We had a foal born around 3am Tuesday.  6am - she was up and nursing so I left them alone.   9am - treated the navel, gave an enema and turned them out in the sunshine.   She was still wobbly but was walking and nursing.   She nurses almost constantly.   4pm - she is unable to get to her feet without help.  She is very leggy so I didn't think much of it...helped her up and she went straight to nursing.   9pm - had to help her up again and she was still nursing when we left the barn at 10pm.

This morning she was able to get up on her own but is still weak and wobbly.   Most 24 hour old foals are trying to run and jump by this time.    I tried to give her some Foal-Lac in a baby bottle and she will not take it....maybe she's not as hungry as I think she is.   But she continues to nurse constantly.

This is a first time mare and her udder is not very big but I was able to get some milk out of her and it appeared yellowish and sticky so I THINK the foal is getting the collostrum.   Her udder is larger and tighter this morning than it was yesterday.

This mare's dam was also slow coming to her milk the first time, so......???   We fed her beer with her feed for 3 days and that seemed to do the trick.

I am just worried that the foal seems so weak.

Any thoughts or suggestions are appreciated.

Thanks, Beverly

I contacted 2 different vets today and neither had any great advice.  Some antibiotics to ward off any infections.  Since we are past the 24 hour mark, synthetic collostrum would be ineffective.  The main thing now is to try to boost the mare's milk production.  We have increased her feed and have added some beer.

I have not seen the foal pee or poop.  Maybe she did out in the field???  I did a rectal exam and felt nothing in there.

Will check temp and hydration.

Thank you for your replies, Beverly

Has the mare been given Don peridone (sp)? It will make milk come in on a mare that isn't even pregnant! Nutrition of the baby is the #1 issue here. You have a short window of oppurtunity to turn it around. I would get the mare & foal to a specialist or vet school if at all possible.

http://www.exodusbreeders.com   offers great  Neonatal supplements and supplies

Was either parent a paint?

No, neither is a paint.  Mare is a black TWH, sire is red, foal is bay.

Someone else suggested the Dom Perignon which shocked me.  That stuff is like $150 a bottle!  Asked the vet about it and he said the beer would do the same thing. 

Started her on beer this afternoon.  Turned them out for a little while this evening and the foal is much more active.  She ran a little and jumped a couple of times.  And she did poop a little bit.

Maybe she is just a late bloomer.  We have been foaling out mares for 10 years and have never had one be so slow to perk up.

Okay...Started the mare on the beer early yesterday afternoon.  She got two yesterday and two today.  By this afternoon, her udder has nearly doubled in size and the milk is flowing freely.  

The foal is WAY more active and bowels and kidneys are working.

Don't know if it was the beer or if Mother Nature finally kicked in...either way, I am SOOO relieved.          "PHEW"

I may have panicked a little too quickly.......but thanks to everyone who posted suggestions.            Bev. 

I may have panicked a little too quickly.......

No such things when it comes to the babies.

Adding beer to the feed will help a mare who is not milking enough.  The yeast in the beer helps her body produce more milk.  One beer mixed with the feed twice a day.  Usually about three days is all it takes.

RIDE ON!

I do not know why it works...it just does.  We had someone suggest it to us several years ago.  We have used this trick many times and it has worked every time.  I had someone ask me recently if it would work for cows...I don't know, never tried it on a cow.  However, alcohol does come through breast milk in humans so I would think using beer on dairy cows would be a no-no.

RIDE ON!

I have never heard of giving beer to a mare to increase milk production but what the heck.....there are lots of home remedies out there that work great.  If it works and is safe for the mare and foal, it is worth a try. 

We just had an Arabian mare give birth to her first foal and believe it or not ..... she has gallons of milk!  She started dripping and squirting milk 12 hours before she gave birth and it has been 2 days now and she has a nice big udder with plenty of milk to offer.  I don't think we are going to need any beer in our barn right now ..... except to celebrate!

Just a comment to the previous post.  Cows and horses have completely different digestive systems.....if you gave beer to a cow it would probalby cause it to bloat.  Not a good idea.