"Nose to Nose" by Gerry Machen;
used with permission under CC BY 2.0
Once a male and a female have mated, it takes about 11-12 months of pregnancy before the baby horse (or, the foal) is born.
A baby horse less than a year old is called a foal. A yearling is a baby horse between one and two years old. Many yearlings are often mistaken as foals, but don't worry, no one should be too upset if you make this mistake! Baby animals are cute, regardless. And so are you!
"Mare and Foal" by Brian Evans;
used with permission under CC BY 2.0
A horse is what is known as a precocial animal. Being precocial means that once foals are born, they can immediately run around. Imagine if human babies could do that...
"Foal" by Feliz;
used with permission under CC BY 2.0
Young horses grow to full maturity at around five or six years old! Once there, they can begin mating and continuing that cycle of life.
Geldings, as mentioned before, cannot have baby horses. This is because, when kept by humans, certain males do not behave the way they are expected to. These horses are defined as aggressive and their behaviour "too masculine." The name comes from the verb to geld which literally just means to castrate.
