ASKHQ: SIZING FOALS

Q: How can I tell how big my foal will be when he is an adult?

Asked by Tamryn Moolman

A: In essence you can’t. There are a variety of methods that certain people swear by, but unfortunately none of these is entirely reliable. The reason that none of these formulas can be relied upon is because there are multiple variables involved in ultimate foal size. These variables include factors such as genetics, nutrition, climate and health, among others. Genetics consistently plays the role of all of these variables, but estimating adult height by looking at the parents still requires a lot of guess work.

As an aside, one thing that will not increase the size of your foal is to overfeed him. Overfeeding can have a hugely negative impact on joints and bone growth. Similarly, starving a foal will not necessarily lead to a smaller adult horse, and a foal who grows up without adequate nutrition will be compromised in his growth and development, and may suffer the ill effects of this deprivation for the rest of his life.

Essentially, you’ll just have to wait and see!