The best start for your foal

After eleven months of waiting, the time has finally come, your foal is born! Of course, we all want our foals to grow up into strong, healthy, and happy horses. How do you ensure that your foal gets the best possible start in life?

First day

When your foal is just born, the most important thing is for it to receive enough colostrum. In the first six to eight hours, your foal should ideally have ingested one to two liters of this thick milk full of antibodies. It's difficult to see if your foal has actually consumed enough colostrum. Even seemingly active and playful foals sometimes lack enough antibodies. Therefore, have your veterinarian perform a quick test, preferably between 12 and 24 hours after birth. This can be done at home with a small amount of blood from the foal. The results are known within 10 minutes. If your foal lacks enough antibodies (which is the case in 10 to 20% of foals!), the veterinarian can supplement them with hyperimmune serum through an infusion. It is important to have resistance against viruses, bacteria, and fungi so that your foal is less likely to develop various diseases and infections.

First month

During the first month, your foal mainly lives on mare's milk, although many foals start 'grazing' or pulling at their mother's hay with their lips after just a week. Mare's milk contains a standard amount of proteins, minerals, and vitamins unless the mare is deficient. Therefore, you should ensure that she receives enough and the right nutrition. From about two weeks, you can also start giving the foal some extra minerals and vitamins, for which there are special pastes or small pellets. But in general, this is not necessary!

Second to sixth month: vitamins

Around six weeks after birth, the nutritional value of mare's milk decreases. It is very important to offer roughage and grass to your foal in a playful manner soon after birth. This will get the digestive system going and help the foal get used to grazing and chewing. A horse digests grass and hay with the help of 'good bacteria and fungi' in the large intestine. A foal has to build up this population of microorganisms; it is not born with them. The foal does this partly by eating the mare's manure. You might even see mares pushing their foals toward a fresh pile of manure! Although it may not look appetizing to us, young foals eating manure is a good thing. Therefore, never discourage your foal if you see this. Also very important: a growing foal must be on grass. This is essential. Fresh grass contains proteins, amino acids, vitamin E, and vitamin C. All these nutrients are very important for the resistance and growth of your foal. The free movement a foal gets in a pasture is also essential for the development of the musculoskeletal system. Be careful with lush pastures. You want your foal to grow well, but if there is a lot of energy in the grass, they may grow too fast, which is not ideal for skeletal development. If you can only provide limited pasture access or if the grass is not growing well due to drought, it is a good idea to supplement vitamins E, A, and C using a balancer. Vitamin E can also be found in good supplements, preferably liquid. Vitamin A is found in carrots, and you can also supplement vitamin C with rosehip in the mineral buffet.

Second to sixth month: minerals

From the second month onwards, when your foal starts eating more solid food, it should also receive a balancer. When it comes to minerals, it's not just about the quantity (no deficiencies), but often about the right ratios. More is not always better! The absorption of minerals can often be affected because they compete with each other. Minerals such as calcium, magnesium, and phosphorus - important for building strong bones - should always be fed in the right ratio. The ideal calcium/phosphorus/magnesium ratio for an adult horse is 2:1:1. For growing foals and young horses, the ratio is slightly different, with relatively more phosphorus needed. Special balancers for foals and young horses are ideal for this, as they contain the correct ratio. It is also important that the magnesium used is easily absorbed by your horse. If you mainly feed poor-quality hay, you may need to supplement with additional, readily absorbed magnesium. A mineral and vitamin deficiency or an incorrect mineral balance can have lifelong consequences for a young horse. Minerals, including copper, manganese, and zinc, and various vitamins, are necessary for a healthy digestion, healthy muscles and tendons, correct bone development, and the immune system of your foal.

Six months and older

Many people wean their foals at the age of five or six months. From six months, the digestive system of the foal is usually ready for this. Weaning at a younger age is often not recommended by specialists. Pay close attention to your own foal and mare. A foal that spends the whole day grazing with other horses from the herd is more ready than a foal still 'glued' to the mare. In nature, a foal gradually drinks less from the mother. If the mare is pregnant again, she will not accept that the foal from last year drinks from her a couple of months before the next birth. The foal is then already nine to ten months old! A weaned foal should have access to pasture and/or multiple small portions of roughage per day. This roughage must contain enough proteins for growth. Quality proteins are the building blocks of the body. Especially essential amino acids like l-lysine and methionine are important. Choose a good balancer for the young horse and consider giving liquid silicon. This mineral is essential for collagen production. It stimulates the body to produce glucosamine itself, which promotes bone growth. The development of tendons, ligaments, muscles, and connective tissue also depends on proper collagen production. Always ensure that young horses do not become too fat, as this is bad for their growth.

Read more about the role of silicon in the upbringing of horses here.

A healthy foal starts with a healthy mare. We have previously written an article on this topic, which you can read here.