FIRST SYMPTOM | OTHER SYMPTOMS | PROBABLE DIAGNOSIS | ACTIONS |
Labored, suppressed or noisy breathing | Soreness, reluctance to move | Broken ribs due to severe compression from delivery | Stall rest, gentle handling |
| Reluctance to move or nurse, extended abdomen | Ruptured diaphragm, often due to birth trauma | Immediate corrective surgery |
| Yellow-stained amniotic fluid with delivery | Meconium-aspiration pneumonia | Antibiotics |
| Depression, coughing, intermittent fever | Foal pneumonia | Antibiotic treatment based on bacterial culture |
Loose stools | Mild diarrhea at time of dam’s foal heat | Transient, “9-day scours” | Gently clean foal’s tail and buttocks with soapy water to prevent scalding of skin |
| Dehydration, scalding of skin on buttocks, matting of tail | Noninfectious diarrhea (from overeating, eating manure, etc.) | Fluids, decreased rations, clean tail and buttocks as above |
| Rapid dehydration, scalding, matting, fever, depression | Infectious diarrhea | Antibiotics, fluids, clean tail and buttocks regularly |
Colicky | Colic after ingesting first milk, enema ineffective | Closed colon or rectum – development error causes gut to end in blind pouch | Surgery, success depends on length of missing part |
| Rolling, thrashing, lying on back, fecal matter not passed | Severe constipation, fecal mass too large or too far forward for enema to be successful | Laxatives, fluids |
| Lethargy, appetite loss, diarrhea, teeth grinding, lying on ground with feet in air | Ulcer | Confirm with endoscopy, treat with anti-ulcer medication |
Profuse watery discharge from eyes | Blinking, avoidance of light, scratched cornea | Inversion of eyelid (entropion), dehydration, if uncorrected can lead to blindness | Fluids, lubricate eye and lids gently, pull out eyelid as often as necessary, surgery may be needed |
Navel stump dripping urine | Wet, soiled, warm, swollen navel stump | “Leaky navel” (pervious urachus), umbilicus fails to close | Daily cauterization with silver nitrate or iodine, possible surgery |
Straining | Tail switching, meconium (first feces) not passed | Simple constipation, meconium not passed | Enema, fluids |
| Distended abdomen, little or no urine produced, toxicity, fever, jaundiced membranes, progressive weakness | Ruptured bladder due to birth trauma or jerk on umbilical cord after delivery | Surgery to repair hole in bladder, drain urine from bladder, fluids |
Low immunoglobulin (IgG) count | Less than 400 mg/dl | Failure of passive transfer, foal did not receive adequate colostrum or was unable to absorb IgG | Provide colostrum if foal less than 24 hours old, otherwise administer plasma IgG transfusion |
| Greater than 400 mg/dl, low risk environment | Partial failure of passive transfer | Foal probably adequately protected, but watch closely |
| Less than 800 mg/dl, high risk environment | Partial failure of passive transfer | Administer plasma IgG transfusion, monitor IgG level |
Weakness, incoordination | Delivery between 300 and 320 days of gestation, low birthweight, little or no suckle strength, weak fetlocks and lax pasterns | Premature birth | Oxygen, humidity and temperature control, tube feeding, fluids |
| Intolerance to exercise | Congenital heart defect | Cardiovascular exam, surgery |
| Will not nurse, severe diarrhea, dehydration, subnormal temperature, bluish-white third eyelid | “Sleeper foal” caused by Actinobacillus equii bacteria | Antibiotics, fluids |
| Inflammation of umbilical vein, fever, depression | “Navel ill” (septicemia), systemic bloodstream infection | Antibiotics, fluids, intensive nursing care |
Swollen joints | Lameness, fever, depression, joints are hot and painful | Joint ill (septic arthritis) or bone infection (osteomyelitis) | Antibiotics, surgical draining |
Mare cannot nurse | Mare dies, does not allow foal to nurse, or is unable to provide milk (agalactiae) | Orphan or rejected foal, agalactic mare, early weaning | Supply colostrum is newborn, provide foal milk replacer or nurse mare |