All About Baby Horses (with Cute Foal Photos)

Of all the horses I have owned, none get quite as much attention as my baby horses! I often see cars pulled over in front of my fence as visitors photograph these adorable newborn arrivals.

In this article, you will learn all about baby horses, which are also called foals. You’ll learn

throughout this article, I’m sharing my photo album of adorable baby horse pictures from my farm!

Baby Horse Basics:

Horse experts like me use the term foal- but if you are just a horse admirer then it’s fine to call them baby horses. Whether you choose to call newborn horses foals or baby horses, get ready for this name to change quickly: When a foal is separated from its mother (around 6 months of age) it’s no longer a foal!

• 🌰 Foals old enough to wean are called “weanlings“
• 🌱 Weanlings that have passed their one-year birthday are called “yearlings“
• 🌳 And 2-year-olds are called… well, actually we just refer to them as “2-year-olds“! At this age, a horse is mostly-mature and ready to begin training.

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How Baby Horses Grow into Horses

When a baby horse is born, it typically lays in the grass (if outside) or stall bedding (if indoors) for 30 minutes to 1 hour.

Pretty soon, though, the baby horse begins to try and stand up! It can be pretty comical to watch a newborn horse try to get up on those stilts! Most foals stand within an hour and begin nursing shortly after.

Baby Horses are Not Ponies… (Well, except when they are!)

If you thought that baby horses and ponies were the same thing, you aren’t alone! Through years of doing novice-friendly horseback riding lessons, I have met many people who confuse foals and ponies. Here’s the difference:

Fact: Baby Horses are Born With Soft Hooves

Labor would be very hard on mother horses if foals were born with the tough, durable hooves of a full-grown horse. Instead, baby horses’ hooves are fully formed, but soft and spongey at birth. Immediately after birth, a foal’s hooves begin to harden.

Weird Foal Behaviors: Teeth Clacking

Although I thought I was fully prepared for my first foal, I had some shocks. I was surprised to notice my first foal chomping at the air, clicking her teeth, and clacking her bite when other horses approached