orphan foal-sucking EVERYTHING

Question
Thank you so much for the answer you gave. We will try those things. The foal is 2 months old now... when should we move into dry pellets, if now is too early? How long, to what age, should he stay on the Mare's Match? Would it be good to do the transition to pellets by wetting the pellets into a gruel, and for how long, as a transition?  When moving to pellets, should we plan to go to 14% or 16%
thanks again for a great answer and help.
tami mcadams

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Followup To
Question -
Hi,
thank you in advance for being available through this forum... just found it. What a wonderful act of sharing!
BACKGROUND INFO:  A family, whom I give natural horsemanship lessons and training to, has recently rescued a percheron mare. She foaled but rejected the foal. The foal developed problems (starting with no colustrum), ended up at OSU for quite a spell, but came out a few weeks ago, went to a 'foster' home (not with a nurse mare, but fed by humans) for a few weeks.  The foal is now home with the family as of 3 days ago and physically is doing quite well. The foal is now 2 months old. The foal never did accept a bottle or nipple from the beginning and was tubed at OSU, then later fed with a syringe, and then bucket/mush fed. Now the foal is on dry, pelleted food and hay.
Now for the question:  This foal, while it wouldn't 'nurse' or suck from a bottle or nipple, is now completely oral about people. I just met this foal 3 days ago and was astounded at how completely obsessed it is with trying to suck "at" people... their hands, clothes, body.. anything it can get its mouth against. It is not that he is actually trying to suck on you, but is more intent on getting his nose/mouth on you while he is making the sucking action.  It is frantic in this pursuit. It is so pervasive that the foal can not hardly have its attention distracted from the pursuit of sucking against a person. You can't hardly get near it and do something simple like rub its head or neck... it is so constantly trying to get its mouth on you.  The weird thing is that it is actually sucking loudly the whole time! Actually slobbering and sucking saliva around in its mouth. Sounds like it has rolled up its tongue inside its mouth and maybe sucking on its own tongue or something.  It doesn't stop unless you leave the stall.
 We wonder if since the sucking reflex has now begun to work, the foal is frantic to pacify itself with the comfort of sucking. It is next to impossible to work with it even for a few seconds on simple leading or any type of basic handling due to the single-focused, frantic sucking. I've been able to gently place my cupped hand around his mouth/muzzle and he calms for a few moments, sucking mightly and pressing his muzzle and lips into my hand (almost like pressing into an udder while sucking). But the instant I move my hand away, the frantic, noisy sucking and seeking a place to press into you with its nose/mouth.  The sucking becomes so slobbery and harsh, it makes us concerned that he could aspirate the saliva.
 After considering how to give the foal the sucking comfort it now seems to be seeking, we discussed finding a goat or calf nursing bucket or bottle and try now to see if the foal will suck on it. We hope that if he will, it might satiate that need he now has.
 Any insight into this sucking behavior and tips for managing it and/or shifting his attention?
thank you for your help,
Tami McAdams
Columbus, OH
Answer -
Hi Tami!

The sucking you asked about is a very common thing for orphan foals, particularly if they never got any chance to nurse.  Mine used to suck on her own flank and I ended up having to put Bitter Apple on her to stop it.  There are a couple of things I would try.  First, definitely try to get hold of a goat nursing bottle and use that, since that will help the foal satisfy that sucking reflex.  Also, it's a little too early for the foal to be on dry pellets.  If you can find powdered Mare's Match, that's a great product.  Try mixing it in a large, flat rubber pan.  That way, the foal has to suck it up instead of chew it, and that will also help satisfy his need to suck.  Also, remember that he's needing to be fed pretty frequently (every 2 hours) and if he's not getting enough food, that can also lead to that frantic sucking he's doing.  It's possible that he can't chew the pellets fast enough to satisfy the hungry feeling in his stomach.  Again, I'd go with the powdered milk for feeding, since it would solve a lot of potential problems.  Some of this is just going to be trial and error, since there isn't a lot of information out there on orphan foals.  But whatever you can do to give him that feeling of being able to suck on something will help.  Mine is now 4 years old, and still sucks on her upper lip when trying to savor food (like when I feed her apples).  It's pretty strange looking, but harmless.

Good luck, and let me know how it goes!

--Susan

Answer
Hi Tami!

I had really good results with my foal keeping her on the liquid (powdered) milk until about 3 1/2 months, then switching over to the dry pellets.  When I switched over to the dry pellets, I wetted them down with some of the liquid milk initially to make a sort of thicker mush, then gradually (over about 4 days) moved to a dryer and dryer mixture.  Also, I always kept some grass hay available for her to nibble on (it helps to get them started on solid foods).  Do make sure that the foal is getting enough calcium, but take care not to feed alfalfa (it's much too rich for babies and can cause colic and laminitis).  I know of a couple of foals who have gotten impaction colic and died from eating straight alfalfa.  One excellent source of calcium is beet pulp - it's cheap and easy for them to digest.  Make absolutely sure to soak the beet pulp in water (just enough to cover the dry beet pulp) for an hour before feeding.  For a baby, you'll only need to feed about 1 cup per day to ensure that he's getting enough calcium.

Those are just my experiences.  Hope that helps!  Let me know if I can help with anything else.

--Susan