Foaling season is here

Your chance to ask me a burning question, and a free gift.

Well, breeding season has arrived in the Southern Hemisphere.

Here we are very busy with the usual routines of a stud - foaling and serving mares - my favorite time of the year, and each year I believe the foals are better than the year before! (Even some repeat matings seem to be giving better results than previous years - how does that happen?)

It’s what one always hopes for when pouring study and effort into planning matings. As they say, breed the best to the best and hope for the best. - I think it was that master breeder Fredrico Tesio who said this.

Readers have been very forthcoming in saying how much they love The Thinking Horse Breeder.

Some have said that they would like to know more about foaling. What questions would you like answered here, perhaps that are not in the book?

Do you have a question about any topic which is not there - genetics, foaling, common diseases, pedigrees, conformation, handling visiting mares, training foals, philosophy or psychology of breeding? What discussion would you like to see? Maybe you disagree with something I said?

You name it, and I will endeavour to answer it. Just send your question or topic to me by reply email and I will post it here (anonymously) with my take on the answer. I am also happy to answer general questions on our Facebook page: The Thinking Horse Breeder, which is interactive and more of a discussion page. You can like the Facebook page by clicking here:

Boys will be boys - hurdy-gurdies!

This lovely montage was taken by Teresa Thomson Jack of last year’s foals at Chalani. It is hard to believe how much they have grown in a year.

Foals are most definitely time-wasters.

But can you think of a better way to relax?

What has been happening at your end, foaling wise?

Wishing you all a safe and wonderful foaling season.

DID YOU KNOW?

When a foal is born, it has rubbery “leaves” attached to the underside of its hooves.

These are called “capsules.” They wear off quickly, usually inside 4 hours. They are a protective mechanism for the mare while the baby is in utero.

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