Foals

[Frizzle's Gal]

I am looking at a colt and his body type is very refined and he has a very dished head. As he grows will his comformation stay the same or will it change so he no longer looks refined? I have never had a foal before so I was just wondering. Thanks

 

[Lewella]

A good rule of thumb - what a foal looks like at 3 weeks and at 3 months is what he will look like at 3 years. Sounds corny but in my experience it has really held true!

 

[Frizzle's Gal]

thnaks for the help!

 

[mizbeth]

Yes I agree with that rule of thumb too, but also add 3-5 days to the look.

Beth

 

[lyn_j]

I am with the others here. But I would like to add that a boxier, chunkier baby often becomes coarser as he gets older. My "Spidery" looking babies when they are new born, tend to be my more refined horses as adults.

Lyn

 

[Bess Kelly]

My first impressions at about 2-3 days are most often correct. Let them unfold from the first day, then you really see their "frame". Of course, you need to know what you are looking for :bgrin and it isn't just "cuteness". Like Lynn says, if they are boxes at this stage, they usually will be so as adults.

 

[MountainMeadows]

I believe that unless you are very familiar with what the sire & dam have produced - that it is very difficult to truly predict how a foal will look when mature - as in 5 years old, not 3! Many, many mini lines are very elegant and refined as foals, but tend to "grow down" as they mature. Not saying that they still aren't very, very pretty, just not exactly what you might expect. Of course the head style and heaviness of bone aren't going to change much except to grow, but the body style when mature might surprise you.

 

[Buckskin gal]

I agree with this! Another thing I have noticed is those dishy baby heads do not always stay dishy. Best to know what qualities the line produces and go from there. I have never been able to figure out how so many will advertise their babies as show quality but not really know how they will turn out....unless they have had years of experience in knowing what they produce. I think most of us know that even two champions don't always produce the same. I have seen chunky type foals turn into elegant 3 year olds and I have seen leggy foals coarsen. We had two foals this year and they are really opposites in typiness. One has legs that go forever and I would expect from his heritage that he will be a leggy adult and then we have the other one who looks very balanced, at this age. I think both are gorgeous but definitely different in thier looks. Wouldn't it be wonderful if we only knew what they all are going to mature out to look like!

: Mary

I believe that unless you are very familiar with what the sire & dam have produced - that it is very difficult to truly predict how a foal will look when mature - as in 5 years old, not 3! Many, many mini lines are very elegant and refined as foals, but tend to "grow down" as they mature. Not saying that they still aren't very, very pretty, just not exactly what you might expect. Of course the head style and heaviness of bone aren't going to change much except to grow, but the body style when mature might surprise you.

 

[Frizzle's Gal]

Thanks everybody!

 

[River1018]

We have had horses that are thick and bulky as a 2 months old that turn out so beautifully refined at 6 months and its happened the other way around too.

 

[Irish Hills Farm]

This is the colt Morgan is referring to. I own him and he is for sale.

This is him at 6-7 wks old.

I told Morgan I would reclip him today, he is about 11 wks old now. I'll repost pictures later this afternoon.

 

[Magic]

Ooo, he's very pretty!

I like to look at the parents to guesstimate what a foal will look like as an adult. Sheryl, is the dam of this colt the appy mare you have for sale? She is just gorgeous. Anyway, if you are buying, and don't have the luxury of being the breeder and knowing how the foals from that line mature like, I say look at the parents, and check to see if said foal has any full or half siblings you can see pictures of too. Buying a foal can be a gamble, but if you like his parents, your gamble may really pay off!

 

[Irish Hills Farm]

HI Lori,

Yep that colt is out of the appy mare I have for sale.

Cody is a grandson of Buckeroo on top, actually he is double bred Buckeroo through his sire. And he is a grandson of Love Me Tender and great-grandson of Orion Light Vant Huttenest on the bottom.

I don't have a picture of his sire. But her are pictures of Orion and Love Me Tender.

 

[MyBarakah]

Well....... I think it helps if the foal has full off spring so you can see some full or even 1/2 siblings.... that deffinately helps....

But I've seen a very tiny refined colt (saw the pictures of it at 3 months) and then at 5 months or so.... What a HUGE change that colt had made..... it's bone had really densed up (got allot more bone!)........

And I've seen some that look very refined and dainty then around 2-3 yrs old get course and bla.......

I think allot has to do with the bloodlines of the horses.........

 

[HGFarm]

I would say basicly, if you know what you are looking at, yes, the over all type stays the same, and that 'rule of thumb' is what we have used in the past. I have had the foals go through stages of being tubby and fat, but their 'body type' did not change, just the weight- then they slimmed back down.

Even with full sized horses, their heads change as they mature. The dish is always more pronounced on a foal. Arabian foals almost look deformed sometimes, the head is so extreme. That is just a baby thing with any breed. If you know horses, and how they mature, you can still get a good idea of what you will end up with.