Archive for March, 2007
You have to try and be present at the birth of your foal to assist with any complications and increase its chance for survival. If possible, your vet should also attend the foal’s birth.
Here are helpful suggestions if your veterinarian is not present:
- Make sure the birthing area is clean to minimize the risk of infection.
- To help him breath naturally, immediately remove any mucus which may be covering the foal’s nose and mouth after birth.
- Rub the foal with a clean towel. This will dry the foal and help stimulate breathing.
- The length of time a mare carries the foal inside her body is usually 11 to 12 months.
- The legs of a newborn foal are almost as long (about 90%) as those of the mare. It will grow slightly over a lifetime.
- A foal is able to stand just one hour after birth and can walk, trot, and run just two hours after birth!
- The first milk the mare makes is called colostrum. This is a rich milk and it is very important for the foal, because it helps protect it against disease.
Horseshoes have become synonymous with good fortune. Having them on your horse’s feet has little to do with attracting good luck, but a lot with answering to your steed’s needs.
Horses in the wild do not require shoes unlike domesticated breeds of horse. Those horses that are not worked out and trained regularly on hard ground do not need them. If a horse’s foot is hurt, you will not be able to ride it. In order to maximize a horse’s use, horseshoes are needed in order to protect the horse’s feet. In their absence, the hoof walls can crack. And a horse with sore feet will be of little use.
