Neonatal health in horses focuses on the study and understanding of the physiological and developmental processes that occur in foals from birth until they reach a few weeks of age. This field addresses various aspects of equine neonatal care, including the adaptation of the respiratory and circulatory systems post-birth, nutritional needs, and immune system development. Research often explores common neonatal conditions, such as neonatal maladjustment syndrome, sepsis, and failure of passive transfer of immunity, which can affect the health and survival of foals. This page compiles peer-reviewed research studies and scholarly articles that investigate the physiological development, common health challenges, and management practices associated with neonatal horses.
Smith JE, Dever M, Smith J, DeBowes RM.Erythrocytes transfused allogeneically into mature horses have a short survival (less than 4 days) compared with an expected erythrocyte life span of 140-150 days. Yet, foals undergo transfusions for neonatal isoerythrolysis successfully. The authors have determined the survival of transfused erythrocytes in neonatal foals, using the stable isotope, 50Cr, to label the erythrocytes. Normal foals underwent transfusions with labeled erythrocytes from three sources: their own erythrocytes (autologous), the erythrocytes of their dam, and the erythrocytes of an unrelated castrated male. After transf...
Rice L, Ott EA, Beede DK, Wilcox CJ, Johnson EL, Lieb S, Borum P.Oral tolerance tests were performed on 13 neonatal foals to determine their ability to digest disaccharides on d 1, 3 and 5 postpartum. Foals were assigned randomly to treatments consisting of 20% (wt/vol) solutions of either maltose, lactose, or sucrose, dosed at 1 g/kg of BW, or glucose, dosed at .5 g/kg of BW. After a 2-h fast, an initial blood sample was collected via jugular catheter. Foals were administered the appropriate solution orally, and blood was collected every 15 min for 1 h and then every 30 min for 3 h. Plasma glucose increased after dosing with lactose or glucose but not with...
Sanada Y, Noda H, Nagahata H.The blastogenic response of lymphocytes and serum concentration of cortisol from eighteen foals were evaluated during various stages of the neonatal period. The results of blastogenic responses were expressed by a stimulation index (SI). Blastogenic response to three mitogens was lowest at birth (PHA: 1.17 +/- 0.02, Con A: 1.11 +/- 0.05 and PWM: 1.02 +/- 0.01), then increased gradually with slight variations postpartum. The serum concentration of cortisol was highest at birth (44.0 ng/ml) and decreased rapidly to 19.3 ng/ml within 1 week postpartum, and then was maintained at this level. The h...
Young RL, Linford RL, Olander HJ.Physical examination and exploratory celiotomy were performed on five neonatal foals presented with signs of acute colic. Atresia coli was confirmed in each foal during surgery. The most consistent finding on physical examination was the absence of meconium staining following repeated enemas. The large, transverse and/or small colon were involved in all foals. One eight month aborted foetus was submitted for necropsy and diagnosed as having atresia coli and congenital hydrocephalus. Atresia coli should be considered for neonatal foals with signs of acute colic.
Yamamoto K, Yasuda J, Too K.In 101 newborn Thoroughbred foals and foaling mares, 45 fetal (FECGs) and 101 neonatal electrocardiograms (NECGs) were obtained to investigate neonatal arrhythmias and other parameters including changes in fetal (FHR) and neonatal heart rate (NHR). Moreover, umbilical arterial, venous and jugular venous blood gas tensions and pH immediately after birth were analyzed to compare with the type and the degree of neonatal arrhythmias. Before delivery, in 37 fetuses FHR gradually decreased while in 8 cases it increased after rupture of the chorio-allantois. Abnormal deliveries were related in 5 of t...
Imai Y, Kurosawa H, Fujiwara T, Fukuchi S, Matsuo K, Kawada M, Ohtsuka G.Successful palliative repair of aortic atresia and hypoplastic aortic arch associated with tricuspid atresia in a neonate is described. The repair consisted of reconstruction of the hypoplastic aortic arch with an equine pericardial patch, division of the patient ductus arteriosus, connection of the pulmonary artery to the aorta, implantation of the proximal part of the ascending aorta into the main pulmonary artery, and anastomosis of a polytetrafluoroethylene graft 5 mm in diameter between the right ventricular outflow tract and the central pulmonary artery, which was transferred anteriorly ...
Ousey JC, McArthur AJ, Rossdale PD.Metabolic rates, rectal temperatures and respiratory quotients (RQ) were determined during the first 24 h post partum in Thoroughbred and pony foals and in relation to environmental temperature. Both breeds had high metabolic rates (greater than 200 W/m2) during the first hour post partum when they were wet and shivering; by 4 to 24 h values were fairly steady at about 153 and 105 W/m2 for Thoroughbred and pony foals, respectively. At birth, rectal temperature was lower in Thoroughbred foals than in pony foals; values increased during the first hour, and then decreased. At 24 h of age, both br...
Stewart JH, Rose RJ, Young IH, Costas L.The distribution of ventilation-perfusion (VA/Q) ratios, before and after 100 per cent oxygen, was studied in an induced-premature foal at 4 h and again at eleven days of age, using the multiple inert gas elimination technique. The major finding was an absence of low VA/Q ratios when breathing air, indicating that low PaO2 in the neonatal period was totally attributable to the right-to-left shunt. At 4 h of age the PaO2 was 5.48 kPa and the right-to-left shunt represented 33.4 per cent of the cardiac output. At eleven days of age the PaO2 was 9.76 kPa and right-to-left shunt was 10.1 per cent ...
Brewer BD, Clement SF, Lotz WS, Gronwall R.The glomerular filtration rate (GFR) was estimated in eight full-term neonatal foals by the single injection inulin plasma clearance method at two days of age, the continuous infusion plasma and urinary clearance methods at three days of age, and the 12-hour endogenous creatinine clearance method at four days of age. The effective renal plasma flow (ERPF) was estimated simultaneously by the single injection para-aminohippuric acid (PAH) plasma clearance method in the eight two-day old foals and the continuous PAH infusion plasma and urinary clearance method in the eight three-day old foals. Th...
Robertson SA, Carter SW, Donovan M, Steele C.The effects of intravenous xylazine hydrochloride on blood glucose, plasma insulin and rectal temperature were investigated in six foals at 10 and 28 days of age. These variables were also measured in three foals at 19 days of age when saline alone was injected. Rectal temperature fell significantly after 30 mins in both groups of xylazine treated foals and was still depressed after 120 mins. Hypothermia did not occur in the saline control group. There was no significant change in blood glucose or plasma insulin concentrations during the 120 mins following either xylazine or saline administrat...
Lavoie JP, Spensley MS, Smith BP, Mihalyi J.The uptake of colostral IgG and IgM, their serum half-lives, and the rates of endogenous synthesis of IgG and IgM were evaluated in 6 newborn foals fed bovine colostrum (principals) and 6 foals allowed to suckle their dams (controls). The principal foals were fed 400 ml of bovine colostrum (IgG, 10,000 mg/dl and IgM, 200 mg/dl) at 2-hour intervals, from 2 to 20 hours after foaling (total dose, 4 L). Serum IgG and IgM concentrations were determined by single radial immunodiffusion from birth to 98 days of age. At foaling, principal foals had no detectable serum equine IgG, but 1 control foal ha...
Saikku A, Koskinen E, Sandholm M.The glutaraldehyde coagulation test was adapted to foal serum to determine adequacy of the colostral-intestinal transfusion of IgG. The test is performed simply by mixing one volume of reagent with 10 volumes of serum and observing the coagulation time. The required glutaraldehyde concentration was established for various threshold levels of IgG as determined by radial immunodiffusion. The analysis consisted of 140 serum samples from foals. Sera with low IgG levels require high glutaraldehyde concentrations and vice versa. The 4 g/l threshold generally accepted for IgG adequacy, was achieved a...
Roser JF, Dudan F, Little TV, Livesay-Wilkins P, Hillman RB.Studies were undertaken to investigate the effects of oxytocin induction on prolactin release in term (Group II) and preterm (Group III) mares and to compare these effects to spontaneously foaling mares (Group I). Since physiological concentrations of prolactin in blood have not been measured in the neonatal foal, experiments were designed to monitor prolactin in the cord artery and jugular blood of the foals from all groups of mares. Although prolactin levels varied in term mares (Group I and II) during the last 11 days of pregnancy, an increase was observed between Day -6 and Day 0 (2.7 and ...
Dudan F, Hirni H.Since 1980 techniques specifically designed to treat human neonatal diseases have also started to be applied to ill or premature equine newborns. These techniques will be described and their application to the most common equine neonatal disorders will be discussed. Such techniques include: post-natal cardiopulmonary resuscitation, exogenous thermal support, administration of broad spectrum antibiotics after diagnostic studies, supplemental oxygen therapy and mechanical ventilation, intravenous fluid and electrolyte therapy, blood component transfusion and total parenteral nutrition.
Gardner SY, Sweeney RW, Divers TJ.Serum concentrations of cefotaxime and desacetylcefotaxime were measured in 1-week-old pony foals after IV administration of a single dose of cefotaxime. The cefotaxime disposition data conformed to a two-compartment model with elimination half-life of 0.60 hour. The combined cefotaxime and desacetylcefotaxime data was best described by a four-compartment model. The apparent half-life describing the disappearance of desacetylcefotaxime was 1.69 hours. Dosage of 40 mg/kg of body weight given IV every 4 to 6 hours for neonatal foals with gram-negative septicemia and every 2 hours for foals with ...
Stammers JP, Leadon DP, Hull D.The fatty acid composition of the plasma free fatty acid, triacylglycerol and phospholipid fractions was measured in blood and milk samples taken daily from 3 mares and their foals on Days 1-9 post partum inclusive, and from a total of 12 mares and foals on Days 22, 30 and 51. A rise in the plasma concentrations of triacylglycerol and phospholipid similar to that well documented in other species occurred in the neonatal period. Alterations in the composition of the foal plasma phospholipid after birth lend support to the view that the placenta rather than the fetus could be responsible for the...
Melchert M, Aurich C, Aurich J, Gautier C, Nagel C.Stress at foaling has been demonstrated to delay birth. In this study, we followed the hypothesis that even a short delay of foaling increases catecholamine and cortisol release in foals, induces acidosis and impairs neonatal adaptation. Foaling was prolonged for 5 min by transferring mares to an unfamiliar environment at rupture of the allantochorion (group delay, n = 6) while control mares (n = 5) were left undisturbed. In their foals, times from birth to first standing and first suckling, heart rate, heart rate variability (HRV) and salivary cortisol concentration were analysed. B...
Koterba AM, Drummond WH, Kosch P.The basic concepts of diagnosis and treatment in the abnormal neonatal foal are presented. Methods of restraint, sedation, and general nursing care are discussed, as well as more specific techniques of respiratory and circulatory system support.
Ellero N, Lanci A, Baldassarro VA, Alastra G, Mariella J, Cescatti M, Castagnetti C, Giardino L.Neonatal Encephalopathy (NE) may be caused by hypoxic ischemic insults or inflammatory insults and modified by innate protective or excitatory mechanisms. Understanding the underlying pathophysiology is important in formulating a rational approach to diagnosis. The preliminary aim was to clinically characterize a population of foals spontaneously affected by NE. The study aimed to: (i) evaluate nerve growth factor (NGF) and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) levels in plasma samples obtained in the affected population at parturition from the mare’s jugular vein, umbilical cord vein an...
Stewart JH, Rose RJ, Young IH, Costas L.The distribution of ventilation-perfusion (VA/Q) ratios, before and after 100 per cent oxygen, was studied in an induced-premature foal at 4 h and again at eleven days of age, using the multiple inert gas elimination technique. The major finding was an absence of low VA/Q ratios when breathing air, indicating that low PaO2 in the neonatal period was totally attributable to the right-to-left shunt. At 4 h of age the PaO2 was 5.48 kPa and the right-to-left shunt represented 33.4 per cent of the cardiac output. At eleven days of age the PaO2 was 9.76 kPa and right-to-left shunt was 10.1 per cent ...
Dewes HF.Fractures of the central tarsal and/or third tarsal bones involving both limbs of six foals are described. Five of the subjects were born either premature or of twin pregnancies. Fractures occurred in the neonatal period and coincided with disablement. Features of behaviour, posture and gait are described, together with gross radiographic findings, bone ash determination and blood chemistry. Lesions observed on the articular faces of tarsal bones recovered from adult horses may have originated during the neonatal-period.
Ryan CA, Sanchez LC.Neonates can have a variety of gastrointestinal disorders, primary and secondary in nature. Important primary disorders include con-genital abnormalities and meconium retention. One of the most important secondary lesions is generalized ileus. Gastric ulceration can occur as a primary or secondary event. This article addresses the pathophysiology, diagnosis, and treatment of gastrointestinal problems commonly observed in neonatal foals.
MacDougall DF.The proteins IgG and IgG(T) are the predominant immunoglobulins in equine colostrum. Their distribution and catabolism were studied in the newborn foal using an isotopic tracer technique. More precise quantitation of the absorption of these immunoglobulins from colostrum is now possible.
Young RL, Linford RL, Olander HJ.Physical examination and exploratory celiotomy were performed on five neonatal foals presented with signs of acute colic. Atresia coli was confirmed in each foal during surgery. The most consistent finding on physical examination was the absence of meconium staining following repeated enemas. The large, transverse and/or small colon were involved in all foals. One eight month aborted foetus was submitted for necropsy and diagnosed as having atresia coli and congenital hydrocephalus. Atresia coli should be considered for neonatal foals with signs of acute colic.
Journal of biochemistryNovember 1, 1963
Volume 54 388-397 doi: 10.1093/oxfordjournals.jbchem.a127804
JOHKE T.This research article investigates the differences in acid-soluble nucleotides in the milk of various species including cows, goats, mares, and humans through different stages of lactation, and compares the nucleotide […]
El-Hage C, Gilkerson J.While well known as a zoonotic pathogen of birds, Chlamydia psittaci is less well recognised as a cause of abortion in mares and severe infection in foals. However, in the past decade it has been causing epizootics of both in south-eastern Australia, as Charles El-Hage and James Gilkerson explain.
McGuire TC, Perryman LE, Banks KL.Following the descriptions of immunodeficiencies in horses beginning in 1973, there has been considerable effort to develop methods for differential diagnosis and to determine the cause and prevalence of the disorders. In addition, the equine immunodeficiencies, especially combined immunodeficiency, have been studied from a comparative viewpoint with the goal of finding information applicable to similar diseases of children. Coincident with the development of knowledge about the immunodeficiencies per se, considerable information about several aspects of immunology has been obtained. It is the...
Sonea IM, Bowker RM, Robinson NE, Holland RE.The lungs of neonatal foals contain many nerves immunoreactive for substance P and calcitonin gene-related peptide. These nerves are closely associated with the epithelium, bronchial and pulmonary vessels and the airway smooth muscle of all intrathoracic airways, including non-cartilaginous bronchioles. Activation of sensory nerves in the respiratory epithelium could thus potentially affect, via local axon reflexes, vascular and respiratory smooth muscle in neonatal equine airways. Nerves immunoreactive for these peptides are much more widely distributed within the lung than in adult horses; t...
Braun JP, Tainturier D, Bézille P, Raviart I, Rico AG.In goat and mare colostrum, gamma-glutamyltransferase (GGT) activity is relatively low (mean values are, respectively, 900 and 350 U/l). In the serum of newborns before suckling, GGT is also low (less than or equal to 28 U/l in goats and less than or equal to U/l in foals); then in goats GGT is much increased on the 1st day (mean = 127 U/l), and it decreases during the following days. In foals, serum GGT slowly but regularly increases for the first 5 days, then decreases. Such differences can be attributed to intestinal protein absorption capabilities which are selective in newborn foals and u...
