Bottle or bucket feeding for orphan foal - which is best and why?

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Alice100

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Hello

As per the above question, which is best - bottle or bucket feeding in respect of an orphan foal?

Many thanks
 
personally bucket asap, stops them getting quite so imprinted.


we had a foal orphaned at 5 weeks, started on the bottle just to make sure something went into him then bucket once he got the hang of it. he still turned out imprinted and cocky (launched a tirade of double barrels at me one night when putting his last feed in, he was kicked out with the herd soon after to learn some manners!) but it would have been even worse if he'd have been babied any more.
 
Thank you:). With regards to bucket feeding, what exactly do you do? For example - what milk, how often, etc? Please excuse my ignorance.
 
Bucket, definitely. It's much harder to break a habit than begin a new one so you would only have to then introduce a bucket later anyway although if the foal was only newborn, then yes, I'd bottle it but only for a week or so before changing to the bucket.

(I haven't forgotten, will get onto it tonight, promise!)
 
it was a few years ago now! he wasnt on milk for very long as far as i can remember, powdered milk isnt good for long periods so we weaned him fairly early (same as orphaned lambs really)
at that age he was already picking at hard feed so it wasnt too difficult, hardest thing was getting him to actually put his head in the bucket, once he sussed that he was away.

grass was the thing that grew him on better than any feed

he grew into this
kencharlotte.jpg


was awful really, his mother was fairly feral so they lived out, checked on them one morning and she had dropped dead (heart attack we presume) trying to catch him in a massive field when he'd never had anything to do with people and was already stressed was hard, as was getting him back to the yard (me and mum practically carried him about 400 yards before we bundled him into the horsebox)
 
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I lost a mare this week with a 7 day old foal at foot. We have been very lucky and found a company in Newmarket that provide foster mares (mainly for the thoroughbred industry but very happy to service my sport horse foal) a stud with specialist knowledge of bonding foals and foster mothers, and less than 48 hours on, mother and foal have bonded so well that they have been out in a paddock and should be ready to come home early next week.

This means that foal can go out with the others and find his place in the group. Also it means that I do not have to feed him day and night!

I cannot recommend the people enough. My vets found out all the details but if anyone is interested I can PM them the details. I guess as they are a business H & H would object to my giving the name on the forum but for anyone breeding to have the name to hand could be very useful in the event of disaster overrunning you which it did me this week.
 
If the foal is very young (neo natal or just days old) then you need to get some milk into it by bottle asap, your vets should carry a supply of Aintree foal milk for emergencies. You can order it in larger bags from Battles. If the mare has been lost during or post delivery then you need to speak to your vet re colostrum urgently.

Older foals should be bucket trained asap to reduce the behavioural issues they will have for life otherwise.

Hand reared foal can grow into horses that no one will ever want. If they are not handled firmly they have no respect for anything.

Speak to Johanna Vardon at the National Foaling Bank for advice.
 
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