How to Prevent Foal Rejection

"How to Prevent Foal Rejection"

            Horses are elegant creatures and very smart, but no one really knows what goes on in that big head. For all we know, they could understand us completely and talk back and maybe they do in their own way. Though horses show behaviors to display communication with humans, a mares bond with her foal is even more evident. Unfortunately this bond is not always present in some mares and the foal's survival depends on the mare's actions. A lack of this bond is called foal rejection. There are a few reasons why this happens but fortunately we know enough on how to prevent it.

            When something does not click right in the mare’s head to protect and care for her foal, people step in to help her understand. A common cause of foal rejection is fear. The mare is scared of a new something suddenly in her space. When a mare goes into labor for the first time she feels pain and discomfort, then it quickly ends, and she stands up and then there is a new unfamiliar creature in the stall with her. Don’t allow the baby to approach her, let the mare approach him. Part of this fear results when the foal staggers to reach her, and she kicks because she cannot get away from this unfamiliar creature to her. This is when people come in to hold the foal down to show her it won’t harm her. After a little while the mother will get used to the sight, smell, and the sound of the new baby. As her curiosity develops, the mare approaches to sniff at the baby. Finally, she licks the foal, which triggers an immediate realization the baby is hers. She then understands and takes possession of him. This method makes sense to me to show her that the foal meant no harm.

            Another reason a mare may neglect a foal is having a painful udder. In this particular case, the mother does want the baby, but there is pain in her udder which causes her to kick when the baby nurses. Even if the foal is in no harm after several kicks, the mare’s behavior could increase into rejection. To eliminate that possibility you could milk the mare to reduce the pressure, and then bottle feed it to the foal. Another solution is to administer diuretic drugs to quickly reduce the pressure and swelling to relieve the pain. Since a veterinarian needs to be present this is a great medical treatment.

            Sometimes even nature makes mistakes, and in this specific situation nature did not give the mare knowledge about her future baby. I think it is interesting how man researched and experimented, so they can find ways to help her understand and identify her foal.

            Although foal rejection does not occur very often, it does happen and can have a devastating outcome. A rejected foal would not survive in the wild, but with the interventions with people many foals are saved.