Stud Medicine
Wealth of Experience
North West Equine Vets are a BEVA approved AI Centre with a wealth of knowledge of stud medicine from conception to foal care. We offer a range of competitive stud packages to suit your needs.
We have close links with End House Stud in Gisburn and together we offer many years of experience of caring for mares and foals - from the time you decide to put your mare in foal, through pregnancy to foaling and beyond.
End House Stud have their own high class proven competition stallions, or alternatively we offer insemination with chilled or frozen semen from the stallion of your choice.
How it Works
Mares need repeated ultrasound examinations to determine the optimum point in their cycles to inseminate. This optimum time will vary depending on whether you are using natural covering or chilled, fresh or frozen artificial insemination.
We can also offer pre-covering CEM (Contagious Equine Metritits) swabbing for mares and stallions along with any blood sampling requirements.
Worming the mare and foal
Foals are born free of parasitesHowever, they are extremely vulnerable as their immune system takes many months to develop. Exposure to parasites begins in the first week of life whilst stabled, grazing and nursing from the mare. For these reasons all foals need a careful schedule of tests and treatment to ensure their wellbeing.
For more information you can download the leaflet by clicking the link below.
As your foal grows up
There are a number of thing that you must consider when you foal is 6 months oldMicrochipping and Passport
It’s a legal requirement for all foals over six months old (or before the end of December in their year of birth if they were born before 1st July) to be microchipped and passported.
The microchip must be inserted by a vet and in most cases, a vet is required to complete the markings diagram on the passport application. If you are intending to transport your foal away from their place of birth they must be passported beforehand.
What you need to do....
If you’ve not already done so, please contact us to arrange for your foal to be chipped and passported. If you wish to have them registered with a particular society, please obtain a passport application form for your chosen society (These can often be printed off from society websites), otherwise we can complete the application for a Horse Passport Agency generic passport.
Some societies may require additional tests (such as DNA hair plucks) for proof of parentage. Charges for passport applications often increase if you don’t meet society deadlines so it’s worth making arrangements sooner rather than later. Please remember that we need foals to be well handled and clean in order to see all their markings for the identification diagram.
Vaccinations
We normally start foal vaccinations for flu and tetanus at six months old. The primary vaccination course consists of two vaccinations around one month apart, followed by a third one after another 5-6 months. We carry out a brief health check before the first vaccination to make sure they are fit and healthy.
What you need to do....
If your foal hasn’t already been vaccinated we recommend booking an appointment to get them started as soon as possible. We can usually arrange an appointment on one of our Zone Visit days so you can save on visit charges.
Worming
We advise worming foals according to the following protocol:
2-3 months old - Treat with fenbendazole (Panacur)
4-5 months old - Treat with fenbendazole (Panacur)
7-8 months old - Perform a Worm Egg Count and we will advise on the most appropriate wormer to use
9 months old - Treat with moxidectin + praziquantel (Equest Pramox) - NB: Do not use Equest Pramox in foals under six and a half months old
12 months old - Treat with ivermectin (eg. Noromectin) or pyrantel (eg. Strongid-P)
What you need to do...
If you haven’t wormed your foal at all yet, do so as soon as possible with Panacur, then collect a droppings sample four weeks later and submit it to us for a worm egg count. We’ll then advise on which wormer to use next. We have worm egg count kits available from our surgeries, containing instructions and everything you’ll need to collect the sample.
If you’ve already wormed them, follow the guidelines above for when to worm next. If you’re unsure what to use, please contact us for advice.
It’s important that foals are wormed with the correct dose of wormer for their weight. We recommend using a weigh tape and rounding up their weight to the nearest 50kgs.
Other things to be aware of
Castration
If you have a colt foal and are intending to have them castrated, this can be done after they are six months old provided they have two normal testicles present. We can check everything is normal at the time of their first vaccination and discuss the most appropriate time to have them castrated. We advise that foals are protected against tetanus (having had their first two vaccinations) before the operation.
Weaning and Feeding
Most foals are weaned at around six months of age, but earlier or later than this can be appropriate in certain circumstances. Weaning can be a stressful time for both mare and foal so careful planning is important to develop the most appropriate weaning method for your foal and circumstances. Try to maintain your foal on a level plane of nutrition and aim for an even growth rate to minimise the likelihood of developmental problems. Forage (grass, hay or haylage) should make up the vast majority of their diet once weaned, alongside an appropriate feed balancer specifically for foals and youngstock. Most feed companies have nutritional helplines offering advice from equine nutritionists, but please feel free to contact us to discuss any specific concerns.