Neonatal Encephalopathy in Foals

Neonatal encephalopathy is a central nervous system syndrome that causes abnormal behavior in a newborn foal. It is also called neonatal maladjustment syndrome or “dummy foal” syndrome.

Neonatal encephalopathy often occurs when a foal is deprived of sufficient oxygen during birth, which can happen with a difficult delivery or placenta problems. However, sometimes the birth seems normal. Lack of sufficient oxygen can damage the foal's brain and spinal cord, and it can also affect organs, including the kidneys, heart, gut, and lungs.

Signs of neonatal encephalopathy range from mild to severe and include:

• being slow to nurse

• overreacting to stimuli

• wandering

• sluggishness

• lying flat

• weak muscle tone

• seizures

Typically, an affected foal will look normal at birth but then lose interest in the mare, stop nursing, be unable to stand, and begin seizing. Some foals make unusual “barking” sounds.

If the foal doesn't also have an infection or limb paralysis (inability to move the limbs), the outlook is usually fair to good: about 80% of foals recover and grow into normal adults. With good care, improvement is often seen on a daily basis. Foals with mild neonatal encephalopathy might recover in 2 days. Those with severe symptoms might take more than a week to recover.

Keeping the foal as comfortable and stable as possible is essential. This includes providing:

• warmth

• fluids

• nutrition

If the foal can’t nurse, it should be tube-fed mare’s milk or an appropriate replacer to prevent dehydration and low blood sugar. Your veterinarian can guide you on how much milk or milk replacer to feed your foal.

If a foal is having seizures or struggling to rise, a padded area plus careful handling helps prevent injury—especially eye injuries—during episodes. A blood plasma transfusion might be needed if the newborn foal did not consume enough colostrum (the first milk produced by the mare after birth), which is rich in antibodies (proteins that help fight infectious organisms).