🍼 Foal
Also known as: colt, filly
The young of a mare.
A foal is the young of a mare, that is, of a horse. A healthy foal gets on its feet very quickly. Within a few hours of birth it can follow the herd. If the foal has not fed in the first 12 hours, it needs human help.
A foal's first food is colostrum. This is the mother's first milk, rich in nutrients and protective substances. It is produced in the first hours or days after birth. For the first weeks, the mare's milk fully feeds the foal. From about ten days old it starts tasting solid food. And from 8–10 weeks it already needs extra feed.
Domestic foals are usually weaned from their mother at 4–6 months. After four months, milk is no longer the main source of food. In the wild, a foal may suckle for almost a year, until the mother has a new foal. A weaned foal under one year old is called a weanling. Mare's milk is used to make kumis.
How it connects to milk
Links
- Fed with milk by
- 🐎 Mare
Frequently asked questions
When are foals weaned?
Domestic foals are usually weaned at 4–6 months. In the wild they may suckle for almost a year.
When does a foal start eating grass and feed?
It starts tasting solid food from about ten days old. From 8–10 weeks it already needs extra feed.