>>> This is by Kathleen of the haflinger list, who is on foal watch for a herd of mares (she asked me if the Icelandics' colostrum came already frozen :-)):
There are a couple of things in this that I'd question. First, I wouldn't judge the content of the colostrums by the color. Every one of the seven mares (six actually, one has delivered twice) here had white milk as soon as the foal was on the ground. Second, how many breeders have the vet check the foals immunity level by blood test a few hours after he's born? I've done it with all of my foals. Of the seven, only Landi tested low - very low. He was up quickly and was nursing within 4-5 hours. If I hadn't been with him, I would have missed the early struggle. The problem was that Sina's bag was SO full, that he couldn't get a grip. By the time we'd normally have been up and about, he was nursing. Frankly, I was very surprised that his immunity was so low, but glad we tested it so he could get the plasma transfusion. It would have been heart breaking to watch a foal born healthy suddenly get sick and suffer, possibly die. I went through that with a neighbor years ago. It was stressful and very expensive. Luckily, their filly survived, but it took a lot of care. Even if I'd had the frozen colostrums, I would not have given it to Landi, but would have saved it for a more severe case. After all Sina had plenty of milk...who would have guessed? Of the mares who have delivered here, Flekka APPEARED to have the smallest bag. However, she produced plenty of mild for Isak to flourish. His immunity was great, so apparently she produced plenty of quality colostrums too. If I had given any of the foals here an emergency stash of frozen colostrums, it would have been him. I am SO happy that I have a vet that I trust because looks sure can be deceiving. Karen Thomas, NC
