[Tami]

I am looking for information from those who have raised an orphan foal. I'd like to know how you managed, what were special considerations, and any advice you can offer.

Tami

[Haas Horse Farm]

Just have to find out what it will eat and how... bottle or bucket or bucket with a nipple... Sometimes you can find another mare that will accept the second offspring or an orphan.

Why do you ask?

[Goonhorse]

I've heard that you're not supposed to give them a bottle because they think more of you as a horse and can cause some disciplines problems later on. Maybe that's just a myth, but I know I trained a mare that had been orphaned as a foal and she was a BRAT!!!

[Haas Horse Farm]

Often the Brat part is caused by the owner not making the foal respect them... it is no different than one who is not orphaned and allowed to lay on and invade the handlers space.... the foal being allowed to do things that it will not be allowed to do when it is older is what creates those problems. You hug it and hold it in your lap and then get mad when it weighs 700 pounds and trys to lay in your lap!!!!!

[tuckni]

I think that it is verry important to get the orph an with older horse as soon as you can, so it will learn to be a horse. I put my orphans out with my old gelding and just over the fence from the herd the day I bring them home. Then I put them out with the heard as soon as I can it is always with in the first week. BUT you have to KNOW all your horses, You HAVE to know what they will do.

[Arabians4ME]

Search my threads on AJ and Annie(April06-Aug06). Tons of info in them. Is there anything specfic you want to know?

[Goonhorse]

Originally Posted by Haas Horse Farm

Often the Brat part is caused by the owner not making the foal respect them... it is no different than one who is not orphaned and allowed to lay on and invade the handlers space.... the foal being allowed to do things that it will not be allowed to do when it is older is what creates those problems. You hug it and hold it in your lap and then get mad when it weighs 700 pounds and trys to lay in your lap!!!!!

Yes, that's probably true. It was an older couple who had never raised a foal before at all (that I know of, anyway) let alone an orphan foal!

[JBandRio]

A breeder I know on another board figured out how to convert a water cooler (you know, like the ones construction workers use, just not quite that large) into a "permanent" nipple feeder - it was really cool! The cooler kept the milk replacer at a good temperature so she only had to fill it twice a day, and baby could nurse any time he wanted, without human intervention.

One of the VERY best things you can do is find a gelding who won't tolerate c.rap from the foal, but who will tolerate some level of baby antics. He will provide the training the foal needs while you provide the milk.

[dawny]

We raised an orphan foal the spring of 2006. Mother died when foal was 2weeks old. We pail fed her every 4 hours around the clock. Milk replacer is very expensive. THere is milker replacer that you can leave out for fews hours now. The milk replacer you couldn't leave sitting out or reuse it. There was very few times that she didn't drink it all gone. We kept her in a stall at nite with a couple of board removed so that the 4 yearling in pen next to the stall could put their heads in and touch her. Had a yearling gelding that just loved her. During the day she was in a outdoor pen w/cover that was next to the pasture with other mares and foals plus the yearlings(yearling very moved out of the pasture at nite)(this all started at the end of March) I tried a couple of times to put the orphan with the other horse, but I had a mare that didn't have foal that year she wanted the orphan but the scared the orphan by trying to keep the other horses away from it. Mare keep herding the orphan around. Finally I just got the older horses move to a different pasture. Kept the 4 yearling at home and the orphan lived with them. The yearling gelding and her full sister took care of her. We still have her and you would never know that she was an orphan.
For us the milk replacer pellets were a waste of money. THe smelled terrible and she wouldn't eat them. THe cats did tho. She was starting to eat grain w/mom when she was 1 week old. She got a mixed of the best hay we had. Grass plus alfafhfa. We weaned her off of milk replacer at 3 months she was growing fine and eating grain. We bought foal feed that had no sugar in it. I don't believe in sweet feeds.
hope that answers some question. Just have help if the foal is very young the around clock feeding wears you out.

[Tami]

I appreciate the info. I ask because I am taking a course in equine nutrition and there is a section on feeding orphan foals. I thought it was an interesting topic and wondered how others have dealt with this.