sire Terminology. The male parent of a horse, a stallion, is commonly known as the sire and the female parent, the mare, is called the dam. Both are genetically important, as each parent provides half of the genetic makeup of the ensuing offspring, called a foal.
What is the mother and father of a horse called?
Sire and dam are the two most common terms people use when discussing a horse’s pedigree. A sire and dam refer to a horse’s parents. Just as you refer to your parents as mom and dad, a horse’s parents are referred to as a dam and sire.
What is a female horse called Baby?
Foals Foals can be either male, also called a colt, or female, also called a filly. When a mare, or adult female horse, has a baby, you can say she foals. The Old English root word, fola, means foal or colt.
What is a father horse called?
Sire: The father of a horse. A horse becomes a sire after one of his offspring wins a race at a recognized racetrack. Spell: When a horse has been given a break from racing and been freshened up. Stallion: A male horse that has not been gelded (castrated).
What is a foal’s mother?
dam A foal’s mother is called its dam. And, a foal’s grandmother on either side could be called its granddam. But, to specify the dam’s male parent, the word damsire is used.
Can male horses get pregnant?
A stallion’s role is to make mares pregnant. … But when do they stop producing sperm and are no longer capable of getting a mare pregnant? A stallion can breed until he is 30, but it’s not likely. Each horse stops making sperm at different ages, and older stallions produce less sperm than younger ones.
What’s a broodmare?
Definition of broodmare : a mare kept for breeding.
What is a damsire?
Also known as the damsire the sire of the dam of a horse, or maternal grandsire. BY. A horse is ‘by’ a certain sire this term is never used for the dam.
What are colts and fillies called?
Colt A colt is a male horse aged under five years, which hasn’t been gelded (see gelding below). These horses generally compete on the flat and the best of them will be used for breeding after their racing career. Filly A female horse aged four years or younger is known as a filly.
What is baby of donkey called?
Donkey definitions Foal: A foal is a baby male or female donkey up to one year old. Gelding: A castrated male donkey. Mare: A female donkey.
What are fillies and mares?
A filly is a female horse that is too young to be called a mare. There are two specific definitions in use: In most cases, a filly is a female horse under four years old. In some nations, such as the United Kingdom and the United States, the world of horse racing sets the cutoff age for fillies as five.
What is a pony vs horse?
The main distinction between ponies and horses is height. A horse is usually considered to be an equine that’s at least 14.2 hands (or about four feet ten inches) tall. A pony, on the other hand (pun totally intended!), is an equine less than 14.2 hands.
What does gelding mean in horses?
castrated A gelding is a castrated male horse, donkey, or mule. Unless a horse is to be used for breeding purposes, it should be castrated. Gelding can make horses more even-tempered and easier to handle. A stallion who is gelded later in life may retain more aggressive stallion-like behavior.
What is a sound of horse?
neigh The sound that a horse makes is called a neigh. A horse’s happy neigh is sometimes a greeting to other horses. You can use neigh to talk about the noise your horse makes, also known as a whinny or a bray.
Can a yearling filly get pregnant?
Puberty for fillies will occur between 10 and 24 months of age, with the average being about 18 months. Under open-range conditions, it is rare for yearling fillies, or even for 2-year-olds, to become pregnant. Just 0.9% of free-ranging mares foal when they are 2 years old, and 13.5% foal as 3-year-olds.
What is a fawn’s mother called?
doe Many times, the fawn’s mother (called a doe) is not in the immediate area, and people assume that the fawn is abandoned, orphaned, or lost. Frequently, their good intentions lead them to pick up the fawn and carry it home.
Can a horse have twins?
Rare Case All Around In horses, twin fetuses are uncommon. Carrying them to term is even more unusual, and birthing healthy twin foals is especially unlikely. Twin pregnancies are extremely undesirable in horses, as they almost always have a bad outcome, said Dr.
Can horses abort their babies?
About 10% of equine pregnancies (after a positive 6-week pregnancy test) end in abortion. Most are due to non-infectious causes but a significant number are caused by viral or bacterial infections, some of which may be contagious.
What is a bolt hole house?
Definition of bolt-hole chiefly British. : a place of escape or refuge.
Can broodmares be ridden?
Fit mares, especially those that continued to be ridden throughout the early and middle months of gestation, will be ready to return to work much sooner than obese, out-of-shape mares or career broodmares that have not been ridden in many years.
What are maiden mares?
A mare that has never had a foal before is called a maiden mare. Just like women, a mare is more fertile in her younger years. … The goal is to make sure the mare is healthy enough to carry a foal to term.
What is the female version of sire?
dame The words sire and sir, as well as the French (mon)sieur and the Spanish seor, share a common etymological origin, all ultimately being related to the Latin senior. The female equivalent form of address is dame or dam.
What does DAM mean in horse racing terms?
dam: The female parent of a foal: the foal’s Mother. dam’s sire (broodmare sire): The sire of a broodmare. Used in reference to the maternal grandsire of a foal.
What is a covering sire?
Among the most-watched statistics at the Keeneland November breeding stock sale is that of leading covering sires, which are those stallions represented by mares sold in-foal from their matings earlier this year.
Which gender is a foal?
A foal is an equine up to one year old; this term is used mainly for horses, but can be used for donkeys. More specific terms are colt for a male foal and filly for a female foal, and are used until the horse is three or four. When the foal is nursing from its dam (mother), it may also be called a suckling.
What is horse female?
male horse is called a stallion, the female a mare. A stallion used for breeding is known as a stud.
What gender is a gelding horse?
A gelding is a castrated male horse or other equine, such as a pony, donkey or a mule.
