Foals have seemingly endless energy, darting around their fields, playing with their pasturemates, and recharging with a quick nap and a drink from Mom. But, occasionally, a foal develops a health problem that zaps that energy and leaves him in a collapsed heap, looking sickly and vulnerable. What should you do if this happens to your foal?

Emily Haggett, BVSc, Dipl. ACVIM, MRCVS, an associate at Rossdales Equine Hospital, in Suffolk, U.K., reviewed the steps veterinarians should take when managing a collapsed neonatal foal in the field at the 2014 British Equine Veterinary Association Congress, held Sept. 10-13 in Birmingham, U.K.

If a foal has collapsed, cannot rise, or is weak, don’t try to handle the situation on your own: “Any weak or collapsed foal should be examined by a veterinarian as soon as possible,” Haggett said. Common causes of collapse, some of which could be life-threatening if not treated promptly and properly, include:

• Sepsis (a body-wide inflammatory state due to a known or suspect bacterial infection);
• Neonatal maladjustment syndrome (often called “dummy foal syndrome”; a condition that occurs within the first few days of life after suffering a lack of oxygen delivery to the brain before, during, or immediately after birth);
• Prematurity;
• Neonatal isoerythrolysis (acute hemolytic anemia caused by ingesting antibodies in the mare’s colostrum and milk that attack the neonate’s red blood cells);
• Enterocolitis (inflammation of the small intestine and colon);
• Uroperitoneum (the accumulation of urine in the peritoneal cavity, often from a ruptured bladder);
• Hypoglycemia (low blood sugar);
• Colic;
• Meconium (the first manure a foal will pass) impactions;
• Congenital abnormalities; and
• Trauma.

When the veterinarian arrives, he or she should first evaluate the foal and try to identify the most likely causes of the animal’s issues, Haggett said