Page 94 - SpeedhorseMarch2021

EQUINE HEALTH
PREVENTING AND DEALING WITH
MECONIUM RETENTION
IN NEWBORN FOALS
by Heather Smith Thomas
The developing fetus floats in amnion fluid inside the amnion sac within the uterus. As the fetus gets larger and his digestive tract develops, he swallows some of the fluid within which he floats, but normally does
not pass any bowel movements until after he is born. Sometimes if the birth is stressful or delayed, however, and the foal suffers oxygen shortage during birth, he may pass a bowel movement into the amniotic fluid that sur- rounds him, resulting in a yellow-brown color in the otherwise clear fluid.
In a normal, healthy situation, the mate- rial within his intestines is all still there after he is born because it continues to build up as he develops and grows in the uterus. After he is born, he needs to evacuate the intestinal tract. Even before he consumes his
first meal, he has material within the tract that must pass on out and make room for the food he will be consuming.
The dark material within the intestines is called meconium and it may be somewhat soft or contain firm pellets. It may sometimes be difficult for a foal to pass his first bowel move- ments, but after he has nursed a few times, the laxative effect of the mare’s colostrum helps stimulate his gut to move and helps him pass the meconium. After the colostrum starts to come through, his feces become soft and yellow rather than hard and dark. If he has trouble passing those first bowel movements, however, he needs some help.
Dr. Ahmed Tibary, DMV, Dip. ACT Professor of Theriogenology, Department of Veterinary Clinical Sciences, Washington
State University, says these impactions can be mild or serious. Some people routinely give all their foals an enema soon after birth to try to avoid problems. “I prefer to wait a bit and see if this is actually needed. I don’t like to start treatments unless there is a reason,” he says.
“Instead of giving a lot of treatments, I suggest closely observing the foal to see if there is a problem or not—to see if the foal is doing what a foal should do. The primary cause of impaction is insufficient intake of colostrum,” he explains. If the foal didn’t get enough colostrum at first nursing and isn’t nursing often enough or getting enough through that first day, there isn’t adequate stimulation to get the gut moving things through in a timely manner.
“It is important to for owners to know that by the time we see clinical signs of impacted meconium, an enema alone is not sufficient for treating the problem; pain management will also be important for these foals.”
A developing foal will swallow some of the fluid in the amniotic sac. The dark material in his intestines is called meconium and is usually passed after the foal is born.
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