Raising a foal should be considered a special privilege and is a chance to enter onto a journey into the world of the horse in a unique way. It is a commitment of time, money, and heart that yields rewards beyond measure. Raising a foal is not for the person who wants a horse that is ready to be ridden now and has a limited amount of time to devote to the training of a foal.

Do not buy a foal to raise if you are afraid of unique situations that challenge your mental and physical problem solving skills. Considering how to raise a foal can be daunting but with a little forethought can prove to be extremely rewarding. Just remember that mannerisms and habits learned while the foal is small will carry into maturity and cute habits in a foal can become deadly when the the horse grows into a 1000 pound animal.http://www.raraequus.com/articles/raise_baby_horse.htm

For the first few months of the foals life the mare supplies everything that the little guy needs in terms of nutrition. Around the third month of lactation the mares milk production begins to decrease, all the while the demands of the foals body keep increasing.http://www.greenacres-stud.com/foalfeeding.htm

At this point it is a good idea to start what is known as creep feeding the foal.

1. The creep feeder is a feeder designed specifically for feeding foals and inhibiting the mare from eating the food.
2. It is placed near the mares food or water and filled with enough feed that the foal may have free choice of the feed throughout the day.
3. Pelleted feeds are generally thought to be better as the foal will not be able to sift through the ingredients.http://www.greenacres-stud.com/foalfeeding.htm

Foals which are provided the opportunity eat before weaning tend to eat better after weaning.http://www.greenacres-stud.com/foalfeeding.htm After weaning a concentrate feed should be given in proportion to the foals size and growth. Care must be taken not to overfeed the foal as well. It could cause developmental problems such as enterotoxeamia or epiphysitis.http://foxtrotters.tripod.com/foalcare.htm

Probably one of the most important things you can do for your foal is to institute an aggressive anti-parasite program and stick to it. The pregnant mare should also be wormed just before foaling, because after birth, worms will often pass through the mare’s milk to the foal.http://www.wormingyourhorse.info/FoalsGettingAHeadStart.pdf There are no protective antibodies against worms passed from the mare to the foal so the foal is particularly susceptible to the infestation of worms. Damage to the foal caused by worms may be subtle and gradual, but the foals development may be slowed and resistance to disease lowered.http://www.wormingyourhorse.info/FoalsGettingAHeadStart.pdf Talk it over with your vet about a good worming program and pasture rotation and management if possible, this will give your foal a head start into developing in a healthy, happy horse.http://www.wormingyourhorse.info/FoalsGettingAHeadStart.pdf

Around 4-5 months of age you will want to vaccinate your baby horse. This is assuming that the mare has had adequate vaccinations throughout her pregnancy and gestational period. The vaccinations you will want for your foal are:

1. Eastern and Western Encephalitis
2. Tetanus
3. Influenza
4. Rhinopneumonitis
5. West Nile
6. Intranasal Pinnacle (Strangles)
7. Rabieshttp://www.horsetackreview.com/article-display/1075.html

These will have to be repeated in 3 weeks to booster immunity and then repeated yearly.http://www.horsetackreview.com/article-display/1075.html

A stud colt can be castrated any time from a few weeks old as long as their testes have descended into the scrotum and are strong enough to withstand the procedure.http://www.minstervets.co.uk/castration.html This should be considered as soon as possible to reduce stress and healing time.

Weaning usually takes place between 4-6 months of age. Consideration needs to be taken when looking at whether a foal is ready to wean. At 3 months of age the mares milk is only supplying 50% of what a growing foal needs, creep feeders should have been supplied as well are leafy legume hay, vaccinations and regular wormings. Weaning the foal often takes the stress of lactation off of the mare and allows her hormones to return to normal.http://www.utextension.utk.edu/publications/animals/EquineFacts/TNH3004.pdf

When a foal is weaned the primary objective is to reduce stress and there are several theories on the best way to wean:

1. The first is complete separation which is just as it sounds, the mare and the foal are separated in a single event. This has been shown to lead to weight loss and depression among foals however.http://www.utextension.utk.edu/publications/animals/EquineFacts/TNH3004.pdf
2. A less stressful method is to remove one mare at a time from the broodmare band, leaving the weaned foal in the protection the herd and in familiar surroundings.http://www.utextension.utk.edu/publications/animals/EquineFacts/TNH3004.pdf
3. One of the least stressful weaning procedures is the incomplete separation that separates the mare and the foal with a common fence line. The mare and foal can see, hear, and smell each other, but the adjoining fence is built so that the foal cannot nurse.http://www.utextension.utk.edu/publications/animals/EquineFacts/TNH3004.pdf
4. There is also gradual separation where the mare and the foal are kept apart for a few hours every day with gradually increasing time increments.http://www.utextension.utk.edu/publications/animals/EquineFacts/TNH3004.pdf

When mares and foals are in the pasture, the foals usually get plenty of exercise. This, of course, is the ideal way to raise foals. However, If for any reason the mare and foal must be kept in a stall or small pen, arrangements must be made for an exercise program.http://foxtrotters.tripod.com/foalcare.htm

An important part of raising a baby horse is imprinting the foal as soon as possible. Imprinting is the process of desensitizing the foal to human interaction as soon as the foal is born. During imprinting the foal is handled by humans before the "fight or flight" response kicks in.http://ezinearticles.com/?Managing-Your-Foal-With-Imprinting&id=461917 To do this you gently touch the horse all over its body, its ears, face, gums, belly. You handle its feet, apply pressure to the sides and back, even introduce the foal to the plastic bag and clippers. All of this is done in effort to prepare the horse for his life with humans and to try to make these things, which are usually terror inducing in a horse, every day things. This may mean the difference between a calm, thinking horse and a spooky one.

Imprinting should give way to the gentle introduction of the foals early training. This includes introducing the halter and lead rope, tying lessons, clipping lessons, time with the farrier. Everything and anything that you are able to positively introduce to the foal will make a large impact on how this foal sees and responds to the world. Make training sessions short and frequent with plenty of praise and rewards. Early training should always be a positive experience so bad habits and fear of humans is not set in the young horses mind.