A foal is an equine up to one year old; this term is used mainly for horses, but can be used for donkeys. More specific terms are colt for a male foal and filly for a female foal, and are used until the horse is three or four. When the foal is nursing from its dam (mother), it may also be called a "suckling". After it has been weaned from its dam, it may be called a "weanling". When a mare is pregnant, she is said to be "in foal". When the mare gives birth, she is "foaling", and the impending birth is usually stated as "to foal". A newborn horse is "foaled".

After a horse is one year old, it is no longer a foal, and is a "yearling". There are no special age-related terms for young horses older than yearlings. When young horses reach breeding maturity, the terms change: a filly over three (four in horse racing) is called a mare, and a colt over three is called a stallion. A castrated male horse is called a gelding regardless of age; however, colloquially, the term "gelding colt" is sometimes used until a young gelding is three or four.[citation needed] (There is no specific term for a spayed mare other than a "spayed mare".)


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Horses that mature at a small stature are called ponies and occasionally confused with foals. However, body proportions are very different. An adult pony can be ridden and put to work, but a foal, regardless of stature, is too young to be ridden or used as a working animal. Foals, whether they grow up to be horse or pony-sized, can be distinguished from adult horses by their extremely long legs and small, slim bodies. Their heads and eyes also exhibit juvenile characteristics. Although ponies exhibit some neoteny with the wide foreheads and small stature, their body proportions are similar to that of an adult horse. Pony foals are proportionally smaller than adults, but like horse foals, they are slimmer and have proportionally longer legs.

Foals are born after a gestation period of approximately 11 months.[1] Birth takes place quickly, consistent with the status of a horse as a prey animal, and more often at night than during the day. Labor lasting over twenty-four hours may be a sign of medical complications. Unlike most predators which are altricial (born helpless), horses are precocial, meaning they come into the world relatively mature and mobile. Healthy foals can typically keep up with the rest of the herd only a few hours after birth. If a foal has not eaten within twelve hours, it may require assistance.

Healthy foals grow quickly and can put on up to three pounds or over a kilo a day. A sound diet improves growth and leads to a healthier adult animal, although genetics also plays a part. In the first weeks of life the foal gets everything it needs from the mare's milk. Like a human infant, it receives nourishment and antibodies from the colostrum in milk that is produced within the first few hours or days following parturition. The mare needs additional water to help her produce milk for the foal and may benefit from supplementary nutrition.

A foal may start to eat solids from ten days of age, after eight to ten weeks it will need more nutrition than the mare's milk can supply; supplementary feeding is required by then. It is important when adding solid food to the foal's diet to not feed the foal excessively or feed an improperly balanced diet. This can trigger one of several possible growth disorders that can cause lifelong soundness problems. On the other hand, insufficient nutrition to mare or foal can cause stunted growth and other health problems for the foal as it gets older.

It is typical for foals under human management to be weaned between four and six months of age, though under natural conditions, they may nurse for longer, occasionally until the following year when the mare foals again. Some foals can nurse for up to three years in domesticity because the mare is less likely to conceive another foetus. A foal that has been weaned but is less than one year old is called a weanling.

Mare's milk is not a significant source of nutrients for the foal after about four months, though it does no harm to a healthy mare for a foal to nurse longer and may be of some psychological benefit to the foal. A mare that is both nursing and pregnant will have increased nutritional demands made upon her in the last months of pregnancy, and therefore most domesticated foals are weaned sometime in the autumn in the Northern Hemisphere if the mare is to be bred again the next season.

In spite of rapid growth, a foal is too young to be ridden or driven. However, foals usually receive very basic horse training in the form of being taught to accept being led by humans, called halter-breaking. They may also learn to accept horse grooming, hoof trimming by a farrier, having hair trimmed with electric clippers, and to become familiar with things it will have to do throughout life, such as loading into a horse trailer or wearing a horse blanket. Horses in general have excellent memories, so a foal must not be taught anything as a young horse that would be undesirable for it to do as a full-grown animal.[2]

In either case, foals that have not bonded to their mothers will have difficulty in pasture. The mare will find it more difficult to teach the foal to follow her. Other horses can have difficulty communicating with the foal and may ostracise it due to speaking a different "language". It can be difficult to lead a foal that has never even been led by its dam.

Foaling down your own mare can be daunting prospect for even the most seasoned horse person. Despite this, the process of getting your mare pregnant, following the pregnancy scans and then finally seeing the end result is all absolutely worth it.

Broodmares should be on a good plane of nutrition leading into foaling and have a sufficient body condition to help support pregnancy, foetal growth and the process of lactation. All mares should receive a tetanus and strangles vaccine 4-6 weeks prior to foaling. The neonate relies of sufficient transfer of antibodies in the colostrum to prevent disease before its own immune system is established.

Maiden mares require special attention to become accustomed to the nursing foal . Often these mares are not use to having their teats touched and are often very reactive. By regularly handling the udder leading up to foaling can desensitise the mare to this stimulation and assist with the nursing process.

Many broodmares have had a caslick procedure (suturing of the upper vulval lips) performed once they are confirmed pregnant to help prevent placental complications. Failure to remove a caslick may result in unnecessary vulval tearing or a potentially difficult birth. If you are unsure your veterinarian can check for you.

It is generally advised given the beautiful climate we have in Australia that mares foal in a suitable paddock as opposed to a stable environment. Careful consideration should be given to the paddock chosen to foal your mare in. The paddock should be close to your house and easily accessible in the night hours. The area should have been rested and manure removed to provide a clean environment for the newborn foal. A flat grass covered area is preferred with no obstacles or potential water hazards present.

Priority should be placed on the type of fencing used in the foaling paddock. The use of mesh or chicken wire prevents foals easily rolling under a fence in the middle of the night which foals seems very clever at achieving.

Access to good lighting over the paddock is always a good investment. This allows careful observation of the mares behaviour leading up to foaling and close observation of the newborn from a distance.

It has been said that having a plan is better than no plan at all. Whilst we all want the foaling process to be a smooth event, occasionally assistance is required. It is advised to contact your local equine veterinarian in the week leading up to foaling and discussing what arrangements are available outside normal hours. This is a good time to confirm the out of hours number and predicted time of assistance if required.

The average gestation length for a mare is 340 days. There may be a lot of variability although individuals tend to follow similar patterns year after year. As the mare gets closer to foaling there are some physical changes that will occur. Firstly, the muscles around the tail head will relax in the weeks leading up to parturition. The vulva will lose the tight wrinkled appearance and begin to elongated and appear relaxed in the days prior to foaling. This is more evident in mares that have had several foals.

Serial assessment of the pH of mammary secretions is an inexpensive and reliable method to help with foaling prediction. Most mares with normal pregnancies foal with a pH of secretion of 6.2-6.6. This can be measure with the use of pool test strips from your local hardware. Theses secretions can be checked daily close to foaling and the mares monitored more closely when the pH drops suddenly into this range. Although this is a helpful method it should be interpreted with other physical changes to the mare as not all mares drop their pH in the same way

Foaling alarms are almost considered a must when foaling down your mare as the process is quick and explosive and easily missed. Whilst these devices are helpful they will never replace direct visual observation. Regular checking of the battery status and range of these monitor is critical to prevent failure.

The foal should be delivered within 15-20 minutes from the start of stage 2. If the foal is not progressing or the presentation is abnormal please contact your veterinarian immediately.

Leave the mare to lay for as long as possible to prevent premature rupture of the placenta. The umbilicus should break on its own once the mare stands. The foal umbilical stump can be treated at this stage with the umbilical dip in your foal kit.

Under no conditions should the membranes be pulled from the mare. Should the membranes not be passed in 4-6 hours then the veterinarian should be called to assist with removal. Retained membranes in the broodmare can have serious consequences including uterine infection and laminitis. e24fc04721

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