Goals for today's lecture

Normal gestation 320-360

First four days of life are critical
Fetal Passage through the birth canal promotes thoracic compression
- Expulsion of fluid from upper airway
- Neurologic stimulation
3-2-1
Stand in 1
Nurse in 2
Foal pass the meconium by hour 3 of birth
What else should happen during birthing by hour 3? Passing the placenta

Umbilical cord
Should break naturally
Natural break point can be manually separated if needed. 1-2 inch from foals
body wall
Look for hemorrhage, urine , or abnormal swelling
Immediately submerge navel with disinfectant
.5 chlorhex
1-2 povidone solution
7 tincture of iodine
Apply disinfectant twice a day for first 3-4 days
Monitor for swelling (omphalitis) or urine leakage (patent urachus)
If pee comes out of umbilical call vet

Enemas
Many farms routinely give an enema to their newborn foal
Helps pass meconium easily
Meconium is the “first poo”
Black in color, firm in consistency
Followed by brown, pasty fecal matter normal for milk diet
Do not give more than 2 sodium phosphate enemas in the first 24 hours
Can use electrolyte abnormalities

Vit e
Many farms supplement foal and mare with vitamin e
Give foal shot
Start first day
Prevent neurologic conditions such as nutritional myopathy
Selenium may also be recommended
Prevents white muscle disease
Physical examination of foal
Cardiovascular
Respiratory
Neurologic
Gastrointestinal
Musculoskeletal
Ophthalmic

TPR
99-100 adult
28-44 adult
10-24 adult resp
99.5-102.1 foal
80-100 foal
20-40 foal resp

Cardio
CRT< 2 seconds
Jug veins should refill readily
Arterial pulses should be strong and readily palpable in extremities
Normal hr is 80-100
Slightly lower after birth
Increases when struggling
Increased hr due to stress, excitement, fever, sepsis
Decreased hr can be due to electrolyte abnormalities

Resp
75 breaths/min
50 breaths/min
34/min at 12 hours
Increased resp rate can be early sign of infection. Temp if necessary
Foal is standing, thoracic cage should be palpated
Follow each rib
Fractures can be common, especially near costochondral Junction
Lung sounds in the young foal are loud and harsh
Lack of lung sounds can be associated with a collapse or infection

Neurologic examination
Evaluation of generally behavior, mentation, cranial nerve fx, posture, gait, coordination and
spinal reflexes
Limb hyperreflexia
Hypermetric gait
Basewide stance
 Intention movements
Absence of a menace response
A healthy newborn foal is aware and responsive to its environment soon after birth
Should show bonding behavior with dam
Should be able to find mares udder and nurse within 2 hours
Call vet if foal unable to

Hypoxic Ischemic Encephalomyelopathy

Peripartum asphyxia or hypoxia can cause HIE - often referred to maladjustment or dummy foal
Symptoms can vary, but foals act abnormally
Often no interest in dam
No interest in nursing, poor suckle reflex, difficulty finding udder
Madigan squeeze
Foal is dull and unresponsive
Seizure activity can occur
May need to supplement oxygen in severe case

Gastro exam
Can easily be evaluated by listening to abdomen for normal gut sounds or borborygmi
Most importantly
Observe passage of meconium
Should be followed by softer, tan-colored feces
Abdominal distention is always abnormal
Meconium impaction
Foal stands with back arched and tail lifted
Becomes more restless
Colic an eventual abdominal distention will occur

Musculoskeletal exam
Palpate all joints
Look for signs of trauma
Flexor or angular limb deformities should be assessed
Poor muscle tone (floppy) can occur with sepsis
Excessive joint mobility is common w/prematurity
Swollen joints, especially if warm and painful, suggest infection

Opthalmic exam
Eyes of a newborn foal are open with clear corneas
Pupillary light reflexes are sluggish
Congenital cataracts are the most common congenital defect
Entropion can occur
A condition in which one or both eyelids, usually the lower one, is turned inward so that
the eyelashes rub against the eyeball
 Can be surgically or medically resolved
Green-yellow glow in eye chamber are characteristics of uveitis, and is often secondary to
infection elsewhere in the body
Early intervention is key in foal

Colostrum Acquisition
Foals do not have circulating antibodies at birth
Cannot start producing their own until 1-2 weeks of age
Does not attain protective levels for several weeks
Colostrum is key
Foal must receive colostrum in first hours of life
Ideally within 2 hours
Minimum if 1.5-2L
Intestinal epithelium is open to absorb antibodies in milk(IgG) for only 24 hours
Efficiency rapidly decreases after 6-8 hours of age

Failure of passive transfer

Detection:
IgG concentration in foal blood should be tested at 8-12 hours
Foal SNAP test
Goal is 800IgG/dL or above
Failure of Passive Transfer
Partial FPT: 200-400 IgG/dL
Full FPT: <200 IgG/dL
Want to know level for appropriate management
If FPT is suspected less than 12h of age, tube with colostrum
Milk mare
Frozen source
If FPT is suspected (or confirmed) greater than 12h of age, a plasma transfusion is warranted

Plasma transfusion
Plasma administration is indicated when foal is over 12 hours old
Some owners with high risk or high value foals request it despite good IgG levels
Available commercially
Also available to target certain disease, such as Rhodococcus Equi
A healthy foal older than 3 weeks with 200-400mg of IgG/dL should probably not be given a
plasma transfusion, as it interferes with antibody development.
Rhodococcus is an exception to this