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!


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Nailed It!

The most important part of a horse is it's feet! The amount of work and type of work a horse can do, is all about how their hooves are made. Just like human nails, hooves grow, and when they do, the person to call to fix it is called a farrier. A farrier is a person specialized in the anatomy and care of hooves on livestock. Generally used on horses, farriers are very useful to horse owners, and horses as well. If a horse's hooves become overgrown, the horse may become lame or sore, or even unbalanced due to over growth. The farrier is called out to barns usually every 8-10 weeks to keep things running smoothly.

When the farrier comes to your barn, there are some basic tools and equipment they will bring, in order to work on your horse's feet. First, there is a rasp. It is essentially just a giant nail file, strong enough to file hoof. Along with the rasp is a nipper. A nipper is like nail cutters. They're shaped almost the same but are super industrial. Different farriers may choose to use additional tools as well, depending on the person, and the horse. The nippers cut the hoof wall, and the rasp files any rough edges or surfaces that may cause the horse any pain if it gets caught on anything. After the nippers and rasping is done, the farrier moves to the 'frog' and uses a hoof knife to cut it back. The frog is an almost spongy part of the horse's hoof, which absorbs shock. If the frog is too big or too small, the horse may obtain injuries easier than if it were healthy.

Just like cutting your own nails, the horses feel no pain when having their hooves trimmed. the only time it can become painful is if the farrier ever cuts too far back and hits the white line. If the white line is hit, the horse may bleed, but not too much; it is usually very minor. Horses that have horse shoes are horses with 'soft feet', which means their hooves are sensitive to things like gravel, pavement, or other materials they may be subject to walk on. For most horses, walking anything is fairly simple however, and the farrier will tell you if you need shoes or not.




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