In the Northern Hemisphere, we are starting to wean foals, while in the Southern Hemisphere, breeding season has just started and foaling season is underway.
Either way, it’s all about the foals.
I recently had a wonderful email from an Australian breeder who had attended the WAHO conference in New South Wales in 2019. I was one of the speakers and had given a talk on new developments in foaling. As part of that lecture, I did a breakout session on using the “Madigan Squeeze” with a life-sized plush foal, taught attendees the fundamentals of the technique and let them practice it. In the email, the breeder said she had a foal with suspected neonatal maladjustment syndrome (what we used to call “dummy” foals). She called her vet and asked him to do the technique on the foal. He was rather dismissive, and used the technique for five minutes, then told her it didn’t work, and said to make arrangements to have the foal shipped to the hospital. This breeder called a friend, and together they did the technique again, properly, for the proper amount of time (20 minutes) and the foal promptly went to the mare and began nursing. Bravo to her for having the courage (and the knowledge) to do this easy and
