The Ten Must Have's in your Foaling Kit

Foaling Kits are important to have prepped and ready.  You can't cover everything, but most normal and many problem deliveries can be handled if you're prepared.

I'm sure everyone has their own personal set up and favorite 'must have' items.  We've tried different containers, stuff over the year and for the past few have used two plastic tubs - clear with lids - one the most used items, the other the dry items - blankets, rags, towel.  There are more things we keep on hand for foaling, and between January-February we take stock, clean or reorder as needed.

I have a dystocia chart that I review annually (also the books Blessed Are the Broodmares/Blessed Are the Foals).  I've delivered over 150 foals (I'm going to actually count one day!), but a refresher always helps!  It's good to know what you're feeling inside to match that mental image of a foals structure.

Other very important prefoaling must do - make sure your trailer is ready to go should you have to transport quickly.  If you can, have it hooked up just in case or at least ready!

   

Main foaling kit  - 

1. Nolvason and a bottle/bucket to prepare a dilution (for dipping the cord and/or sterilizing hands, etc.) I use an old style film case or shot glass size jar for dipping and a bucket for everything else.
   
2. Petroleum Jelly (vaseline is a name brand) for lubing.  I buy these at the Dollar stores and use one tub per incident (no mixing or contaminating that way)
   
3. Clean towels, rags and a large sheet (dry off the foal, clean up mare, self) The sheet I like to put under the mare for clean delivery)
   
4. Clean pair of scissors (sterilize with the nolvason)
   
5. Miner's headlamp (you wear on your head for hands free light)
   
6. Phone with the vets telephone number preprogrammed  (not in the kit but ready)
   
7. Extra pair of hands (friend, child, spouse) Okay hard to pack but oh so helpful!
   
8. Garbage Bag for placenta
   
9. Halter & lead for the mare
10. Rubber gloves (Honestly I rarely use these, nolvason clean hands/short nails works)

**This is our bare bones most used items.  We do have other items should we need them (colostrum, syringes, bottles, other blankets, chains/ropes, all kinds of useful items that can be grabbed/used in a pinch


Post Foaling Kit -

1. Banamine (dose mare after foaling) with fresh syringe
   
2. Ivermectin (dose mare after foaling) with fresh syringe
   
3. Foal Blanket (a couple different sizes)
   
4. Child size enema (dump out the contents and filled with warm water and a drop of soap)
   
5. Udderly EZ (the easiest way to milk a mare) with clean bottles and 60cc syringe
   
6. Foal Response (dose the foal)
7. Child's nasal aspirator (in case nose's need to be cleared)
8. Digital thermometer (I buy new every year)
9. Camera for that first baby photo (check the battery/card so its ready)
   

This year, I've been keeping the post foaling things in two gallon-size ziplock bags as its the stuff we need after the foal is out.  

So, what's your 'Must Have' items?

** Foaling Chart (not dystocia only)
** Foaling Chart (same as above, also available a mare & stallion reproductive chart)

Foal Response™

I've been using Foal Response™ for a four years now.  My feeling is it is a great boost for a very small cost on getting foals going.  I like to see foals up and active very quickly, plus I like the added boost this gives with the probiotics.

 We've had zero foal heat diahrrea since we've started using it - a bonus just in that - but that could also be attributed to de-worming mares the first 12 hours.  I'm a believer in that as well.

We purchase 5-6 tubes with our annual dewormer, vaccine, syringe, eye ointment order and use it all! It's ideal for older weanlings should they get an upset/colicy stomach too.  

You can purchase it through Jeffers, Valley Vet and a number of other online equine supply companies.  It runs around $12-13 a tube.  It is recommended to give the full tube, but we give half to one third depending on the size of the foal.

Below is the info sheet on Foal Response™.



Foal Response™
Premium Quality Bovine Colostrum with Essential Nutrients for Foals
• Formulated to provide newborns, older foals and weanlings with the optimum immediate care
nutrition they need
• Contains KPx™ Technology colostrum, rich in antibodies to stimulate immune response.
• Also contains probiotics and other essential nutrients
Colostrum: Nature's First Food Colostrum is the first milk produced by mammalian mothers at or around the time of birth. For most mammalian species, colostrum is well recognized as nature's "first food." Colostrum is more than milk though; it is one way in which the mother passes her immune system "knowledge" on to her newborn. Rich in antibodies, immune proteins produced by the mother's immune system, colostrum gives the baby the ability to recognize and fight the hosts of immune challenges it will face in the upcoming days, weeks, months and years ahead.
In some species, failure to receive colostrum as a newborn can even result in death. That's how important colostrum is to mammals.

Taking Colostrum to the Next Level: KPx Technology Vita Flex Nutrition uses only KPx Technology bovine colostrum in Foal Response. KPx colostrum is produced in the United States by a team of scientists and dairy farmers working side-by-side to create what may be the finest commercial colostrum produced. KPx cattle are given optimized diets and living environments, and the harvest period for each cow is strictly regulated. In FDA and USDA certified facilities, state-of-the-art filtration technologies are applied, down to the molecular level, to mine this optimized colostrum for its most bioactive properties. KPx may be the finest colostrum produced, and we're proud to say that we use it in Foal Response.
Bovine Colostrum for Horses? Yes! Many of the antibodies found in bovine colostrum are not species-specific.
This means that your horses can see beneficial results from supplementation with Foal Response. Studies have shown that bovine colostrum can successfully replace colostrum for other mammalian species. Although bovine colostrum cannot replace equine-specific antibodies to certain pathogens, it appears to stimulate overall immune competence to a level equal to that of babies that are fed mother's colostrum. Equines can greatly benefit from the KPx colostrum found in Foal Response.

Foal Response: More Than Just Colostrum! Newborn foals require much more than colostrum for optimal health and protection. Foal Response has been formulated to provide newborns with the optimum Immediate Care Nutrition that they need. Colostrum has been long-studied for its positive effects on the intestinal tracts of newborns, but colostrum is only one piece to the "puzzle." Probiotics have long been recognized as an important factor in gut health, and Foal Response provides the live microbials (probiotics) that may be missing in your foal's gut at the time of birth.

The KPx colostrum and probiotics found in Foal Response, along with other essential nutrients, make Foal Response an ideal supplement for newborns, older foals or weanlings.

For Breeding Farms and Backyard Breeders Alike Its combination of colostrum, direct-fed microbials and other essential nutrients can be of great benefit to every newborn. Every foal, whether born on a breeding farm or in your backyard barn, faces virtually the same set of immune and intestinal challenges. Whether breeding for sale or personal use, it is important to start your foal with the foundations for a long, healthy and fruitful life. Foal Response is formulated to address and meet these unique needs of the newborn, and will make an ideal addition to every supplement cabinet.
Recommended Feeding Warm to body temperature. Feed entire tube immediately following birth. Feed more Foal Response as needed or directed by veterinarian. DO NOT FEED TO CATTLE OR OTHER RUMINANTS.
KPx™ is a trademark of Apperon, Inc.
© 2005 Vita Flex Nutrition

Ten "Must Haves" in Your Foaling Kit

Foaling Kits are important to have prepped and ready.  You can't cover everything, but most normal and many problem deliveries can be handled if you're prepared.

I'm sure everyone has their own personal set up and favorite 'must have' items.  We've tried different containers, stuff over the year and for the past few have used two plastic tubs - clear with lids - one the most used items, the other the dry items - blankets, rags, towel.  There are more things we keep on hand for foaling and horse emergencies - but for the normal and/or mild dystocias below is what is in our kits.  Between January-February we inventory, clean, throw out or reorder as needed.

I have a dystocia chart that I review annually (also the books Blessed Are the Broodmares and Blessed Are the Foals).  I've delivered over 150 foals, but a review always helps.  The first few years I had a written checklist in a plastic sleeve in our box to go over to make sure I didn't forget anything - it really helped keep me on track those first few foalings.

Other very important prefoaling must do - make sure your trailer is ready to go should you have to transport.  If you work with a specific vet let them know your mare is close too.  If you can, have your trailer hooked up just in case you'll likely never need it!  

On to the foaling kits!

Main foaling kit  - 

1. Nolvason and a bottle/bucket to prepare a dilution (for dipping the cord and/or sterilizing hands, etc.) I use an old style film case or shot glass size jar for dipping and a bucket for everything else.
   
2. Petroleum Jelly (vaseline is a name brand) for lubing.  I buy these at the Dollar stores and use one tub per incident (no mixing or contaminating that way)
   
3. Clean towels, rags and a large sheet (dry off the foal, clean up mare, self) The sheet I like to put under the mare for clean delivery)
   
4. Clean pair of scissors (sterilize with the nolvason) 
   
5. Miner's headlamp (you wear on your head for hands free light)
   
6. Phone with the vets telephone number preprogrammed  (not in the kit but ready)
   
7. Extra pair of hands (friend, child, spouse) Okay hard to pack but oh so helpful!
   
8. Garbage Bag for placenta
   
9. Halter & lead for the mare
10. Rubber gloves

Post Foaling Kit -

1. Banamine (dose mare after foaling) with fresh syringe
   
2. Ivermectin (dose mare after foaling) with fresh syringe
   
3. Foal Blanket (a couple different sizes)
   
4. Child size enema (dump out the contents and filled with warm water and a drop of soap)
   
5. Udderly EZ (the easiest way to milk a mare) with a 20cc syringe
   
6. Foal Response (dose the foal)
7. Child's nasal aspirator (in case nose's need to be cleared)
8. Digital thermometer (I buy new every year)
9. Camera for that first baby photo (check the battery/card so its ready)
   
10. Package of baby wipes (they're just great for everything)

So, what's your 'Must Have' items?