Foal Height
One thing we monitor with a foal is the height. For this we introduce them early on to the measuring stick, and we also use a weight tape to estimate their weight.
Foal Height at 4 Weeks
Bravio and Bodega are two of our 2011 Pure Spanish Foals, born within a few days of one another.
- Bodega is taller - 1.13m against Bravio's 1.09m.
- Bravio is heavier - about 95kg, with Bodega at 85kg. He has always been the stockier,
with solid substance and bone. VERY Invasor!
Foal Height at 8 Weeks
At 8 weeks both now stand at 116cm - a growth of 3cm for Bodega and a spurt of 7cm for Bravio!
Spurt: A sudden short burst, as of energy, activity, or growth.
Sub to that:
Bravio is solid, strong & very nicely built. Bodega is elegant and proportionate, gaining weight nicely.
Bodega’s milk feeds are being reduced. Bravio continues to have Mama on demand.
They are both eating more and more grain and hay. We managed to get some bales of teff which they both approve of, and they are grazing enthusiastically.
And they are both avid gallopers - in the fields, the arena, and in the yard whenever they can find a chance.
Which brings us to:
The Spurt of Bodega
The shower area is a long wide concrete slab, running alongside the barn wall. It was built by cutting into a gentle slope. The top end of the area is defined by a wall that stands 1,10m high, up from the concrete base. The top of this wall is then level with the ongoing slope - like an embankment.
Yesterday A. was outside when Bodega came galloping around the corner.
She knows the shower area - it is where The Two engage in some of their play-work, and where they - you guessed it - have showers.
She headed straight up the concrete - and jumped the wall to land on the upper slope!!! 1,10m, just 6cm less than she measures, with perfect placement and not a pause.
Foal Height at 12 Weeks
Bodega’s favorite go-place is still the Big Barn. It is cool, and has all that lovely smelling hay and alfalfa. Quiet determination and consistency show that even a little foal mouth can make inroads on the tightly packed bales.
The harvest has now pretty much been brought in, and there are a lot of bales stacked in there. More choice, but less space, and more need to navigate carefully.
She doesn’t realise herself how big she is getting. She still thinks she can fit through the same passageways she played in a month ago, and then finds herself much in the same situation as a tourist driving blithely up the narrow old streets of Arcos.
So inviting as you start up the slopes, then suddenly you realise that the buildings on the sides have slowly been closing in on you like something in a horror movie. There is no turning around, and the only way out is blindly on, or blindly reverse.
Bodega has got herself one-way-dead-ended more than once. She is AMAZING in that she simply doesn’t get hassled. She either stands and thinks for a moment, then correctly reverses; or she simply stands and patiently waits for someone to come and get her out. Of course it helps that she has take-aways on hand.
follow Bodega and Bravio in their Blogs listed in the right hand menu
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