STUD FARM DIARIES
I looked at the little white test strip in surprise. We had just done an IgG test on the latest foal, who had been born 12 hours earlier. It had been many foal crops since I had seen such a low result. All the foals born in the past several years have had extremely high levels of IgG when tested at 12 hours of age. Yet this one was very low.
WHAT IS AN IgG TEST AND WHY SHOULD I CARE?
An IgG test measures the amount of antibody production (specifically the immunoglobulin G) the foal has received from the mare’s colostrum. A high level of immunoglobulin G (IgG) means the foal should be able to mount an adequate immune response to many infections and diseases for the first six months of life.
WHAT IS COLOSTRUM?
When foals are born, they don’t come with a ready-made immune system. They don’t develop their own immune system until they are about five to six months of age. Therefore, they cannot fight off any diseases on their own. However, there is a fix for that. The first milk that the foal consumes from the mare is called “colostrum,” and it is full of antibodies that are absorbed by the foal and act as its immune system until the foal is around six months of age. The mare produces colostrum for approximately 24 hours after giving birth.
WHY SHOULD I DO AN
