How to Raise an Orphan Foal

Young horses, also known as foals, spend approximately six months with their mothers before being weaned and made to fend for themselves. The mare will teach the foal how to forage for food, how to defend itself and how to interact with other animals. On rare occasions a mare is unable to care for its foal and it becomes necessary to raise the orphan foal by hand.

Things You'll Need

  • Halter and lead rope
  • Foal blanket
  • Calf bottle with nipple
  • Mare milk replacer
  • Water trough
  • Feed tub
  • Foal pellets
  • Hay
  • Wormer
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Instructions

    • 1

      Fit your foal with a halter and lead rope. Many orphaned foals can be difficult to catch, so keeping a halter and load rope on your foal will make handling him much easier. Remove the lead rope when the foal is loose to prevent it from becoming tangled up and injuring itself. You can fit your foal with a blanket to keep it from getting chilled if the weather is damp or cold.

    • 2

      Fill a calf bottle with mare milk replacer and screw the nipple on tight. Hold the foal's head and place the nipple near its mouth, allowing it to smell the milk. Press the nipple against the foal's mouth to encourage it to suck on the nipple. If the foal is reluctant to nurse, gently force the nipple into its mouth and squeeze it to express milk onto the foal's tongue. The foal should willingly begin to nurse once it knows the milk comes out when it sucks on it.

    • 3

      Feed your foal every two to four hours. A nursing foal will consume between 5 and 8 gallons of milk replacer a day and will need to be fed frequently to prevent gorging due to infrequent feeding sessions. Most calf bottles hold 2 quarts of milk, so expect your foal to consume an average of 2 bottles per feeding. Continue feeding your foal the milk replacer until the foal is approximately 6 months of age and is eating solid foods on its own.

    • 4

      Keep the water trough filled with water at all times. Foals will drink water even while they are nursing, and water helps stave off diarrhea and dehydration, which are common in orphaned foals.

    • 5

      Introduce your foal to hay and foal pellets when it is approximately one month old. Fill the bottom of a feed tub with foal pellets and cover the pellets with a bit of hay. The foal will nibble on the hay as it works its way down to the pellets and will learn to eat both solid foods in addition to its milk.

    • 6

      Worm your foal at 6 weeks of age to remove any worms passed on to the foal from the mare before birth. You can purchase a broad-spectrum wormer from your veterinarian's office. Place the tube of wormer as far back on the foal's tongue as possible, pressing down on the plunger to dispense the medication. Repeat the worming process every 8 weeks to prevent a full-blown infestation.