Re: RC: New Foals in Cold Weather

[CMKSAGEHIL@aol.com]

In a message dated 12/30/99 12:37:15 PM Pacific Standard Time, 
spencer@inu.net writes:

<< Have never had foal in winter.  How much cold can the foal take?  Here in 
Tx we rarely go below 20.  But I have always planned for spring/summer foals 
so don't have to worry about the cold.  I won't be turning out if it is cold 
and wet but what about just cold???  We are having a fantastic winter.. highs 
in 60's to 70 and lows in the 30's with some frost-but frost is gone by 9am.  
Any advice would be appreciated!!  The mare was NOT supposed to breed in the 
first place!! (stallion went through pond at the height of the drought!). She 
is lovely mare and belongs to my 12yo.  Baby has nice blood 
lines-Bask-Muscat-Al-Marah.  Happy New Year to all.   Mary Ann Spencer >>

Mary Ann, winter foals tend to be born with enough hair to match their 
environment.  The biggest risk time is birth and right after, when they are 
wet and can easily chill.  The next consideration is the fact that they don't 
have the reserves of a larger adult, so they have to be getting plenty of 
calories.  But once they are dry, and up and going, they do just fine in the 
cold if they are getting plenty to eat.  Best way to ensure that is to make 
sure mom is getting plenty to eat.  Except for the most severe sub-zero or 
blizzard conditions, they are quite happy and healthy out in the weather as 
long as they can stay dry.  If you have chilly rains, be sure to have a 
run-in shed.

We had a baby born Oct. 26, 1998--a last-ditch effort to get a final baby by 
a wonderful old straight Kellogg stallion who was dying of cancer (and, 
indeed, passed away only 4 months after he bred her mother).  She was born at 
dawn on a sub-freezing morning, and went right from there into winter at a 
tender young age.   (And it was bad enough here last year that the ski runs 
were all open by Thanksgiving!)  She spent the entire winter out of doors, 
and never once seemed put off by it.  She was born woolly, and spent the 
winter all fluffed up and looking for all intents and purposes like a 
raccoon, with her baby hair shed around her eyes showing her darker color 
underneath.  She has already nearly caught up with her counterparts that were 
born in April, May, and June of the same year.

I really wouldn't be too worried about a winter baby in Texas, if birth is 
normal and the foal is healthy.

Heidi  


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