Foaling-management practices associated with the occurrence of enterocolitis attributed to Clostridium perfringens infection in the equine neonate.

Enterocolitis associated with Clostridium perfringens (C. perfringens) infection in neonatal foals is often severe and has been associated with a high case-mortality risk. We designed a premises-based survey to evaluate the associations of regional foaling practices, premises environmental management, periparturient foal and brood-mare management, and periparturient brood-mare ration with the occurrence of neonatal enterocolitis attributed to C. perfringens infection. Potential risk factors individually associated with enterocolitis were breed type, housing type at foaling and in the first three days of life, ground/floor surface type at foaling and in the first three days of life, brood-mare ration before and after foaling, and the presence of livestock other than horses on the premises in the past. From the multivariable-logistic regression models, six variables were significantly associated with an increased risk of the outcome of interest (p<0.05): foals of the stock horse type, housing in a stall or drylot in the first three days of life, other livestock present on the premises in the past, foal born on dirt, sand or gravel surface, and low amounts of grass hay and grain fed post-partum. Low grain amounts fed pre-partum represented a decreased risk of the outcome of interest.