"Foals" encompasses a stage in the lifecycle of equines with distinct physiological and developmental characteristics. Foals are young horses, typically under one year of age, undergoing rapid growth and development. They require specific nutritional, health, and management practices to support their transition to adulthood. This page compiles peer-reviewed research studies and scholarly articles that explore the growth, development, health challenges, and management practices associated with foals and horses, providing insights into their care and welfare across different life stages.
Rossdale PD, Pattle RE, Mahaffey LW.A SYNDROME in newborn thoroughbred foals, characterized by irregular respiration, convulsions, and lung pathology, has been described already1, and its resemblance to the respiratory distress syndrome of the newborn human noted. This latter condition is associated with the absence of the surface active lung lining complex, or lung surfactant2; this absence can be investigated by observation of bubbles obtained from the lung3. From normal lungs bubbles of very low surface tension which show great stability in air-saturated water can be obtained4,5. The present case demonstrates the common facto...
Corrêa WM, Nilsson MR.Five livers of equine fetuses, aborted due to the action of equine abortion virus, five livers from men, two of whom died of epidemic hepatitis and three obtained by needle biopsies, 5 livers of dogs with infectious canine hepatitis and 7 livers of ducklings that had hepatitis, were studied histopathologically. The foals' livers were studied by several staining methods and the others by H. E. only. The results indicate that the lesions are quite similar in the four species with the appearance of nuclear inclusion bodies only in foals and dogs. The strong staining properties of the nuclear incl...
STORMONT C, SUZUKI Y.WHEN a registered Thoroughbred mare in the United States is bred to two registered Thoroughbred stallions, the resulting foal can be registered only as the offspring of both stallions. This method of double registry has obvious disadvantages when it comes to keeping records of pedigrees. The Jockey Club, which is the registry organization for Thoroughbred horses in the United States, would like to keep the number of double-registered horses at a minimum. In that connection certain tests have now been developed in our laboratory which will permit exclusion of one of the two stallions in abou...
McManamny LF.This research argues for the veterinarians leading the planning and enforcement of disease control measures in thoroughbred stud farms, emphasizing their expertise and knowledge in disease diagnosis and management. Collaboration […]
Shi Y, Maga EA, Mienaltowski MJ.Diarrhea is a common disease that could threaten the welfare of newborn foals. While there are several forms of foal diarrhea, the etiologies can be considered known pathogenic or non-pathogenic in nature. Moreover, there are likely differences in the composition of microbial populations in the gastrointestinal tracts of foals depending upon the etiology of diarrhea. Our study aims to examine the microbial population in the feces of foals with both pathogenic and non-pathogenic diarrheas to discern differences in their microbial compositions. Results: Foal diarrhea samples tested positive or n...
Domańska-Kruppa N, Stefanik E, Wierzbicka M, Kleinpeter A.Cervical spine injuries that impact young horses and foals can result in mild to severe neurological signs or even result in sudden death. There are only a few reports on conservative treatment options for this condition in the scientific literature. If the condition is left untreated, it can lead to the development of degenerative joint disease, resulting in chronic neurological symptoms and discomfort. We present the case of a two-day-old Arabian foal that showed signs of ataxia following a neck injury, being the result of cervical spine subluxation. Radiological examination revealed a dislo...
Primo ALM, Assis DM, Santos VGS, de Melo LRB, da Nóbrega LD, Medeiros Dantas AF, Maciel TA.Cerebellar abiotrophy is a neurodegenerative disease that affects the Purkinje cells of the cerebellum, resulting in premature neuronal death. In horses, its occurrence has been reported mainly in the Arabian breed as a congenital mutation inherited in an autosomal recessive manner. The objective of this study was to describe the case of cerebellar abiotrophy in a Quarter Horse foal. An 8-day-old foal was treated after presenting signs of ataxia, hypermetria, difficulty maintaining a standing position, and decreased menace response. The foal was hospitalized for 26 days, received treatment wit...
Shnaiderman-Torban A, Meltzer L, Zilberman-Daniels T, Navon-Venezia S, Cohen A, Sutton GA, Blum SE, Amit S, Steinman A.Infections with extended-spectrum beta-lactamase-producing Enterobacterales (ESBL-PE) contribute to morbidity and mortality in human neonates. In foals, data are scarce. Objective: Determine the association between ESBL-PE gastrointestinal colonization on hospital admission and infections in hospitalized neonates. Methods: Sixty-seven foals. Methods: Prospective study of foals admitted to a veterinary hospital. Foals were screened for ESBL-PE colonization and for infections. Risk factors and clinical outcomes were analyzed. Results: Seventy-six percent of foals suffered from at least 1 bacteri...
Son JK, De Paz P, Kim J, Sanaei R, Ryu S, Bailey S, Davies HMS.Changes in the third metacarpal (MC3) mid-diaphyseal dimensions were measured radiographically in young Thoroughbred racehorses through race training and found to be associated with a higher risk of shin soreness. However, it is still unclear whether such negative MC3 morphologies are set congenitally or through development. Objective: To quantify MC3 bone dimensional changes through growth. Methods: Longitudinal. Methods: Twenty privately owned Thoroughbred foals were radiographed bimonthly from birth to 14 months of age. Four linear MC3 parameters (proximodistal MC3 length, mid-diaphyseal do...
Kamr AM, Bartish C, Summers J, Horton J, Hostnik LD, Orr K, Browne N, Dembek KA, Saliba C, Gomez DE, Toribio RE.Information about the association of antimicrobial peptides with hypovitaminosis D in hospitalized foals is lacking. Objective: We aimed to longitudinally determine the association of serum concentrations of vitamin D metabolites, vitamin D binding protein (DBP), and parathyroid hormone (PTH) with antimicrobial peptides (β-defensin-1 and cathelicidin-1) and the mRNA expression of the vitamin D receptor (VDR), 1α-hydroxylase (CYP27B1), 24-hydroxylase (CYP24A1), toll-like receptor-4 (TLR-4), tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), interleukin-1β (IL-1β), disease severity, and mortality in hospita...
Penazzi L, Pagliara E, Nervo T, Ala U, Bertuglia A, Romano G, Hattab J, Tiscar PG, Bergagna S, Pagliasso G, Antoniazzi S, Cavallarin L, Valle E....Foals commonly experience diarrhoea in the first weeks of life. Although this condition is rarely life-threatening, it can have significant health consequences. This study investigated whether new-born foals can benefit from a dietary supplement of nucleotides, as already demonstrated in other species. Dietary nucleotides have positive effects on rapidly proliferating tissues and are considered "semi-essential nutrients" since cells have only a limited capacity to synthesize these compounds. The aim of this study was to investigate whether providing foals with a dietary nucleotide supplementat...
Zhu D, Li S, Xu Z, Kulyar MF, Bai X, Wang Y, Wang B, Khateeb E, Deng D, Wang L, Chen Y, Guo A, Shen Y.Diarrhea presents a substantial risk of high morbidity and mortality among foals. Although studies have shown connections between gut microbiota and several gastrointestinal diseases, there is still inadequate information on gut microbial alterations in foals during diarrhea. In this study, we conducted 16S rRNA and ITS gene amplicon sequencing to investigate gut bacterial and fungal differences between healthy and diarrheic foals. The results unveiled significant reductions in gut bacterial and fungal diversities among foals experiencing diarrhea, accompanied by notable shifts in the composit...
Uprety T, Swan M, Kennedy L, Bryant U, Cassone L, Loynachan A, Janes J, Evely MM, Calvaruso FC, Quick M, Morgan J, Abdelrazek S, Lahmers K, Carter C....Clostridium piliforme is an obligate intracellular filamentous bacterium that causes Tyzzer disease (TD) in many animals. The disease manifests as severe, multifocal necrotizing hepatitis, with a high fatality rate in foals. Through retrospective investigation, we detected C. piliforme in 43 equine necropsy cases from 2012 to 2024. Positive cases were diagnosed from February to July, peaking in May. The age of affected foals ranged from 4 days to 2 months. Histologically, all cases had necrotizing hepatitis with multifocal, coalescing pinpoint, tan or reddish foci. Since only a partial 16S rRN...
Płoneczka-Janeczko K, Armstrong E, Siemieniuch-Tartanus M, Magdziarz M.The aim of the study was to explore and characterise healthy foals' eye microbiomes in the first two months of life. Unassigned: Conjunctival swabs were collected three times, not later than 12 h after delivery and again at the end of the first and the second months of life from six clinically healthy foals of the Polish Konik breed. The average interval between the first and second samplings was 33.3 days and between the second and third was 35.6 days. Next-generation sequencing performed on a MiSeq sequencer in paired-end technology was used to analyse the composition of the conjunctival mic...
de la Rebière de Pouyade G, Binard M, Deleuze S, Ponthier J.Standing caesarian section (C-section) in mares is poorly documented in the literature. It is reportedly straightforward to perform for veterinarians experienced in bovine practice and is more accessible and less expensive than recumbent techniques. The study aimed to create a survey to report the outcomes of in field C-section through a flank laparotomy with the mare standing under sedation. Unassigned: A survey was developed for field veterinarians practicing standing C-sections. Data were collected regarding the veterinarian's experience and practice type, details about the mare and the rea...
Bustamante R, Segura IÁ, Santiago I.Locoregional techniques promote multimodal analgesia and may reduce general anaesthetic requirements. However, there is limited evidence in foals. The rectus sheath block (RSB) is an interfascial plane block previously described in other species such as dogs, cats, pigs, and calves, and recently in foals, which targets desensitization of ventral abdominal midline. This block may provide an efficacious analgesic alternative for ventral celiotomies and umbilical surgeries. This case series reports the use of a bilateral RSB with 0.25-0.3 mL kg-1 bupivacaine (maximum dose of 2 mg kg-1) per hemiab...
Huang X, Li Q, Li X, Li C, Li J, He L, Jing H, Yang F, Li X.China's equine industry has shifted from traditional rough grazing to modern intensive farming, expanding the roles of horses into eventing, leisure, tourism, and meat and dairy production. Concurrently, equine nutrition has evolved from a forage-based diet to a more diverse regimen incorporating grain supplements to meet the heightened energy demands of intensive farming. However, nutrient digestibility and glycemic response vary considerably based on grain type, starch content, composition, and structural properties. Optimal grain selection is therefore essential for energy supplementation a...
Quattrini C, Knych HK, Magdesian KG.Alprazolam is used to facilitate mare-foal bonding in aggressive or anxious postpartum mares. In humans, alprazolam crosses the blood-milk barrier, but the amount transferred into milk is minor and compatible with breastfeeding as the relative infant dose is < 10%. Similar data are not available for horses. The aim of this study was to measure alprazolam in serum and milk of mares (milk: serum ratio) administered alprazolam, and to determine alprazolam serum concentrations in nursing foals to estimate the extent of absorption. This was a prospective observational study involving 7 healthy...
Himmele M, Engl JPM, Schwarz BC.The present report describes an 8-week-old warmblood foal presented following two episodes of epistaxis. The foal had a history of an umbilical infection, which had been treated with antibiotics when it was 8 days old. Four days before admission the filly showed severe, self-limiting epistaxis. The second hemorrhage occurred on the day of admission. The foal was lethargic and the remainder of the clinical examination unremarkable. A latero-lateral radiograph of the head revealed a fluid line within the guttural pouch. Endoscopy showed large amounts of blood within the pharynx and the upper thi...
Renaudin CD, Picandet V, Kass PH.Using the equation of Hartwig et al. and the table established for light breed horses, day of gestation was predicted in 108 Warmblood (WB) and 59 racehorses (Thoroughbred [TB] and Standardbred [STB]) pregnant mares. In WB, gestational ages were predicted within 2 weeks from 100 to 200 days of gestation using biparietal diameter (BPD), aortic diameter (AortD) or femur length (FL); within 2 weeks from 100 to 250 days using BPD or AortD; within 2 weeks from 100 to 300 days using BPD alone; and within 3 weeks from 100 to 350 days using eye approximated volume (EyV) alone. In the ...
Gao T, Liu X, Qiu D, Li Y, Qiu Z, Qi J, Li S, Guo X, Zhang Y, Wang Z, Gao X, Ma Y, Ma T.Cefquinome is used to treat septicemia caused by () and respiratory infections caused by subsp. in foals. However, studies reporting the use of cefquinome to target as pathogens of sepsis are lacking. Therefore, this study aimed to determine the optimal dosage regimen for cefquinome against using a PK/PD model. After the administration of 1 mg/kg cefquinome (intramuscularly or intravenously), blood samples were collected at different time points to determine the serum concentration of cefquinome via HPLC. The pharmacokinetic parameters were evaluated via NCA (WinNonlin 5.2.1 software). Th...
Cullinane A, Garvey M, Dayot L, Lukaseviciute G.Equine rotavirus A (RVA) is a major cause of debilitating diarrhoea in neonatal foals globally. The aim of this study was to characterise RVA viruses currently circulating in Ireland and to identify risk factors associated with disease outbreaks. Of the 377 samples submitted during 2023 and 2024, 48 foals from 36 outbreaks were confirmed to be RVA-positive by real-time PCR. The viruses detected were genotyped by VP7 and VP4 gene sequencing. In 2024, the attending veterinary surgeon was contacted, and epidemiological data were collected. These included the vaccination status of the foal's dam a...
Bernick A, Krohn J, Wehrend A.Patent urachus is a common disease in newborn foals. However, despite its frequency, studies investigating symptoms, comorbidities, treatment and prognosis in a large number of affected foals have rarely been conducted. This study aimed to describe the clinical symptoms, laboratory diagnostic findings and prognosis of foals with patent urachus. Data from 101 foals with a patent urachus from 2006 to 2017 were analysed. Patent urachus occurred at a frequency of 7.8% of all foals up to the 14th day of life during the study period. More colts (74.3%) than fillies (25.7%) were affected. In those wi...
Tagliavia C, Pietra M, Salamanca G, De Silva M, Canova M, Cacchione S, Castagnetti C, Bombardi C, Grandis A.Endoscopy of the guttural pouches in neonatal foals occasionally reveals atypical aspects in the course of the extracranial internal carotid arteries (ICAs) that are hardly seen in adult horses. While in veterinary medicine the data available on the presence of these anomalies in domestic mammals are limited and incomplete, in human medicine the morphological aspects of the ICAs have been the subject of extensive studies. Anomalies in the course and geometry of ICAs are commonly defined as dolichoarteriopathies, and should be classified as tortuous, kinked or coiled. To document whether the an...
Fernandes T, Uberti B, Robin M.Utrasonographic measurements of the abdominal viscera and the heart in growing Arabian foals have not been described. Objective: To establish normal intervals for ultrasonographic measurements of cardiac indices and abdominal viscera in growing Arabian foals from birth to 1 year of age. Methods: Prospective longitudinal descriptive study. Methods: Ultrasonographic images were captured from 15 foals every 3 months from 1 week to 1 year of age. During each examination, at least three images were obtained at each location and measurements were obtained using standardised ultrasonographic approa...
Cardinaux EM, Oltmanns H, Beineke A, Meißner J, Geburek F.Flexural limb deformities are a widespread condition in foals. Oxytetracycline is a common conservative treatment option with relaxing effects on the muscle-tendon-unit, potentially mediated through a matrix-metalloproteinase (MMP)-inhibitor mechanism. Its high therapeutic dose for this indication, potential negative side effects, and the guidelines for prudent use of antimicrobials make investigating alternatives desirable. In this study, the influence of substances with potentially similar mechanisms of action, however without antimicrobial properties, on viability and proliferation of juven...
Warren AS, Werner LA, Thombs LA, Rodgerson DH, Spirito MA, Sandow CB, McCracken MJ.To report the impact of ventral midline colopexy on colic, recurrence of large colon volvulus (LCV) and time to next live foal. Methods: Retrospective case control study. Methods: A total of 188 Thoroughbred broodmares surgically treated for LCV (2016-2020). Methods: Horses treated for LCV were grouped based on whether they received a colopexy (CP) or did not (NCP). All broodmares that underwent a second LCV surgery were subsequently categorized into two groups: those that received a colopexy (RCP) and those that did not (NRCP). Differences in the number of horses with large colon compromise, ...
Bouquet A, Nicol C, Díez-León M.The natural behaviour of wood-chewing (WC) in horses may, under certain conditions, become excessive or it may precede crib-biting . However, the potential causes of WC, including frustrated foraging motivation) or developmental exploratory or teething behavior are poorly understood. We studied WC in 31 mares and their foals, examining associations with browsing access, stocking density, foal sex and performance of other non-nutritive oral behaviors. Behaviors (counts/hour) were recorded by all-occurrences sampling during focal, continuous observations of grazing,resting and suckling for 20 ...
da Silveira BP, Kahn SK, Legere RM, Bray JM, Cole-Pfeiffer HM, Golding MC, Cohen ND, Bordin AI.Using a horse foal model, we show that enteral immunization of newborn foals with Rhodococcus equi overcomes neonatal vaccination challenges by reprogramming innate immune responses, inducing R. equi-specific adaptive humoral and cell-mediated immune responses and protecting foals against experimental pneumonia challenge. Foals were immunized twice via gavage of R. equi (immunized group) or saline (control group) at ages 1 and 3 days. At age 28 days, all foals were challenged intrabronchially with R. equi. Post-challenge, all 5 immunized foals remained healthy, whereas 67% (4/6) of control foa...
Parra MT, Ayala MSF.A retrospective study was conducted at the Foal Care Equine Perinatology Center in Colombia from October 2017 to May 2023. The goal was to analyze the most frequent pathologies, as well as assess the sexes, ages, and breeds of the patients, with an emphasis on the perinatal population. Out of 945 clinical histories, 776 pertained to perinatology. Survival rates were calculated, and a descriptive analysis was performed. The overall survival rate for neonates was 73.6%, with females constituting 57% of the neonatal patients. The most prevalent breed among mares and neonates was the Creole Colomb...
Legere RM, Ott JA, Poveda C, Vanover D, Borba KER, Yeon Joo J, Martin CL, da Silveira BP, Bray JM, Landrock K, Wright GA, Blazier JC, Hillhouse AE....Inhalation of Rhodococcus equi causes severe pneumonia in humans and animals worldwide, most commonly affecting horse foals. The standard for preventing R. equi pneumonia in foals is transfusion of hyperimmune plasma, which is expensive and carries the risk of adverse effects. Our goal was to passively immunize foals against R. equi by nebulizing mRNA encoding an equine monoclonal antibody (mAb) against the virulence-associated protein A (VapA) directly into the lungs. VapA-specific memory B cells from an immunized horse were used to identify and select the sequence for an equine immunoglobuli...
Baptiste KE, Kyvsgaard NC, Ahmed MO, Damborg P, Dowling PM.Rifampin is an enigma among antimicrobials. Blood and tissue compartment concentrations are a "moving target" along the treatment course due to the complex pharmacodynamic interactions within the body. Rifampin concomitant therapies are for the prevention and treatment of Rhodococcus equi infection in foals, for nearly 40 years. The necessity of rifampin concomitant therapies is based on beliefs that both antimicrobials (e.g., rifampin plus macrolide) penetrate into pulmonary abscesses and intracellular compartments above R. equi minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs), as well as better ef...
Rossi HS, Mykkänen AK, Teppo AM, Junnila JJT, Hyytiäinen HK.Pneumonia is a common condition in young, hospitalized foals, causing accumulation of inflammatory secretions to the airways. In humans, respiratory physiotherapy is commonly used as a supplementary treatment for pneumonia with varying results regarding its efficacy, but the efficacy in foals has not been assessed to date. Objective: This study aimed to evaluate the safety and efficacy of respiratory physiotherapy as a supplementary therapy method for young foals with pneumonia. Methods: A total of 44 foals with pneumonia aged under a month were used. The prospective intervention group receivi...
Ryan CA, Berry DP, Bugno-Poniewierska M, Burke MK, Raudsepp T, Egan S, Doyle JL.Autosomal trisomy, a genetic disorder characterized by the presence of an extra autosome, is a rare but important chromosomal abnormality in horses, often associated with infertility, developmental abnormalities, and reduced life expectancy. This study represents the largest population-level screening for autosomal trisomy in horses; the analysis used single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) panel genotype intensity data from 17,078 horses, 6601 of which were juveniles (i.e., ≤12 months of age) when genotyped. Using methodologies adapted from similar screening studies in cattle, the only aneuplo...
