Maybe not everyone has seen a few minutes old foal but this video will perfectly show how the process of standing up looks.
When a foal is born and it is healthy, they are capable of standing up and walking in some way in a period of about 2 hours since being born. Compared to humans, when it takes at least a few months for a baby to sit propely this fact is truly amazing! Horses being (predator synonym) in the wild they need to be able to move on their own for survival.
The baby foal tries to stand up but his right front leg is left bent and he nearly falls down his face. The poor little thing looks confused but there comes the mare supportive her newborn. She is very affectionate towards him and starts licking his back.
That comforts the foal so he starts trying again. Left leg forawrd but the right one is stuck under his body so he goes down again. The mare continues her cleaning process on the foal’s neck and then the ears. The looks on the baby’s face shows that he is feeling really comfortable with the touch of his mom.
After a while, the foals also starts responding to his dam with touch. He gets closer to his mother with his face so she washes his face a little bit too. After a few more tries, the foal looks like he is a bit exhausted and lays on the ground by streching his neck down. At the end, hislegs seem to get into the right position so it probably didn’t take long for him to stand up later.
How is the mare a friesian if the foal is not?
This little baby’s mom – the dam – is not a horse of the Friesian breed but his dad – sire – is. For this reason the foal is a registered Friesian Sport Horse.
