Quick facts
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Colostrum is the mare’s first milk containing protective antibodies for the foal.
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The best alternative to colostrum is antibodies from equine plasma, which is given by your veterinarian.
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The best alternative to mare’s milk is an equine milk replacer.
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You should feed foals 20 to 25 percent of their bodyweight daily over numerous feedings.
Colostrum
Colostrum is the first milk a mare produces. It’s rich in antibodies that protect the foal from infection until their immune system fully develops. Foals don’t receive any antibodies prior to birth and thus, depend on colostrum.
The foals gut best absorbs the colostrum within 6 to 12 hours after birth. By 18 to 24 hours of age, it absorbs much less. In general, a 100-pound foal needs 2 to 3 quarts of colostrum within 6 to 8 hours of age.
You should have an IgG (antibody) test ran within 24 hours of age to make sure the foal absorbed enough antibodies.
The best alternative to colostrum is to have your veterinarian give the foal protective antibodies through equine plasma.
Alternatives to mare’s milk
The best and most feasible alternative is an equine milk replacer. These replacers are formulated to meet a foals nutrition needs and are the closest match to mare’s milk.
Acidified milk replacers enhance the foals ability to digest nutrients and allows the milk to stay fresh longer.
Goat's milk is the second best alternative to mare's milk. The fat content of goat milk is higher than mare’s milk but is easier for the foal to digest than cow’s milk. There are disadvantages to goat’s milk including:
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Comes in a small packaged volume
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It’s costly
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Has a greater risk of constipation
Compared to mare’s milk, cow’s milk has less sugar and twice the fat. This can lead to diarrhea due to poor digestibility. To better match mare’s milk, it’s best to feed 2 percent (lower in fat) cow’s milk and add dextrose (easily digested sugar) to it.
Heat unpasteurized milk to 160 F for 15 seconds and allow it to cool before adding dextrose or feeding.
Adding dextrose
There are a couple ways to add dextrose to cow’s milk.
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You can add 40 milliliters of 50 percent dextrose solution to each quart of milk.
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You can add a 2-ounce package of jam/jelly pectin to every 3 quarts of milk.
Don’t use the following for adding sugar as they contain sweeteners, which foals use poorly and can cause diarrhea and colic.
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Honey
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Corn
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Syrup
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Table sugar
Always read the ingredient list when choosing a calf milk replacer. Only select products containing all milk proteins such as:
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Skim milk
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Buttermilk
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Whey
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Casein
Avoid products that contain the following:
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Soy protein
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Fish proteins
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Meat solubles
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Yeasts
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Flours
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Distiller’s grains byproducts
Check the crude fiber, protein and fat content. Recommended levels for foals are:
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Crude fiber: less than 0.2 percent
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Crude protein: 20 percent
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Fat: 15 percent
Feeding milk
You should feed foals 20 to 25 percent of their body weight per day (NOT per feeding). Weigh the foal daily and adjust the daily feeding volume respectively as the foal grows. You can gradually increase the milk volume you feed and decrease how often you feed.
The average foal should gain about 2 pounds daily. If the foal doesn’t gain weight, increase the volume of feed or how often you feed. A general rule for feeding healthy foals is to feed every 2 hours during the day and every 3 hours through the night for the first two weeks. Make sure you divide the total amount you need to feed (20 to 25 percent of the foals bodyweight) by the number of feedings.
You can space out the feedings to every 3 to 4 hours during the day and 4 hours at night for one to two weeks once he foal is readily drinking the milk volume it needs. You can feed most foals every 6 hours by one month of age.
Reviewed in 2021