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Discussion on Mare not producing enough milk?
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Member:
indigo
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Posted on Wednesday, Apr 2, 2008 - 10:47 am:
Hello Dr. O! I noticed yesterday that my foal who was born a few weeks early (I just posted an update on the foal and mare last night) was nursing more frequently than normal. I watched him for about an hour last night, and he would spend about a minute nursing, then would stop, wander off for about 5 minutes then he'd go back and nurse again. He kept going back and forth from teat to teat each time he nursed, and while I did hear the "slurping" noise and he appeared to be getting milk, he seemed very frustrated, like the milk wasn't coming out fast enough or not enough. He was also a lot more mouthy than normal-- not trying to nurse on inanimate objects, but definitely more interesting in mouthing hay, grain, me, etc than he usually is.
This is the first time I've observed this behavior from the colt. I did milk the mare myself and was able to get milk out of both teats, but it's not coming out as easily or in as high a quantity as it was when she first foaled. The foal was up and alert this morning before I left for work, does not seem depressed etc so I assume he's getting milk out of her, but I'm concerned it's not enough. I didn't have time before work to observe him as long as I did last night, but did see him nursing in the 5 mins or so I watched him and he appeared to be getting some milk.
Is it possible the mare's milk production could be DrOpping off already? And would giving her domperidone be of any help at this stage, or should I not even bother with it and just supplement him with milk replacer/pellets? The foal is 3 1/2 weeks old right now and is eating a small amt of grain and hay.
As always, thanks for your help!
CC
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Moderator:
DrO
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Posted on Thursday, Apr 3, 2008 - 7:12 am:
Hello CC
It suggests to me your growing foal is developing and drinking more, all of which is normal. If there is milk present, even just a little bit that is hard to express, following nursing it strongly suggests your mare is doing fine. If your mare is loosing weight you might consider supplementing her diet with more concentrate. Concerning the amount of recommended concentrate for the foal consider the advice in Horse Care » Equine Nutrition, Horse Feeds, Feeding » Feeding the Growing Foal, Nutrition for Young Horses.
DrO
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