Caring for Mares & Foals

Lesson 6: Caring For the Newborn Foal

Getting Up

This can take as little as ten minutes or as long as one hour, depending on the foals conformation, vigor, and things such as courage, will and determination. As a foal learns to stand it can be comical and heart stopping. The danger can be for the foal to crash into the walls of the stall. You can bank the sides with flakes of straw to help cushion its falls. If your mare is not aggressive or overly nervous, you can also help support the foal as it gets up. However, contain your help to support to prevent injury, for the foal needs to develop its strength in these trials and errors. Avoid coming between mom and baby as this upsets the new mom and may cause her to frantically circle the stall, to the detriment of foal and you.

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