# raising horse on raw cow milk?



## piglady (Sep 28, 2006)

Last year, a stalloin got out and got in our neighbor's pasture. They don't live on the property so I don't think they even realized it because the owner came and got him before they saw it. They have split up and are in the process of getting a divorce and are going to get rid of the horses anyway (we hope to buy their land). This morning, we saw one of their mares give birth to a little palamino - same color as the stalloin. The mom is crazy and won't let anyone catch her and will not let the baby nurse. They penned her up so we hope the foal got some colostrum but they do not want to keep the horse and we would like the baby. We have a milk cow and have great luck with bottle babies. Can we riase the colt on raw milk and let her get rid of the mom? I don't want the mom, don't need her and she's wild and if we leave the colt with her, no way we can pet it and tame it etc.


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## Joshie (Dec 8, 2008)

Call your feed store to see if they have colostrum. I believe they need it within a certain amount of time. Baby needs it ASAP.
http://www.friesenpferde.com/Engels/Fohlen (Mutterlose)-Engels.html
http://www.cyberfoal.com/cyberfoal/Home.html


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## Molly Mckee (Jul 8, 2006)

I don't think so--at least I've never heard of anyone doing it. I would think it might be too rich for a foal. You can get milk replacer for foals. Raising an orphan foal is a great deal of work. I think several people on the board have done it and might stop in and give you advice.


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## wr (Aug 10, 2003)

I was told that foals can't handle cows milk but I do know they do well on goats milk or milk replacer. I would warn you that bottle feeding a foal isn't like feeding a calf and that they absolutely have to be fed every couple hours so it is expensive and can be quite exhausting to keep that routine up for any lenght of time. I'm not saying it can't be done because I've done it but it is challenging.


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## Otter (Jan 15, 2008)

The best advice I can give for bottle raising a foal is don't.
Really, truly, don't. Please.

Very, very often, a bottle baby foal grows up to just be mentally off. Often vicious, but sometimes just "slow". I don't know if it's social or if there's an essential something in mare's milk that we can't yet reproduce.

All I know is that after having worked with full grown horses that were bottle babies, I'm personally inclined to put a foal down if I can't find a nurse mare.
Please, please, leave this foal with her mother. It is only for a few months and no mother horse, however "crazy" she may be, will do anywhere near the permanent, unfixable mental damage as bottle raising.

Six month old weanlings calm down and pet and gentle just fine. Seriously, they really do, you can pull a 6 month old foal off of a mustang and it will be coming up to you for loving in just a few days. Please do not pull the foal, I have never, personally seen it end well, none of the ones I've known ever lived long enough to be started under saddle, if they didn't die in infancy, they were put down for various reasons by age 4.

Do you have Netflix? There's a documentary on Buck Branahan. There's a full-grown bottle baby in that. Watch it.


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## wolffeathers (Dec 20, 2010)

piglady said:


> Last year, a stalloin got out and got in our neighbor's pasture. They don't live on the property so I don't think they even realized it because the owner came and got him before they saw it. They have split up and are in the process of getting a divorce and are going to get rid of the horses anyway (we hope to buy their land). This morning, we saw one of their mares give birth to a little palamino - same color as the stalloin. The mom is crazy and won't let anyone catch her and will not let the baby nurse. They penned her up so we hope the foal got some colostrum but they do not want to keep the horse and we would like the baby. We have a milk cow and have great luck with bottle babies. Can we riase the colt on raw milk and let her get rid of the mom? I don't want the mom, don't need her and she's wild and if we leave the colt with her, no way we can pet it and tame it etc.


Could all the attention simply be causing the mare so much stress she's not letting the baby nurse under observation? I would imagine if things were allowed to settle down in the smaller pen, the dam may let it nurse. Then again, if the mother is so wild and crazy do you really want a bottle-baby off of her?

This may get some opposition. If it were I, who wanted the foal, I would take the mare and the foal. Let the mare do her job, wean the foal, and get rid of the "wild" mother. 

A young weanling I believe would be fairly easy to tame and have less behavioral and health issues than a bottle baby. It would probably be much more economical to feed the mare until the foal is weaned, than it would be to buy milk replacer.

((Otter posted same time I did.. She is giving excellent advice))


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## Rogo (Jan 1, 2006)

When I bought a calf, the breeder told me to raise it on goat milk.

Neighbors had a goat herd and I raised the calf on their milk - by bottle. That was the best tasting milk I've ever had!

I've seen all kinds of critters raised on goat milk, including foals. Many of the goats have stood on a stanchion and let the different critters nurse.

With the crap they put out for human baby formula, if I had babies today I would definitely have goats and my human babies would be raised on my own goat's milk.

JMO.


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## lasergrl (Nov 24, 2007)

Maybe get a goat that is an older been there done that old lady that will let the foal nurse if put on a tall stanchion. Ive seen fawns do it. Would save alot of mental problems for this foal.
If the mare isnt letting it nurse, cant see any other options. There are self feeding coolers that people devise to feed foals so they dont get the bottle baby crazies from imprinting on humans too much.


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## piglady (Sep 28, 2006)

Thanks for all the info. They finally caught the mom and put her in a stall and tied her until the baby ate. Not sure how long they will keep her but they have them together for now.


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## CJBegins (Nov 20, 2009)

I raised a orphan foal. He was different mentally. I worked hard at keeping him part of the herd and protecting him. He is 11 years old. We ride him, he is mentally stable. He has a group that he prefers to hang with. 
The biggest bump in the road that we met was when I started dating. He was a great judge of character. More than one guy didn't pass muster with my Harley. Harley fell in instand love with my now husband of 5 years. They can be very protective of their "mommas".


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## wolffeathers (Dec 20, 2010)

I'm glad to hear that they were able to pen the mare up and the foal was able to nurse.

Maybe they'd be interested in letting you take the foal upon weaning?


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## ShyAnne (Jun 18, 2008)

I am glad the foal is staying with Mom. However that foal will act towards humans as the mom does, it will take time come weaning to gain that foals trust, but can be done.
I have raised a foal before on goats milk. Its very hard work on your part, but not impossible. The foal must be taught manners and preferably kept with a herd of other horses to make it work. The foal I raised turned out wonderful and is now showing with children in open shows.


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## piglady (Sep 28, 2006)

Since the horse is next to our property and the owner does not live here and never comes, we are going to offer to care for the two of them (with her buying the feed of course). Then we can decide if we would even want this baby but we for sure want to know it is cared for.


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## fordson major (Jul 12, 2003)

wr said:


> I was told that foals can't handle cows milk but I do know they do well on goats milk or milk replacer. I would warn you that bottle feeding a foal isn't like feeding a calf and that they absolutely have to be fed every couple hours so it is expensive and can be quite exhausting to keep that routine up for any lenght of time. I'm not saying it can't be done because I've done it but it is challenging.



friend of mine got a PMU foal years ago, raised up with goats milk, he was a pretty good boy! i got him when he was 12 and had him for about 20 years. best all terrain transport i ever had! very people oriented but he would also round up cows by himself (he thought he was a border collie)


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## Cygnet (Sep 13, 2004)

Used to know a guy who had a really nice arab filly he'd bottle fed. She was fine to ride and handle, but definitely NOT afraid of people. She had good manners, because he absolutely insisted on it, but there was just a subtle difference in the way she interacted with people -- for example, a regular horse, you raise your arms and yell and the horse takes off. You did that with her, or even waved a flag or snapped a whip, and she'd just give you a funny look. NO fear. 

I think it's the same difference between a bottle fed versus dam raised goat kid. Years later, you can still tell the difference -- the bottle baby goat kids have no fear (and no respect unless taught) and act like big dogs, dam raised kids have to learn to trust people and are almost never as fearless.


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