Dr. Getty:

Have a friend with a 1-month-old walking horse foal that has been diagnosed with "milk overload diarrhea." The foal has had the problem virtually since birth. The thing is, the foal is already up to 200 pounds, despite the diarrhea, and the vets say mare's milk is VERY rich. While the foal is gaining 20-25 pounds a week, the mare is loosing about that much. The vets are saying that the foal should be weaned at 3 months.

Is there anything special that can be fed to the mare to help keep her weight up, but not affect her milk and make her foal even worse? I've never heard of this before - seems like a hard situation to deal with - either the mare keeps loosing weight, or the baby gets sicker.

Thank you for any advice I can pass along to my friend.
Nancy

Where are you from? Tennessee

How did you locate this forum? google search

Hi Nancy,

Lactating mares, in general, have very high caloric needs -- much higher than when they were pregnant -- to compensate for the energy it takes for milk production. I would suggest that she feed her mare a 50:50 mix of grass:alfalfa hay. She needs to have access to hay 24/7. This will provide the additional protein and calcium that she needs. She also should provide a good prebiotic to allow for the most efficient fermentation of this forage in the hind gut. Ration Plus is highly recommended in this case.

The foal is growing very rapidly, too rapidly, as you know. And, unfortunately, an early weaning may be necessary. Every effort should be made to do this slowly and with the least amount of stress to the mare and foal as possible.

All the best,

Dr. Getty

Where are you from? Bayfield, CO

Dr. Getty:

Thanks for your recommendations. The mare is getting some alfalfa everyday and free-choice grass hay. Don't know about the probiotic, but I'll ask my friend and tell her you recommended it.

The vets are thinking the foal has ulcers now (treating with a couple of things), and they think he might be lactose-intolerant. He may have to be taken off his mom for 1-2 days to see if it's lactose-intolerance. Poor mom and baby!

Thanks,
Nancy

Where are you from? Tennessee

How did you locate this forum? google search

Hi Nancy,

Sounds like a difficult situation, indeed.

Ration Plus, just FYI, is not a probiotic in the traditional sense of the word because it does not contain live microbes. Instead, it is a "prebiotic" because it helps the existing bacterial flora in the hind gut multiply. This makes digestion more efficient.

If this foal is lactose intolerant (which is really quite rare), have your friend talk to her vet about administering lactase to the foal prior to nursing to aid in digestion.

All the best,

Dr. Getty

Where are you from? Bayfield, CO