How to Recognize a Potential "Weak" Foal

Probably many horse breeders are keen on getting his mare pregnant, keeping it pregnant and getting the foal delivered. In many instances he or she can sit back and enjoy the newborn. However, a newborn foal can do a good job in concealing a less optimal condition because this is functional for his ambition to stay alive a potential threatening surrounding.
The first 24-36 hours it might seem doing reasonably well; even if it is suffering from a pathological condition, it will rely on energy reservoirs until they are empty before obviously crashing.

So in order to anticipate on a worsened situation a horse owner an his veterinarian has to recognize early signs of a pathological situation. In addition he or she needs to be aware of risk situations and in order to prevent further damage, he needs to be prepared. First of all we need to know the criteria of being a normal newborn: It normally will be born within 30 minutes. The sucking reflex should be present in 2 – 20 minutes. It will sit with elevated head within 4 minutes after birth, stand within at the most 2 hours with a mean of 60 minutes and will drink also within 2 hours average. Within the first 8 hours it will have to have consumed 2 liters of good quality colostrums. After 6-10 hours the first urine should be passing, and after 24 hours the yellow pasty feces should be seen and thus meconium has been eliminated. However, an abnormal foal is slow with basically everything and might stand under the udder a lot as if it drinks but will not actually consume enough milk. It lays down more than a normal foals and is weaker. It might follow the mother not closely when they move around the box, but again, will pretend to be normal. Since normal healthy foals sleep a lot and drink in small potions many times a day, or can be not very straight legged, it can be not that easy to discriminate between a healthy foal and a foal concealing its weakness. [...]