Facts on Foals

Because India is still a baby, there is so much to know about foals! For example, did you know that newborn horses can stand within just 1 hour of being born? Or what about the fact that foals can't eat grass because their legs are too long to reach? This is all stuff to know when owning a foal!

A newborn foal and it's mother

Horses are pregnant for 11 months. Just like humans, horses grow in the mother almost the exact same way, the only difference is that horses aren't actually noticeably pregnant until around 9 months! In the last 2 months of the pregnancy, the foal grows like crazy! Over night results are usually noticeable, and the mare (the pregnant mother) will start to show definite signs of her expecting. Signs include nipping at her stomach, eating and drinking a lot and other little oddities that may not seem normal in comparison to a non-pregnant mare. When the mare is going into labor, she will generally roll around on the ground. Why? Because she is trying to reposition the baby into the proper position for being born! When in labor, she will make noises and demonstrate that she is in labor to the other horses in the herd. Most foals are born at night and away from their herd. The reason is that they are very private and like to be alone. Giving birth is a very quick process for horses, and can usually be done in 10 minutes or less!

Up and walking within an hour!

After the foal is born, it will be up and standing almost instantly. The mothers teats will
be ready to be drank from, and they will be very swollen and filled with milk. The first drop of milk is the most important to the foal. It contains a lot of needed nutrients for the foal that have been being saved throughout the pregnancy. The foals instincts are just to drink, so finding the teats is usually no problem for the foal. Sometimes, the mare will not let the foal drink. If she is a first time mom, not knowing what to expect is a very difficult situation for her and she may even shun the foal, not on purpose, but because she doesn't know. If this happens, you can rent or lease 'surrogate mares' that have available milk, usually because they lost their foal in or after child birth and have no way to re leave the teats of the milk.

After the foal is born, be sure to call the vet to make sure it is healthy and on track to grow!


www.tourbeaufort.com
www.fineartamerica.com