What Is a Colt Horse?

The word colt is often used to refer to any baby horsebut this is incorrect. The proper genderneutral term for a young horse is foal. All colts are foals but foals can be either fillies or colts in the same way that all infant boys are babies but babies can be either infant boys or infant girls.
The Definition of Colt
Strictly speaking a colt is an uncastrated intact male horse pony donkey or mule younger than four years of age. The word is pronounced to rhyme with bolt. The terms proper usage takes into account the fact that the baby horse is a male. For example The colt and filly played in the paddock while their mothers grazed nearby. The sentence would be equally correct if stated thus The two foals played in the paddock... but the first example specifies the genders of the foals.
Common Usages of Colt
People frequently and incorrectly refer to all baby horses as colts but as previously mentioned this is incorrect. Its a common mistake often encountered in movies and books.
A very young horse may be called a filly foal or colt foal. When a colt is weaned it may be called a weanling colt and when it reaches the age of one it may be called a yearling colt or simply yearling. You might hear a colt over the age of one or two called a stud colt.
Characteristics of Colts
A popular notion is that fillies are smarter than colts. Likewise some people believe that fillies stand more quickly after birth and nurse sooner after they are born than fillies do. These are merely popular myths. Many people believe that colts are bolder than fillies but a 2010 study suggests that this too is untrue. Like most mammalian males colts tend to grow a bit faster than fillieseven