| |
You need to begin with the proper care of its mother If you want to avoid unhealthy baby-horses, your vital attention is needed once the foal is born
The health of the pregnant mother greatly affects baby-horses health. When we think of a foal we imagine them as being adorable, vigorous,and full of energy. You want your foal to be in the best possible health.
The first step in deciding to raise a foal is considering exactly why you want to take on this challenge. Many people decide to raise
horses
without really considering why they want to do so.

It really comes down to whether you are interested in investing your time, money, and effort in the pursuit of a foal.Breeding mares and raising a baby-horses is not easy.
There are many decisions to make and months of care and worry. Yet, many horse owners find that it is well worth their time and effort for the opportunity to raise a foal of their own and experience the wonder and joy that it brings.

Raising a baby-horse begins with the pregnant mare. It is vital that your pregnant
horse
has access to fresh water at all times, good quality hay, feed supplements as necessary, and good veterinary care.
your mare's nutritional needs will increase in the last trimester of pregnancy. Therefore, you will need to make adjustments in her daily feed rations to compensate for these changes.
Light exercise is beneficial for your pregnant mare, so don't be afraid to ride her. It is a excellent way to keep her in shape. avoid putting your pregnant mare in stressful situations. This could cause your mare to have problem carrying her foal.
Make sure to talk with your
veterinarian
about any vaccination your horse will need. Most boosters are given one month prior to foaling.
This will allow the foal to receive optimum antibodies against disease during its first few month of life, the foal with get these antibodies in the colostrum (nutrient rich milk) from his/her mother.

The long awaited moment will arrive approximately 340 days after your mare is bred. The approximate date is just a guideline. Any time within 320 to 365 days is considered normal.
Once the baby-horse has been delivered, try to leave mother and baby alone for as long as possible. This allows the foal to remain connected to the umbilical cord as long as possible. The umbilical cord will break when the mare stands up.
Make sure to treat the foal's umbilical stump cord with a 1-percent tincture of iodine or the disinfectant chlorhexidine diacetate. Do this immediately after birth and again a couple of times over the next day or so until the cord stump is dry.
Most baby-horses are standing and nursing within an hour of birth, although it does take some foals a longer time to figure the coordination of their legs. Once the foal is standing, the first order of business is for him/her to find the milk.
It is very important for the foal to get the colostrum from the mother's milk within two hours of birth, If the foal has not, you will need to help the colt(boy) or filly(girl)latch on for their life saving nutrition.
Only a few day after birth, your baby horse will try to graze and pickup bits and pieces of hay or straw.
They are merely going through the motions of imitation and aren't really chewing or eating much of anything.
By the time him/her are a couple of weeks old, their front teeth are in and they begin to eat bits of grass and hay. The introduction of grain usually happens very gradually after a few weeks. The amount of grain should be increased slowly until the foal is weaned.
Your foal needs to be dewormed regularly and receive vital vaccination. So consult your local veterinarian for all of your
pharmaceutical
medications and instructions.
Training any baby-horses can begin at an early age. Basics of haltering and leading should be introduced to the foal as soon as possible.
The key to remember at this point is to be very careful not to exert too much pressure on the foal's delicate head and neck. Quick and easy lessens are all that is necessary when the foal is young.
It is important to remember that dealing with a baby horse can be just as frustrating as dealing with a human child so just have a lot of patients, give a lot of love and everything will work out. Believe me the experience will be worth the time and effort
You need to begin with the proper care of its mother If you want to avoid unhealthy baby-horses, your vital attention is needed once the foal is born top of page
A horse's health relies on understanding horse pharmaceticals
Your roll in horse medicine is to understand parasites and illness in horses
When choosing the right western horse use equestrian and horse resourses as your guide
Pick the perfect kid horse when your child says I want a horse

|