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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.
Fewer than 28% of female horses have any canine teeth. Those that do normally only have one or two, and these may be only partially erupted. [3] Between 13 and 32% of horses, split equally between male and female, also have wolf teeth, which are not related to canine teeth, but are vestigial first premolars. Wolf teeth are more common on the ...
Foals receive stimulation of certain neurosteroids that keep them "quiet" during gestation. This is important for the health and safety of both mare and foal. If a foal were to move around similarly to humans during gestation, injuries and possible miscarriage could occur. These neurosteroids ensure that the foal remains relatively still in the ...
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 ...
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.
[5] [9] In any crossing of two carrier parents, the statistical probability of producing a solid-colored, living foal is 25%; a 50% chance exists for a frame-patterned, living foal; and a 25% chance exists of a LWS foal. [14] This Thoroughbred mare was born pure white with pink skin. Such foals are occasionally born with no apparent white ancestry.
Naked foal syndrome is a rare, genetic disorder specific to the Akhal-Teke breed and recognized among breeders. It is characterized by foals being born without hair and often dying within days to months after birth. While the exact cause of these early deaths is unknown, some hairless foals have survived up to 2.5 years.
[21] [22] [23] Captive animals are the primary performers of hair-pulling, and its equivalent behaviours, and the behaviour may be directed towards their own body or may occur in a social context where the hair-pulling is directed towards another individual in the enclosure. [20] An example of a dog experiencing seasonal alopecia