Managing Rejection of Newborn Foals

Mares are usually attentive mothers, bonding with their foals soon after birth and feeding, protecting, and nurturing their babies without any problem. In the rare cases when mares ignore, reject, or even attack their foals, managers must intervene quickly to make sure the foal is fed and protected from injury.

Pain is a frequent cause of foal rejection. The mare may be in discomfort because of some physical damage from giving birth or something unrelated like chronic laminitis. Having a veterinarian examine the mare and treat pain may make the mare more interested in caring for her foal.

A common problem is an overly full udder that is sensitive to pressure from the foal’s attempts to nurse. Although some mares are more comfortable after a caretaker milks out the udder, the best outcome is for the mare to allow the foal to nurse, as the antibodies in the first day’s colostrum are vital in protecting the foal from infection. Having a handler hold the mare with a halter and lead, letting the mare eat grain as the foal nurses, and using a lip chain or twitch to distract the mare are ways to allow the foal to nurse, after which the mare’s discomfort will be eased and she may allow the foal to approach without further restraint. Pressure from a lip chain or twitch should be slowly released as soon as the mare shows interest in the foal rather than aggression. It may take several days before it is safe to leave the mare and foal together without a human present, making foal rejection a labor-intensive problem on a breeding farm.

A padded gate or barricade can be used to keep the mare close to one stall wall so that she can’t turn her body away from the foal. An opening in the barricade allows the foal to reach the mare’s udder to nurse. Because some mares have a history of not letting their foals nurse, such a barricade should be constructed before the mare foals so that it will be available if needed.

A veterinarian may be able to treat the mare by administering oxytocin or a sedative. These treatments are not without some risk because it is possible for mares to react in unusual ways, possibly becoming more agitated rather than calmer.

If no method is successful in getting the mare to accept her foal, the foal should be given colostrum from another source within the first 12 hours after birth. Foals whose dams continue to reject or attack them can be bottle-fed or bucket-fed, but the preferred solution is to place the foal with a nurse mare that will nourish and care for the baby until it is weaned.