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Mares carry their young (called foals) for approximately 11 months from conception to birth. (Average range 320–370 days.) [2] Usually just one young is born; twins are rare. When a domesticated mare foals, she nurses the foal for at least four to six months before it is weaned, though mares in the wild may allow a foal to nurse for up to a year.
A foal should stand and nurse within the first hour of life. To create a bond with her foal, the mare licks and nuzzles the foal, enabling her to distinguish the foal from others. Some mares are aggressive when protecting their foals, and may attack other horses or unfamiliar humans that come near their newborns.
Free-roaming mustangs (Utah, 2005). Horse behavior is best understood from the view that horses are prey animals with a well-developed fight-or-flight response.Their first reaction to a threat is often to flee, although sometimes they stand their ground and defend themselves or their offspring in cases where flight is untenable, such as when a foal would be threatened.
Foals are usually presented at a local mare and foal show by their dam's side. If the foal's sire and dam are in the studbook, and he generally fits into the breeding goal, he receives his papers and a brand on the left thigh. The brand identifies his registry. Although foals are not usually scored, some registries award "Premium" status to ...
A cream mare with dark skin and a light mane and tail may be accepted by the registry as foundation stock, while stallions must have pink skin and white manes and tails to be registered. [2] Purebred American Cream foals that are too dark to be accepted into the main breed registry may be recorded into an appendix registry. [4]
Ponies living full-time on the New Forest are almost all mares, although there are also a few geldings. For much of the year the ponies live in small groups, usually consisting of an older mare, her daughters, and their foals, all keeping to a discrete area of the Forest called a "haunt." Under New Forest regulations, mares and geldings may be ...
By the age of one, they have reached around 65 % of their adult weight and 90 % of their adult height, which explains the often gangly appearance of foals at this age. [10] Draft foals fattened for slaughter weigh on average 59.3 % of the adult horse's live weight at 8 months, then 70.1 % at 12 months, and 90.1 % at 30 months. [2]
Usually, only a single foal is born, which is capable of running within an hour. Within a few weeks, foals attempt to graze, but may continue to nurse for 8–13 months. [9] Species in arid habitats, like Grévy's zebra, have longer nursing intervals and do not drink water until they are three months old. [47]