Collecting colostrum

Colostrum is the mare’s first milk and is produced during the last 2–4 weeks of gestation. This thick, yellowish, sticky secretion contains immunoglobulins (antibodies) that protect the foal from infection until its own immune system is developed—typically within the first few months after birth.

Until then, your precious foal extends an open invitation to infection and contagious disease unless it receives adequate colostrum. Because colostrum is produced for less than a day after birth, and because the foal loses its ability to absorb colostrum after 12 hours of life, it’s imperative for this vital fluid to get into the foal shortly after birth.

First and foremost

When a foal nurses for the first time, it takes in this rich, protective milk and receives the vital antibodies, an act called passive transfer. If a foal doesn’t receive adequate colostrum, it’s said to have failure of passive transfer (FPT). There are many reasons a foal may suffer from FPT:

• The foal is too weak to stand and nurse

• The mare lactated prematurely and lea­ked the colostrum prior to birth

• The colostrum has an inadequate antibody content

• The foal is unable to absorb the colostrum after 12 hours of age

• The foal is orphaned before it can nurse

• The mare rejects the foal

• The colostrum is otherwise unavailable from other sources

If your foal is unable to stand and nurse, or your mare is at risk of dying, you can milk the mare for her colostrum and have your vet administer it via stomach tube. To extract colostrum, simply grasp one of the mare’s teats between your thumb and forefinger, press up into the udder then gently squeeze the teat as you pull down. Use a clean jar or sealable plastic bag to collect the colostrum for the vet.

If FPT has occurred for other reasons, colostrum can be sourced from a colostrum bank in your area. Many sources such as veterinary clinics and schools, and large breeding farms, keep colostrum frozen year round for emergency use.

Consult your veterinarian for colostrum sources in your area. If frozen colostrum can’t be obtained and given within the first 12 hours, your vet will administer equine plasma via a catheter as an alternative source of antibodies.

Give it a shot

You can boost the immune quality of your mare’s colostrum by vaccinating her three to six weeks prior to delivery or as recommended by your veterinarian. However, even if you’ve vaccinated your mare and her colostrum looks good—yellow, sticky and thick—there’s no way to gauge quality by appearance alone.

Only a blood test performed by your veterinarian, called the IgG, can ensure your foal has absorbed sufficient colostrum. Do this 18 hours after birth. If treatment is necessary, it must be started immediately.

Because colostrum is the nectar of life for all foals, consider freezing your own source or joining the breeders around the country by donating colostrum to banks. Collect approximately 1 cup (8 fluid ounces) of colostrum two to six hours after foaling, after the newborn has nursed several times. Freeze at -4° Fahrenheit (-20° Celsius) for up to a year or donate.

Editor’s note: Thanks to Joseph Teshera DVM, Willamette Valley Equine, Aurora, Oregon, for his assistance with this article.

By Patty Brumley

Printed in the February 2008 issue of Appaloosa Journal.

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