How Important is Colostrum for Foals?

As you may already have known, colostrum is the yellow, honey-like milk that’s thick in consistency, produced by the mare just before foaling. It is significantly different from the white milk that she gives off all throughout lactation.  How important is colostrum really in foaling?

Every breeder will understand that the most critical meal the horse could ever have is the one that he will first take, and this is due to the important antibodies needed for a healthy growth which can be found in the mare’s colostrum (the first milk).

It is essential for a foal to have a taste of the first milk.

Unlike humans, mares do not transport protective antibodies to their foal via the placenta in the uterus. These proteins, which are vital to life and health of the horse, should be absorbed when the foal sucks in the colostrum in the first few hours following its birth. This milk is rich in antibodies that help protect the foal against various bacteria and viruses found in the environment. Later on as the foal matures, it will produce its very own antibodies.

We have always considered that colostrum is the highest source of antibodies perfect for the healthy development of foals, and we always thought that’s just it.  But scientists at Cornell University New York have recently revealed that the colostrum is packed with more than just essential antibodies.

Scientists measured the levels of another group of proteins called cytokines circulating in the bloodstream. These proteins are important as they help combat infection that can occur in adult horses.

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The research took samples from newborn foals before they go and take their first suckle of the mare’s milk, then after two days resampling was down. It was shown that there was a significant increase in the cytokine levels circulating in the blood, and this had come from the colostrum itself. Interestingly enough, cytokine levels are not always proportional to the level of antibodies, which only mean that the two protective proteins are not dependent of each other. The newborn foal is at great risk for malnutrition and health anomalies at the beginning of its life unless it receives the appropriate nourishment. One single feeding of colostrum can offer up to 18 hours of sufficient energy and blood glucose to sustain the newborn. Colostrum also contains lactoferrin, a protein that sequesters iron and prevents colonization of bacteria in the intestinal tract, which as a result prevents diarrhea in foals.

It seems then that colostrum is much more valuable than many of us initially thought.