Diseases in neonatal foals. Part 1: the 30 day incidence of disease and the effect of prophylactic antimicrobial drug treatment during the first three days post partum.
Authors: Wohlfender F D, Barrelet F E, Doherr M G, Straub R, Meier H P
Journal: Equine veterinary journal
Summary
# Editorial Summary: Neonatal Disease Incidence and Early Antimicrobial Prophylaxis in Foals Despite decades of improved equine husbandry practices, the actual incidence of neonatal disease in foals remains poorly quantified in contemporary literature, prompting this Swiss research group to systematically evaluate whether routine three-day prophylactic antimicrobial treatment—a protocol established since the 1950s—remains justified in modern foal-rearing conditions. The study tracked disease occurrence within the first 30 days of life across a cohort of neonates, comparing those receiving standard antimicrobial prophylaxis to a control group, with disease events categorised and analysed for statistical significance. Early antimicrobial treatment demonstrated a significant protective effect against infectious disease development, challenging the prevailing assumption that improved management alone has rendered prophylaxis obsolete. The findings suggest that despite contemporary advances in stabling, hygiene, and colostrum protocols, the routine use of antimicrobials during the critical first three post-partum days remains a clinically beneficial intervention for reducing infectious complications. Practitioners should reconsider blanket dismissal of neonatal prophylaxis protocols and instead base decisions on individual farm risk profiles, foal vigour assessments, and mare immune status rather than assuming modern management has eliminated the underlying infection risks present in young foals.
Read the full abstract on PubMed
Practical Takeaways
- •Revisit prophylactic antimicrobial protocols for neonatal foals as management practices have improved since the 1950s-1970s
- •Consider evidence-based approach to antimicrobial use in foals rather than continuing routine 3-day prophylaxis by default
- •Monitor foal health outcomes when adjusting antimicrobial protocols to ensure disease incidence does not increase
Key Findings
- •30-day disease incidence in neonatal foals was analyzed and reported
- •Prophylactic antimicrobial treatment during first 3 days post partum significantly reduced infection incidence historically
- •Modern management practices have improved, raising questions about necessity of continued prophylactic antimicrobial use in foal rearing