Researchers: Newborn Foal Energy Metabolism Requires Hormonal Activation
A steady nutrient supply of mare’s milk is crucial for the functioning of intestinal cells that produce incretins, which in turn influence energy regulation in neonates. | Photo: Kevin Thompson/The Horse
To survive, newborn foals need high levels of energy. Critically ill foals, in particular, need appropriate amounts of the carbohydrates found in mare’s milk. But because of the way their gut hormones work, those carbohydrates can’t provide much energy unless the intestines are actively digesting whole mare’s milk, say researchers.

In a novel study investigating newborn metabolism in horses, intravenous (IV) glucose administration failed to activate the intestinal hormones—the incretins—that trigger insulin release from the pancreas, said Ramiro E. Toribio, DVM, MS, PhD, Dipl. ACVIM, of The Ohio State University’s College of Veterinary Medicine, in Columbus.

Direct oral consumption of lactose or glucose alone were only “minimally” more effective in activating the incretins, he added. Only actual nursing seemed to “wake up” the incretins that then call on the insulin to release.

The Incretin-Insulin Connection

Without proper insulin release, energy sources don’t get taken up into the cells, said Toribio. In other words, they can just pass through the foal’s body and be wasted, even if the foal desperately needs the energy to survive

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