Every Horse Things People Should Know

A Foal is Born

A mare in foal carries her baby for about 340 days,or 11 months. The foal is usually born in spring, when new grass is growing and the days are getting warmer. It stands up on long, wobbly legs and totters to its mothers side before it even one hour old. Within a day, it can walk,  and run, fast enough to keep up with its mom.
  At first it only drink it's mother milk. It starts nibbling grass when it's about six weeks old. When the foal is six months old, it's ready to be "Weaned," or separated from its mom. By this time, a broodmare is pregnant with her next foal---so her current foal needs to be on its own before the new one arrives.
  When a foal is a year old it's called a yearling. A yearling foal knows how to behave when it's led by a person on foot or riding a horse. It also learns "good manners" so that it can be tied up, groomed, and Handled allover without fussing about being touched.
   Training a horse to carry a rider is a long process, which actually begins when the foal is born! A foal should be "gentled" (handed by people) fom the beginning and "halter broke" as a weanling. It's important to gradually introduce it to new situations to create positive experiences and build trust. Depending on the breed, real training begins between the time the horse is a yearling and 2 years old, when it's introduced to the bridle and saddle. Once comfortable with that, the 2 year old is " backed" (that is, introduced to the concept of carrying a rider). It may carry it's first rider when it's two years old, depending  on the breed . If not, it will learn how to do it at three years old. ( thoroughbred racehorses of taught at a faster pace so they can be raced at the age of two years old.)
  At the age of four, the young horse is fully grown. With good care, it may live to be twenty five years old or even older.

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