o and from the paddock and stable. The foal can be ressured by the attendant scratching its chest, withers and quarters in simulation of its dam's affectionate "love-nibbles" which she gives him in those places.
From the second week of its life, it is advisable to make the foal used to being touched and stroked by humans. Its hooves can be picked up for a second or so as well. This exercise will prepare the young animal for the time when the farrier will first trim its hooves - when he is about three months.
At three or four months, the foal learns to load into a trailer with its mother. The technique for trouble-free loading is to load the mare first. The foal, anxious not to be separated from its mother, then will follow quickly into the trailer.
If the grazing is good and the mare has been fed well, her mile and the grass will be ample food for the foal up to the age of two months. Toward the end of that time, the foal should be sharing its dam's grain. As a guide, a foal requires 1lb of grain per day for every month of its age up to five to six months. In addition to oats, boiled linseed and barley, the feed could also include powdered mile, 2oz rising to 8oz per day, and cod-lover oil to promote bone growth. In winter, the foal needs an ample supply of soft, meadow hay, which will not overtax its immature teeth nor its digestion. Apart from nutrition, a foal's other basic needs are plenty of sleep as well as the company of other horses and plenty of space to romp in.
It is usual for colts, other than those intended for use a stallions, to be gelded before weaning takes place. Gelding can be carried out later but yearling colts can become unacceptable boisterous if left ungelded. Deworming is an essential measure to be taken before weaning.
The weaning of foals from their dams usually takes place between 4 1/2 and 6 months, when the milk hairs have darkened and the foal is able to feed on its own. In practical terms, this is an unavoidable step. However, weaning can cause stress to both mare and foal and, therefore, the owner must help to minimize distress to the animals by handling them sympathetically.
Foals can be prepared for the final separation by being kept away from the dam for short periods. The mare can be exercised, for instance, while the foal remains in the stall with a companion and with food available. The eventual, full separation must be total for at least four weeks, the mare being kept off the premises if possible while the foal is kept in a deeply bedded and very secure stall. After a week the foal can be turned out for short periods in the paddock so long as the mare can be neither seen nor heard.
Good feeding for young stock is essential to good health, as is the freedom that allows them to develop naturally. By the time the foal is a yearling, it should be having no less than 7lb concentrate feed a day, plus salt, an appropriate mineral supplement, cod-liver oil and so on. Hay should be fed ad lib and ample supplies of clean, fresh water must be constantly available.
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Reference: The Ultimate Horse Book; Elwyn Hartley Edwards; 1991
Color photo of mare and foal courtesy of Kim McElroy