Giving your Foal a Good Start

This article is from the February 2019 Horse Deals magazine.

Kerry Dunstan is a second generation breeder at Malibu Park Stud, as her mother, the late Lee Sinclair imported and produced many successful Riding Ponies. Kerry, brought up in the horse world continues the tradition of producing quality ponies. Paul too has spent his life with horses, from the milk cart horses in Williamstown, through to breeding the Gold medal eventer, Darien Powers, to breeding and training Riding Ponies and racehorses. Over the years Paul has been in great demand as a breaker and retrainer. He has studied equine reproduction with Angus McKinnon BVSc. MSc. Diplomate ACT. Dip Vet Med. Diplomate ABVP at the Goulburn Valley Equine Hospital and together with Kerry, also a multi registered midwife, they have the technical and hands on experience to provide expert advice on the production and handling of very young horses. Malibu Park is not a big Stud and produce five or six foals a year, that they can easily accommodate in house without any staff. Other, bigger studs may do things differently, but Kerry and Paul have had many years experience and always take a better way if they find it.

“To give your foal the best start”, says Paul, “you must try to give it the best parents. Just because you have a mare does not mean that it is an ideal breeding proposition. If you are not an experienced breeder, it is a good idea to get the vet to check the mare out for breeding suitability. Also look at your mare critically for conformation, movement, prettiness, temperament etc and try and find a stallion that compliments her good points and more so is strong in the details that may be a little weak in her. Don’t just go for a stallion because you love it and it is fashionable, because it may not be the ideal match for your mare. Also if possible it is a good idea to look at the generations behind the mare and the stallion to see if what you like in the horse is genetically consistent. Even with the best possible matings it does not always work, but you have a greater chance of success if you put well matched parents together.

“It is important to have the mare scanned for pregnancy between 15 and 18 days after serving to confirm that she is pregnant and to check that it is not a twin or multiple pregnancy. At this stage the vets can usually ensure that only one foal continues on, as the chance of twins going full term and surviving is rare. You are likely to lose both foals and the mare if the twins go full term. Once our mares are in foal we turn them out in the paddock during winter, but it is important not to let them get too fat during this time, because when the Spring grass kicks in, they will only get fatter and an obese horse is a high risk patient during foaling. The mare should be in good condition, but not overweight. When the foal is born, you can feed the mare up to help with milk production.

“Nowadays the worming chemicals are supposed to be safe for pregnant mares. Younger horses need more regular worming and you must judge their condition to decide if more regular worming is required. We worm our broodmares as they do at Goulburn Valley Vet Hospital; we worm them about nine days after the foal is born and if all is well, they may not be wormed again until the following year. If they are looking well, we leave them alone.

Birthing
“We bring all our mares in to a stable to give birth, because we want to be up close and keep an eye on them. Not everyone can do this, but we have them in the box at night and out in a small paddock during the day with a foaling alarm on them and a camera in the box. Some people leave them in the paddock to foal and 99% of the time all will be well. It is as nature intended, but Mother Nature can be a cruel mistress. We have had a few foals over the years that may not have survived without our assistance at the birth. Sometimes they need a little help for instance to make sure the bag is not covering their nose, as they could suffocate and if their legs are not in a good position for foaling, we can help. To help reduce the risk of joint ill (a joint infection caused by bacteria or septic arthritis) we spray the foal’s navel with purple spray, as generally the bacteria enters through the umbilical cord.

We are small breeders and we can accommodate the mares in the stables if the weather is bad. We would love them all to be born in October, but if they missed last year, or we do not know the mare’s breeding history, we may start serving the mares early and bang, they get in foal first time and you have an early foal. An early foal does have the advantage of the Spring grass whereas if it is born in December or January, the paddocks here have usually dried off.

“Ideally, once the mare starts foaling, we want the foal out and looking good within 20 minutes or so. We want the foal on its feet within two hours, some are up much quicker and you want them having their first drink well within the first few hours of birth. If the foal has not had a drink within that two hours, it may be because a young maiden mare is so fascinated with the foal that she turns to look at it when it tries to have a drink. Also the mare’s teats may not have dropped and the foal can not get a good hold on them. You may be required to milk the mare and hand feed the foal until you can sort out the problem, but it is very important to get that milk in to the foal as soon as you can. It is rare that a mare rejects a foal, but it can happen. Also during this time you want to make sure that the afterbirth comes away. You need to be aware too that the mare can give birth standing. We have caught a couple recently.

Once the foal is born, ensure that it is breathing. If it is not, there are resuscitation techniques you can use and you should get your vet to demonstrate and explain what to do if in the rare event this is needed. When the foals are born, cast a critical eye over them to make sure all is OK. Foals can be born with an angular limb deformity or hyperflexion (contracted tendons) or hyperextension (tendon laxity). If this is the case or if anything is wrong with its limbs, the worst thing you can do is put it out in the paddock and let the mare take off and make the foal run. That will only compound the problem. You must keep the foal in the box and seek advice as early as you can, as a lot can be done to help rectify some problems.

Handling
“If everything is OK, the mare and foal can go out in to the paddock with the other mares and foals the next day, but we usually keep them in the box for about four or five days. During the day, they go out in to a small paddock to move around and play and come back into the box at night. We do that to be hands on at that early stage. We give them just enough handling so they are used to us, which stands us in good stead down the road. Too much handling will create a pushy foal that will become a pushy horse. Also during this time we are keeping a close eye on them, ensuring that they are urinating and manuring and that all is well. After that they go out with the other mares and foals, because of that early handling, they usually come up to us in the paddock, and that way we can more easily monitor them. When the mare comes in to be teased or served again, within 20-30 days, as we don’t usually serve on the foal heat, we would give the foal a little handling again and we worm them at about six weeks.

A sick foal
“If a foal has diarrhoea, it is usually a sign that they are not well and you must get on to it quickly, as they can go down hill rapidly. Don’t wait and see how they are tomorrow, as that may be too late; call the vet. The foal can get a little loose when the mare comes in to foal heat, but if the foal has a watery discharge and is scouring, get the vet quickly and keep a close eye on them. Also if a foal becomes lame without any obvious injury, call the vet immediately as it can have joint ill.”

Weaning
“Ideally we want the mare putting everything in to the foal which will cause her to drop condition and the foal to blossom. What we don’t want is the mare to be in great condition with a scrawny foal. If this is the case it might be advisable to wean the foal early. Our foals are usually weaned from five to six months of age. We bring the mare and foal in for a day or two and hard feed them which introduces the foal to this feed. We put a little head collar on the foal and then leave it in the stable and take the mare away. In 24 hours, we bring the mare back for half an hour or so, in order for the foal to have a really good drink and also to ease the pressure on the mare’s bag. We do the same thing in another 24 hours, making it a day between milk feeds and after that, we completely separate them. The two feeds 24 hours apart takes the pressure off the mare and reduces the risk of her developing mastitis. During this weaning time, we always try to have another foal, a paddock mate in the next door stable, so the newly weaned foal is not totally alone.

“Before the mother is separated permanently, we attach a little lead to the foal’s head collar, so it is easy to catch the foal without any fuss. During this time in the stable, we ask the foal to give to pressure, even if it is just moving from one foot to another. We reward the foal with a release of pressure. As time goes on, we ask for more and it is not long before we are leading it around the stable. Whilst in, the foal is given a little hard feed and as much good quality hay as it will eat.

“We keep them in for a week or so. When they are leading around the box, we will open the stable door and I will lead it up the ally way with Kerry following behind to encourage the foal to go forward. As soon as we have two foals that are leading well, they go out together in to a little yard during the day. If they are friendly and obliging, they go out in to a bigger paddock during the day. This process lasts for about three weeks and that is the weaning stage done. From there, the colts go in to one paddock along our drive and the fillies go in to another. We separate them, because it does not take long for the colts to become rough players. The paddocks they go in to have a big box to feed them in if the weather is bad and the box is surrounded by a yard which makes it easy to catch a weanling if we need to. There is nothing worse than trying to catch a wayward weanling in a ten acre paddock. The paddocks down the drive are in a good position, so we can easily see the youngsters every day.

First show - yearling
We have shown foals at foal shows, but we would rather wait for them to have grown up a little before we show them as yearlings. If we were planing to show a yearling in the Spring, we would bring it in at the end of July, to fatten and top it up and start educating it to be shown in hand.
“We put a little roller on them and a bridle and I lunge them. I put light side reins on them, not to force a head carriage, but rather to get the yearling used to a light, consistent contact on its mouth. They are taught to accept and go forward on a light contact. I would do that about two to three times a week. To get them going forward in hand, we start off with someone urging them to go forward from behind. Also we have a well fenced lane way leading out to a big paddock and I use that to encourage the yearling to go forward and the fence on the right hand side keeps the pony straight and it doesn’t take long for them to get the idea.
They are rugged at night and protected from the sun when they are out during the day. However, they are never rugged when they are just all turned out in the paddock together. During this time they get used to being brushed, washed and trimmed.

Float training
Our float lives in the stable alleyway, so the ponies see it every day, it is almost like another stable to them. We put the back ramp down and get them walking on and off. They are happy to walk on, stand for a minute or two and walk off. Ours is an angle loading float, so they don’t have to back off it. We sometimes take a youngster for a ride if we are taking another horse somewhere, just to get it used to traveling. Some are fine with the traveling and others go on the float, fat show ponies and come off at the show looking like racing greyhounds. You do not have to show them and it is better to wait to the next show or the one after that to get them in the ring. If they are not being shown with another horse, we always take a companion with them to keep them company on the float. Try and get them comfortable with traveling before you take them to an important show.

“We always prepare them on the float and put them back on the float between classes. This is easier now, because we have the angle load float. This also eliminates the risk of them disappearing around the show grounds. Years ago, they were all tied to the float, but nowadays we leave them on board as they do in the UK and Europe. Sometimes we have to tie one to the float, they are happy as they see the float is a safe place for them.

“When showing a yearling we give it more time to get it off the float and give it more time to settle than is generally needed with a more experienced horse. We will lead it around the showgrounds for about 10 to 15 minutes to see the other horses outside the ring. They start off being full of themselves, but soon settle and they are chilled out by the end. We would only do two to three shows with the yearling and then turn them out for the Winter with no rugs and a companion, just to let them be a horse again.

“Always with youngsters and horses in general, it is better to avoid problems rather than to find a remedy for them.”

Photos: Julie Wilson. Story: Anna Sharpley.

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