Stages of Equine Pregnancy for a 2nd Grader

A female horse (called a mare) carries her baby (called a foal) for an average of 11 months. The owner of the mare may not even know she is pregnant for many months, but all the while the foal is developing and going through many different stages until the mare gives birth.

  1. The First Two Months

    • The foal begins as a group of cells called an embryo. By three weeks the embryo is about an inch long and has visible (if you could see inside the mare) blood vessels and a heart. After a month you would be able to see tiny legs, ears and eyelids on the two-inch foal that would now be called a fetus. By the end of the second month the fetus is a little bigger and has clear features of a horse head, tail and even hooves.

    Months Three Through Five

    • By the third month the fetus, now about the size of a guinea pig, rests in the mare's uterus or womb (the organ in which the fetus grows) like a tiny horse sleeping on its back. If you could see inside the mare you would be able to tell if the foal was going to be a male (colt) or a female (filly). The fetus continues to grow and its features become better developed. By the fifth month of the mare's pregnancy the fetus is growing eyelashes and is about the size of a cat.

    Months Six Through Eight

    • The little foal is gaining weight fast, doubling its weight every couple of weeks. The fetus now has a short mane and hair is growing on its tail. By the end of the eighth month the fetus will be about as big as a lamb.

    Months Nine Through Eleven

    • At the ninth month the fetus looks just like a tiny foal. It has hair on its body, well-developed hooves and a mane and tail. It continues to put on weight. In the last weeks before birth the fetus' lungs become strong enough to breathe air, the muscles are ready to support the horse when it stands and the hair on its body has become thicker. The foal will stand and begin nursing very soon after being born.