NO BOTTLES HERE!

The reason that bucket feeding is favored over the bottle is because the foals head may be held too high, causing milk to run down the foals trachea and into the foals lungs, causing aspiration pneumonia.

Some foals, the young ones especially, will not bucket feed right off as they are leery of putting their head all the way down into a deep bucket. Remember, horses are flight animals and prefer to have their vision unobstructed if at all possible. Always try to use a shallow pan in the beginning.

All our foals are already accustomed to the bucket or pan (depending on their age) before being adopted out, but below are tips & guidance instructions if you need to start one on bucket feeding.

Tips on bucket feeding:

Foals can easily learn to drink from a bowl or pan as early as 3 days old, provided they are strong & healthy. If you find yourself raising an orphan foal, teaching it to drink from a bucket or pan is favored over using a bottle. Even using a bottle for the first few days of life, the foal can learn that the pan is not such a bad thing.

1) Gradually start the foal on milk replacer to avoid digestive upsets.

2)Place a small amount of milk on the foals nose and into its mouth to help get the foal started.

3)With clean hands, insert your finger into the foals mouth to help stimulate suckling.

4)With the foal nursing your finger, start lowering your finger into the pan of milk.

5)Once the foal is nursing your finger with his mouth touching the milk, start extracting your finger from the foal's mouth.

6)This may take repeating several times, but the foal will soon catch on. The key is to be patient & not give up.

Some foals will take longer to learn to drink their milk form a pan or bucket, but 99% of foals will drink form a pan by the time t hey are 4 days old.

If the foal is used to a bottle, take the nipple off, but leave the nipple in the ring. Make sure you have a firm grip on the nipple & ring. Use the nipple the same way you would your finger. One the foal is trying to nurse the nipple, slowly lower it into the milk. When the foal is touching the milk with its mouth, submerge the nipple lower until the foal is sucking  the milk. Again, this may take several attempts, so don't give up!

Soon you will have your foal eager to get their pan of warm milk!

Always wash the feeding equipment in hot soapy water after each feeding. Rinse thoroughly.

We suggest to all adopters that you put your foals on a feeding schedule instead of free feeding milk replacer. This way you know exactly how much & when your foal is drinking. Some foals, when left alone with free access to milk, will over drink, causing a problem with scours. Should this not be feasible in your situation, see the following link: - My Momma's an igloo

You should always keep a close eye on your foal for a few days, making sure that your foal is doing ok with his new environment and feeding schedule.

An orphan foal can be introduced to grain and hay within the first week of age. We have had foals come in less than 1 week old who were nibbling feed within a few days. Isolating the foal with access to hay & grain may speed up its willingness to eat. Milk replacer pellets should not be considered until the foal is eating feed regularly, this will probably not be until he is 2 months of age. ( and  then is not necessary and is your choice depending on how well you foal is eating his ration of hay & grain) Make sure your feed is formulated for foals and always use the manufacture's recommendations on feeding.

There are many sites on the internet with lots of info regarding the care of orphan foals. Read all you can about caring for an orphan, consult your vet about your new addition and you are well on your way to a happy & healthy foal.