Mare and Foal Care

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Mare and Foal Care,

Healthy Mare, Healthy Foal

Building the Foundation for a Lifetime of Health
The first step in raising a healthy horse is raising a healthy foal
Article by Intervet Foal Care Program is a service mark of Intervet Inc.

The first step in raising a healthy horse is raising a healthy foal.
How you handle, feed and care for your foal will lay the foundation for the rest of its life. Working with your veterinarian to develop sound management practices from the beginning, including proper nutrition and strategic vaccination and deworming programs are essential to a lifetime of health for your horse.

Start with a Healthy Mare

The first step in raising a healthy foal is a healthy mare. Prior to breeding, your mare should be in good weight and current on essential vaccinations and deworming. Routine dental treatment and foot trimming also should be up to date.

Vaccination is a critical preventive measure during your mare’s pregnancy. Vaccination goals for broodmares include:

Reduce the risk of infectious disease in the mare

Consider diseases common to your geographical region or to your farm
Core broodmare vaccines: Equine Herpes Virus 1 and 4 (EHV-1 and EHV-4), Tetanus, Influenza, West Nile Virus (WNV), Eastern and Western Encephalitis (EEE/WEE), and Rabies
Consider the prevalence of regional diseases, such as Botulism, Rotavirus, Strangles, Potomac Horse Fever and Equine Viral Arteritis (talk with your veterinarian to determine local disease threat).
Herd population dynamics: closed herd with resident mares only or open herd with recipients and outside mares and/or performance horses nearby
Farm management: infectious disease control measures
Herd immunity versus individual immunization

Reduce the risk of EHV-1 abortion. The EHV-1 strain of Equine Herpesvirus is the leading cause of infectious viral abortions in mares.

Booster at the beginning of the fifth, seventh and ninth months of gestation
All horses in contact with broodmares should be vaccinated with similar frequency to develop herd immunity and to reduce viral shedding

Booster your pregnant mare 4 to 8 weeks prior to foaling

Optimize the mare’s immune status during late pregnancy to facilitate the production of good quality colostrum and transfer of passive immunity to the foal. Booster four to eight weeks prior to foaling for the following:

EHV-1 and EHV-4, EEE/WEE, WNV, Tetanus and Influenza
Rabies (if not administered pre-breeding)
Note: vaccination against Strangles, Potomac Horse Fever, Botulism and Rotavirus is recommended only if there is a high risk of disease in your region or on your farm. Consult with your veterinarian to determine if these vaccines are indicated for your mare.

This important series of pre-foaling booster vaccinations stimulates the mare to produce high levels of protective antibodies at a time during late pregnancy when she is also producing antibody-rich colostrum. The newborn foal relies on ingestion of colostrum and absorption of the antibodies during the first 12 to 24 hours of life for protection against a wide variety of viral and bacterial diseases during the early post-natal period.

Strategic deworming is another essential ingredient of preventive health care. The major gastrointestinal parasites of concern in the mare are large and small strongyles and, in some instances, tapeworms. Another parasite, strongyloides, can be passed from dam to foal in the milk.

First steps toward a healthy life

Your new foal has arrived. The first few hours of life are critical. A healthy newborn foal should be able to stand within one hour of delivery and should be nursing within two hours. If your foal is too weak to stand and nurse, contact your veterinarian immediately.

Your foal should consume at least one to two pints of good quality colostrum within the first 24 hours of life to ensure absorption of adequate maternal antibodies. Peak absorption occurs during the first 6 to12 hours after birth. A healthy newborn foal should consume 15 percent to 25 percent of its body weight in milk daily and gain an average of one or two pounds per day. As your foal grows, he will need a gradual transition from an all-milk diet to solid feed.

Concurrently, mare nutrition is critical. The average mare produces up to 3 percent of her body weight in milk per day. Because of this substantial output, the postpartum mare requires a steadily rising plane of nutrition to support her increasing milk production. Peak lactation occurs approximately six to eight weeks after delivery.

You should observe your newborn foal frequently during the first few weeks of life to detect early signs of disease. Often the first signs of a sick foal are lethargy and decreased nursing vigor.

Vaccinations for foals

About now those spring foals are nearing four to six months of age, which means it’s time to start thinking about first vaccinations. Timing of the first vaccinations is critical. The maternally derived antibodies that provide the foal with temporary protection are the same antibodies that prevent the foal from mounting an acceptable immune response to vaccines administered too early. Work with your veterinarian to develop a customized vaccination program for your foal. Key considerations in achieving your foal vaccination goals include:

The mare’s vaccination status and colostrum quality
Risk of disease exposure. Your veterinarian can help you identify important regional as well as common diseases specific to your farm.
Herd immunity
Impact of maternally derived antibodies (MDA) on the foal’s immune response

Wendy E. Vaala, V.M.D., Dipl. ACVIM, regarded as one of the foremost experts on equine neonatology and perinatology, says the impact of maternally derived antibodies (MDA) should be considered carefully before making vaccination decisions. It is not an exact science; the decline rate of MDA varies for both individual foals and disease antigens. Vaala says maternally derived antibodies fall below protective levels for most vaccine antigens by three months of age, but remaining antibody levels may still block the foal’s response to vaccination.

For example, Vaala says the problem with administering currently recommended combination vaccines to foals is the inclusion of an influenza antigen. Although veterinarians generally recommend beginning vaccinations at approximately four to six months of age, a foal’s first influenza vaccination should not come until 8 to 11 months of age. This is because maternal antibodies can inhibit a foal’s response to inactivated influenza vaccines for up to nine months of age. In fact, administering killed influenza vaccines to younger foals may result in an ineffective or misdirected immune response.

Vaala shares recommended vaccination guidelines for foals in the table below, and reminds horse owners there is no better resource for specific questions on foal health and nutrition than your veterinarian.

The first vaccine developed especially for foals

Intervet recently introduced Prestige® IV FoalShot vaccine. It is the first vaccine developed especially for the foal. The new, four-way vaccine combines antigens for EEE, WEE, Tetanus and EHV-1 and EHV-4. The vaccine does not contain influenza, resolving the concern about maternal antibody interference in young foals.

Prestige IV FoalShot is the foundation for the new Intervet Foal Caresm program. The Foal Care program is the industry’ s first integrated foal-health program developed especially to help horse owners keep track of important milestones in their foals’ development and healthcare. The program is designed to take a horse owner through the entire foaling process, beginning with the health of the mare, and continuing through the first year of the foal’s life.

The new Web site, www.FoalCare.com, provides free, interactive tools and downloadable charts that veterinarians and horse owners can use to track the growth and health of foals. Horse owners can use the free, online healthcare calendar to track breeding, vaccination and deworming timelines. Just enter the breeding date — or desired foaling date — and the healthcare scheduling calendar will do the work for you. Create an account and store all of the scheduling information for free.

The Intervet Foal Care program is intended to support the healthcare program recommended by your veterinarian, says Vaala, who also is a Technical Services Veterinarian for Intervet and the architect of the Foal Care program idea.

Wendy Vaala, V.M.D., Dipl. ACVIM, Intervet Technical Services Specialist, shares recommended vaccination guidelines for foals

Vaccinations for Foals

Disease

Vaccination Timing

Booster

EEE, WEE, VEE

5-6 months of age for primary immunization

3-4 weeks after primary and repeat

3 months after second booster

Tetanus

5-6 months of age for primary immunization

3-4 weeks after primary and repeat

3 months after first booster

EHV-1 and EHV-4 (Rhino)

5-6 months of age for primary immunization

3-4 weeks after primary and repeat

3 months after first booster

Rabies

5-6 months of age for primary immunization

3-4 weeks after primary

Potomac Horse Fever

4-6 months of age for primary immunization

3-4 weeks after primary. Vaccinate if disease is endemic in area.

Strangles (Strep. equi)

4-6 months of age for primary immunization

3-4 weeks after primary; vaccinate only if there is increased risk of disease

West Nile Virus

5 months of age for primary immunization

Depends on vaccine:

3-4 weeks after primary if using 2-dose vaccine; no booster required with PreveNile™ West Nile Virus vaccine

Influenza

8-11 months of age for primary immunization. Foals nursing immune-dams should be vaccinated when maternal antibody levels will allow active immunization.

Intranasal modified live virus

(Flu Avert® I.N. vaccine): Single dose required for primary immunization.

Intramuscular inactivated vaccines: Series of 2 – 3 doses given 3 – 4 weeks apart for primary immunization.

Revaccinate every 6 months

Contact Information
For more information about Intervet and the full line of Intervet equine products, contact your veterinarian, animal health supplier or Intervet customer service at
1-800-441-8272 or visit www.FoalCare.com.

Prestige is a registered trademark, PreveNile is a trademark, and Intervet Foal Care program is a service mark of Intervet Inc. or an affiliate. Avert is a registered trademark of Heska Corporation. © 2007 Intervet Inc. All rights reserved.

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