# Bottle Feeding a foal



## Aubrey715 (Feb 21, 2007)

Those of you who have bottle fed foals before or know about bottle feeding foals. Could you please help. We had a foal born last night and he has not nursed his mom yet. I have seen him come really close to finding where to nurse at a couple of times but he doesn't quite get hold of the the right spot. I fed him about 5 ounces of milk about an hour ago. I am hoping that he learns where to nurse and i think he will. We have tried bottle feeding a baby before but we didn't have any luck. Could you please tell how many many ounces of milk he should get? How often he needs to be fed? Thanks Aubrey


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## MiLo Minis (Feb 21, 2007)

Do a search on here for bottle feeding because there was a really good thread at one time. If you do bottle feed the closer you can keep it to natural the better. A foal will nurse in small amounts approx. 6 times an hour. Which of course is crazy - you can't do that but try to nurse him as many times a day as you possibly can. Keep his head down and turned to the side just as if he was nursing from his mama. If you hold the bottle so that he has to put his head up he can aspirate the milk into his lungs. I would be pumping the mare for the colostrum as well but it is already getting late for that if he was born last night. You should have the vet out to check his immunities. You may have a dummy foal on your hands. Does he nurse the walls, etc?


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## Aubrey715 (Feb 21, 2007)

He was born about 6:00 am this morning. I have been milking his mom and bottle feeding him. She has plenty of milk but he just can't find it. He has got really close a few times on his own but never latched on. We have been on the phone with the vet about it but thought i would check with people on here to see what ya'll have done before. And yes i know he is a dummy foal.


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## MBhorses (Feb 21, 2007)

Hello,

i don't know how to help with the bottle feeding, but hope your foal is okay.

I would love to read what everyone says about bottle feeding,because you never know when it could be you.

Good luck,

keep us posted,

melissa


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## tagalong (Feb 21, 2007)

> And yes i know he is a dummy foal.


A dummy foal - as in blindly staggering around, bumping into walls, no suck reflex etc.?

Or just not quite grabbing a teat and sucking - but finding the right spot or sucking and snorfling around his mom? In that case - tie mom up so she cannot move around a lot... and just leave them alone for a while and a bit of observation. He may get a bit hungrier and figure it out....a full tummy from being fed may make him a bit less enthusiastic to try harder...

I am glad you let the vet know what is going on - and if you have been feeding him he will have gotten some colostrum..




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## Aubrey715 (Feb 21, 2007)

> A dummy foal - as in blindly staggering around, bumping into walls, no suck reflex etc.?
> Or just not quite grabbing a teat and sucking - but finding the right spot or sucking and snorfling around his mom? In that case - tie mom up so she cannot move around a lot... and just leave them alone for a while and a bit of observation. He may get a bit hungrier and figure it out....a full tummy from being fed may make him a bit less enthusiastic to try harder...
> 
> I am glad you let the vet know what is going on - and if you have been feeding him he will have gotten some colostrum..


He does have sucking reflex and everything. But he has also been trying to suck the walls and everything. He knows the general area where to go to nurse and has got real close several times but just never latched on in the right spot.

How long should you let him go hungry to see if he gets hungry and nurses on his own?

Thank you everybody for your help. Aubrey


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## FairytailGlennMinis (Feb 21, 2007)

Hey Aubrey. Have you tried putting the bottle or syringe back near the udder and smearing the teats with milk as well? I think I remember someone smearing Karo syrup on the teats. I sure hope the little guy figures things out.





Best of luck!

-Amy


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## Janis (Feb 21, 2007)

Hi Aubry,

It sounds like the baby has good sucking reflex. Do you have some syrup or Karo syrup. If so, put a little on your finger and stick it in his mouth. He will like the sweet taste. After he gets the smell & taste & likes it, put a little on the mares teet then lead him under her with your finger to her teets so he can smell it on her. That has worked for us before.

Good luck

Janis


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## Mona (Feb 21, 2007)

Aubrey, a foal will often try to nurse on everything to find the source. Sounds like your guy has the right idea, just the wrong spot. I agree, smear the mare's bag with fresh milk...do it over and over and over agin until he gets it. You need to sit right there with him, trying to guide him to the right direction. If you can reach your arm to his mouth from between the mares back legs, and ever so slowly move it back to the bag, then actually squirt him in the face with milk. Try everything over and over, and eventually, he'll get it. Good Luck with him! I know how frustrating being in that position is!!



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## GREENWOODMINIS (Feb 21, 2007)

we had a fescue nightmare and didn't know it...so, we had a mare that didnt get milk. so, we had no other choice but to bottle feed in the end( tried to bucket feed etc... but that was the only thing that worked for her. I fed every hour...the baby needs a certain amount to grow and survive...the foal can go down so fast... I would get your vet out asap...and, also you might need a IGG test...this is really important for the babies health.

I am at the world convention right now in vegas...but, feel free to call me if I can help in any way...there was a few tricks we tried that seem to work well for our foal that may help you...just let me know.

good luck,

lis


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## SHANA (Feb 21, 2007)

Hi, the only horse I bottle fed was a arabian foal. She would not drink out of a bottle but would out of a bucket. We fed her foal-lac every 2 hours for the first week, then every 3 hours for the 2nd week then every 4 hours the 3rd week and when she was a month old she started getting milk pellets as well as the foal lac so we fed her milk at 5p.m and 5 a.m and milk pellets just before we went to bed and at noon. She also got fed foal grain 3 times a day, once at 5a.m, once at noon and once at 5p.m. It is a good thing there was 7 of us so we just took turns doing the shifts. Since at the time I worked nights and finished around 11p.m and got home around 11:30p.m I did the midnight feeding. I sold that filly when she was almost 2, but recently bought her back. She will be 4 in June. She is about 15.2hh.


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## Sunrise Valley (Feb 21, 2007)

I had a foal that didn't nurse for a good while. I milked the mare and fed him from a Playtex nurser, the kind with the colapsable soft plastic inserts. That way I could squeeze the bag with my finger tips to make sure he was getting enough before giving up. Feed him from the opposite side, holding the bottle right by the mares udder. I did this every 45 minutes or so for the first 12 hours to make sure he got the colostrum he needed. Then one time I came in to feed him and he ran over to Mom and latched on. Then looked up at me as if to say "Did you see me?" I was so relieved!


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## garyo (Feb 21, 2007)

Dear Aubrey:

We had a beautiful little colt born on Sunday, January 7th who came with a very difficult birth.(Ours is probably the thread that was referred to earlier) Once we broke the bag, got him breathing and cut the cord he could barely stand and wouldn't nurse. We had the vet out that night and she tube fed him colostrum. The colostrum is very important in the first 24 hours no matter how you get it into your foal. Starting the morning of day two we began milking Mom and feeding milk substitute from the feed store. At first we used a large dropper every ten minutes. By noon on Monday he was slurping up 4 oz. of Mom's milk at a time from a dish like a dog. We continued milking Mom but backed off to every two hours so he would get a little hungry at the vets suggestion. Yes, we got up every two hours through the night and gave him his dish. By supper time on Tuesday he got the idea. We had rubbed milk on Mom, held his head under her bag while milk literally dripped from Mom and tried a bottle prior to this point with absolutely no interest on his part although he went after the dish. Then Tuesday night he latched on and went to town. I backed off to checking him every four hours and checking Mom's bag to make sure he was emptying her. I am happy to report that at one month he had nearly doubled his weight, runs with his mother and his beginning to eat mare and foal and hay. Our vet strongly discouraged pushing the milk into the foal by pushing the playtex bottle or using the dropper because of the threat of aspiration.

Our story has turned out well so far. Best wishes for you and your baby.


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## Aubrey715 (Feb 21, 2007)

Thank you everybody for your help and advice it has helped a lot. He is taking the bottle very well right now. We have got quite a bit of colostrum in him. I have been trying to help him find where to nurse her. He is getting really close and i feel like tomorrow he will be nursing her. She is being a great mom and trying to get him in the right spot. Thanks Aubrey


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## Charlotte (Feb 21, 2007)

Just a suggestion for foals that are sucking all around the mare, but just can't seem to get that nipple.....when baby is at the udder try to push a nipple in the direction of his mouth and hold it toward his mouth when he gets on. You may have to do this a number of times, but he'll learn in a while and soon be strong enough to hang on by himself.

It sounds like you are doing a great job with this baby and I bet soon you'll be rewarded!

Charlotte


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## Reble (Feb 21, 2007)

Keep putting the syrup even on the bottle you are nursing him with and on mom's nipples.

The smell of the honey or syrup will help direct him in the right direction.

Glad to hear he is taking the bottle, great start, I agree tomorrow or tonight, he will be on his way. :aktion033: :aktion033: :aktion033:

Keep us posted



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## minih (Feb 21, 2007)

I don't have anything extra to add, except we did have one last year that took forever to latch on, but she eventually did. Congratulations on your new little one, and I will keep hoping that he figures it all out soon.


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## tagalong (Feb 22, 2007)

> He does have sucking reflex and everything. But he has also been trying to suck the walls and everything. He knows the general area where to go to nurse and has got real close several times but just never latched on in the right spot.


It sounds as if all will be well. As others have noted - trying to suck the wall etc. is normal.

All a foal's instinct tells him is to suck in a dark "corner" - and it may take them a while to find the right "corner". He may slurp and suck his way around the stall! Your baby does not sound like a true dummy foal...

Milk or Karo smeared on the udder always helps... sometimes I have cupped the baby's chin with one hand...and guided him in while presenting the teat to him with the other hand. Eventually - they latched on and figured it out. And as I said - a bit of hunger can work in your favour...



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## Aubrey715 (Feb 22, 2007)

We have had true dummy foals before and i wouldn't say this is a true dummy foal. Right now he is doing really good and keeps getting closer and closer to finding her nipples. But until he learns to nurse we are going to keep milking the mom and bottle feeding him. Right now i would say he will learn where to nurse by tomorrow but then again i could be wrong. Thank you everybody for your tips and everything. I will keep ya'll posted on how he is doing. Aubrey


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## Aubrey715 (Feb 22, 2007)

Just got back up to the house from the barn again and i thought i would let ya'll know that the Karo trick is starting to work. He got latched on and started nursing for a little bit. I still have a lot of work to do with though. But thought i would share a little bit of good news and tell ya'll that your advice with putting the Karo on her nipples are starting to work. Thanks you guys. Aubrey


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## Russ (Feb 22, 2007)

:aktion033: YES.......great news...keep up the good work...your little guy will be a pro at the faucets in no time.


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