A Bit About Foals
|
|
I noticed a field of broodmares and foals recently, and what a pretty picture they made. The arrival of a foal is usually an exciting time for most horse owners, especially if the foal is born to a favorite mare, and the arrival is a highly anticipated event. Foals are cute, but they’re also very interesting. The first year of life is one of very rapid maturing, both mentally and physically. Here’s a look at some foal facts.
• It takes about eleven months for a foal to grow inside the mare. In the wild, foals are born in the spring, so they have the warm summer months to mature in. Humans often breed mares so they foal early in the calendar year. If they’re born during the winter, they’ll be born with a much thicker coat than spring foals.
• A foal’s legs at birth are almost the same length they will be once matured.
• A foal is usually up and able to walk and stand within two hours of birth. Some hop up quickly, others take more time. Many breeders believe that colts take longer than fillies to figure out the whole standing and nursing thing. They are also able to trot very quickly, but it may take a day or so before they figure out how to gallop.
• The foals first milk is an antibody rich colostrum that boosts their immune system. They’ll get about a quart of this important milk within the first hours of life, and it will also help the foal clear it’s first manure, called the meconium.
• Foals will bond with their mothers very shortly after birth. Communication is largely through body language that is imperceptible to the human eye.
• Because a foal is born with an almost non-existent immune system, it can get sick very easily. This is why it’s important to clean the navel stump and watch out for any signs of diarrhea or other problems.
• Some foals are born with floppy ear tips. This is a sign of a foal that is born slightly premature. Foals are also born with bent legs. This is called windswept and is common in Thoroughbreds or with any long-legged foal that had to spend months folded before being born. The legs will usually straighten on their own. Ligaments and tendons are very soft when the foal is born, and this results in foals being down on their pasterns. Within a short time, the tissues will strengthen, but occasionally veterinary help is needed.
• Foals start to nibble grass about a week after birth, but these are only tentative tastes. It will take about two weeks before they’ll start to actually eat grass. After about eight weeks, grass or other feed will be important, because the mare’s milk will not provide enough nutrition for the rapidly growing foal.
• By three months, some foals will be ready to be weaned. Draft breeds and crosses, and other large, rapidly growing foals can grow too quickly, causing big problems in their joints. Many owners choose to wait to wean their foals however, and in the wild foals will be weaned at about a year. |
|
|
Dark Star
Very Very rarely is it EVER a good idea to wean at 3 months. We wean at 5/6 months, and even then we have special vitamins we supply for the foals because regular feed is usually not enough.
Very Very rarely is it EVER a good idea to wean at 3 months. We wean at 5/6 months, and even then we have special vitamins we supply for the foals because regular feed is usually not enough.
|
Aug 29, 2014
• 3,987 views
|
|
|
|
Winniefield Park
I think longer is better too. I had a draft cross that I weaned at three months because he was growing like gangbusters, pulling the mare down no matter how much feed I dumped into her. All the advice I got was wean early. I would have like to have waited. It's surprising how many are weaned that early.
I think longer is better too. I had a draft cross that I weaned at three months because he was growing like gangbusters, pulling the mare down no matter how much feed I dumped into her. All the advice I got was wean early. I would have like to have waited. It's surprising how many are weaned that early.
|
Aug 30, 2014
• 3,949 views
|
|
|
|
Dark Star
Those are the only cases we even consider weaning early, is when the mare just can't sustain that foal any more.
I know some people who weaned a foal at 3 months because 'she was eating grain by herself, so obviously she was ready' and that just isn't true at all. Seeing as the mare and foal were separated a full month and then were let back out together (another BAD idea, once you wean, keep them apart until they are over 18 months!!), the mare immediately let the foal start nursing again, and the filly gladly went back to drinking off mom. Now they can't take them apart because they both throw fits (again.)
Those are the only cases we even consider weaning early, is when the mare just can't sustain that foal any more.
I know some people who weaned a foal at 3 months because 'she was eating grain by herself, so obviously she was ready' and that just isn't true at all. Seeing as the mare and foal were separated a full month and then were let back out together (another BAD idea, once you wean, keep them apart until they are over 18 months!!), the mare immediately let the foal start nursing again, and the filly gladly went back to drinking off mom. Now they can't take them apart because they both throw fits (again.)
|
Aug 31, 2014
• 3,935 views
|
|
|
|
|
More News by Winniefield Park
|
|
3P *Starring Ruth* has captured two spots on the leaderboard joining * Queen Of Hearts. Starring Ruth is a 17.1 hand Friesian mare out of the PythonPonyPalaces stable and was foaled September 7, 2023. She not only was #1 ranked ho ...
|
|
DNA testing can tell you a number of things about a horse’s risk of developing a hereditary disease, coat color, genetic markers for speed, temperament and gait and can give some insight into a horse’s breed. In this video, The Cl ...
|
|
Here is a story of how a passion for horses led one woman to a life of secrecy and dishonesty. Over twenty years she built a life of glamor and competitive success. But many people asked how she funded her extravagant lifestyle th ...
|
|
One of the world’s rarest breeds is the Suffolk Punch. Native to Britain, these stocky draft horses once had pride of place in agricultural work, hauling artillery, pulling public transportation vehicles like busses and towing bar ...
|
|
*V For Victory* is entrenched on the leaderboard and still holds the Best Streak with an 18,792 run and a jumpoff record of 29,444 - 19. But two mares have taken over the Top Rank and Highest Jump records. At 16, the 17-hand Crown ...
|
|
Get your daily dose of nature with this 49-minute video of wild horses travelling to a water hole in Sand Wash Basin, a BLM managed area in Colorado. The small herd drinks, grazes and swish's flies in the semi-arid desert environm ...
|
|
Halloween is just around the corner and it's time to consider costumes for you and your four-legged friends. A recent viral trend is dressing your pet as a ghost. Some sheets and paint are the basis of this costume, and you can se ...
|
|
Good riders do what they can to make their horse’s job easier. Especially when jumping, your position can help or hinder your horse as it adjusts its strides and balance between and over obstacles. Here’s a video with good suggest ...
|
|
|