A fairly rare but important condition of Arabian foals is called lavender foal syndrome. Lavender foal syndrome only occurs in newborn Egyptian Arabian foals and has been recognized for over 50 years. In a recent review, Dr H. H. Fanelli indicated the most striking feature of the condition is the dilute or bleached out appearance of the hair coat color. The coat color is many times a striking iridescent silver to pale lavender but may also be pale slat grey or pale chestnut. At birth, most of these foals show some form of tetany with stiff legs and their heads pulled backward as well as paddling with the legs. Foals that are born with infections throughout their bodies can have similar symptoms and these two conditions are difficult to differentiate without blood testing unless there is the typical dilute coat color also present.

There is also a seizure disorder of young Egyptian Arabian foals that is quite common but usually does not occur immediately at birth, and which has no coat color abnormalities. However, it is believed the conditions may be related as mares that have produced foals with lavender foal syndrome have also produced epileptics. The epileptic foals recover usually after treatment with seizure medication for several months while foals with lavender foal syndrome do not survive. For this reason, it is important to not prolong suffering on a foal that will not recover. Certainly both of these conditions are inherited. Lavender foal syndrome should be considered in any weak newborn Egyptian Arabian foal that is having difficulty standing especially if they are showing nervous system signs and have a light coat coloring.