfalfa will give them diarrhea. I used a flake of alfalfa grass mix. I also gave a cup of calf manna milk replacer pellets a day.

5^th and 8^th weekfeedings went to 6 to 8 hours. With 2 cups of grain daily.

9^th through 12^th week goes to 12 hours feedings. week feeding go to. 1 lbs of grain daily.

Weaning is a little hard but if you foal has picked up on eating grass and hay. The foal gets his grain they will get used to the cut back on milk replacer. I gave Lucky a ½ pound of milk replacer pellets daily too. I used Calf Manna.. It helps them grow fast!

You now have a pocket horse for life. Congrats!

Important tips

Read all labels on products carefully.

Make sure to feed the right amount of food every time.

You can feed FOAL AID to help your foal grow too.

If you foal needs stitches like mine did at 2 months and is given an antibiotic, like penicillin, Be warned it may disrupt the foals digestive system. If the foal has diarrhea or colic symptoms call your VET quickly. I almost lost Lucky to this.

Foals Systems are so super sensitive and it is easy to make a foal digestive system upset. I keep a tube of Probiotics around at all times with all foals now. It can be given at the sign of any problems. It fights the “bad bacteria” in the foals digestive system and you can see the difference quickly. If I had a tube of this when Lucky started to get diarrhea than he would not have been so sick.

If you have and questions on raising an Orphan Foal please ask!

Us the Come See Us page to e-mail me..