The first check belongs in the first day
Book a veterinary check within the foal's first day of life, and call sooner if anything about the birth or the foal worries you. That visit is not a formality. The vet will watch the foal stand and nurse, listen to heart and lungs, check the navel for problems, look at limb alignment, confirm the foal is passing droppings, and examine the mare and her afterbirth as well. Newborn foals have very little reserve, so a foal that seemed merely quiet in the morning can be seriously unwell by evening, which is exactly why the early professional once-over matters.
Signs that mean calling before any routine visit
Do not wait for a scheduled appointment if a foal is slow to stand, cannot find the udder or suck strongly, seems weak or unusually sleepy, has a swollen or moist navel, develops diarrhoea, strains without passing droppings, or breathes fast or noisily. A mare that is off her feed, restless, or has a foul discharge also needs prompt attention, because her health and the foal's are tied together in these early days. Write down when you first noticed each sign; that timeline genuinely helps the vet decide how urgently to act and what to look at first.
How vaccination timing is planned for a foal
Vaccinations are not usually the business of the first day. A nursing foal carries some early protection passed from its mother through her first milk, and the timing of the foal's own programme is planned around when that borrowed protection fades, the mare's own vaccination history, and the diseases that matter where you live. Your veterinarian sets that schedule, commonly starting the foal's course in its early months and following with the boosters the programme requires. Guessing dates from another yard's routine is a poor substitute, because a mare with an unknown history changes the plan for her foal.
What to have ready when the vet arrives
A good foal visit runs faster and answers more when the foaling notes are in your hand. Have the birth timeline ready: when the mare foaled, when the foal stood and nursed, and anything unusual in between. Tell the vet what you know of the mare's own health history and any cover she had before foaling, and say plainly if that history is unknown, because it changes how the foal's own programme is planned. Keep the foal in a clean, well-lit stable with a halter that fits, and have your questions written down, including what to watch for overnight. Jot the vet's answers into the record during the visit, not from memory at the weekend.
Follow-up checks through the first months
After the newborn visit, expect your vet to want eyes on the foal again at intervals through its early months, often tied to growth, limb development, weaning plans, and the start of its vaccination course. Use those visits to raise handling questions too: a foal that learns early that vet checks are calm and brief is easier to treat for life. Record every visit, what was done, and what is due next, in one continuous file. In KinsLe, that growing history sits in the foal's Pet Passport, a single portable packet you can hand to a new vet, a transporter, or a future owner without rebuilding it from memory.