Foal Behavior Explained

You may have noticed that when a foal goes nose to nose with another horse that it may chomp at the mouth. This behavior is merely a submissive behavior by the foal. You may also notice that some adult horses will show the behavior as well. There is nothing to be worried about as this is a natural behavior that is shown by a submissive animal in the wild.

Let’s go back to where everything began. When a foal is first born, this is an aw inspiring event not only for the mare but for the people who are there to witness this wonderful event. Second after the foal is born, the mare immediately begins to smell and lick her foal. The mare will also stimulate the foal to try and stand. In the wild, a foal must learn to stand and move quickly to get away from predators.

From the birthing on, the mare and foal develop a close knit bond. Whenever the mare is taken anywhere, the foal will follow close behind. If a mare and her foal are in a pasture with other mares and foals, each mare knows her own foal. Mares will not let any other foal nurse from them, only their foal will be able to take part in nursing. Until the foal is weened (taken away from) from it’s mother, that foal and mare will stay side by side.