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I shot the owner an email and asked. She's a busy lady right now though- its foaling season and a million other things. Maybe she'll get back to me!
If you have the due date they told you, it should be exactly 340 days previous that she was bred (unless they have breed the mare many times and are familiar with her gestation- some mare always go long or foal early) but the 'due date' is much less solid in horses than humans.
There is no way to tell in utero, past the first trimester when there is a small window where a skilled vet can tell by ultrasound, whether it's a colt or filly. Colts will cook about 3-4 days longer on average, but girls can just as easily come late so you never know.
Will this be your first foal to raise? If you don't have lots of experience working with young horses I really, really suggest finding a trainer or even an expereinced breeder who will come over once a week and work with you and your weanling together. Babies are such a handful (but so fun!) and you have a breed that is going to get very big, very fast and is known for being a more headstrong than most breeds- teaching him manners and setting rules now will be the best way to ensure success when he's under saddle.
lol. Friesians are renowned for being the least bullish and hot of all breeds, "the puppy dog of the equine world" to turn a popular phrase. I blame it on the intense inbreeding required to create the breed standard in the beginning. Unless of course you're breeding something out of Tsjerk who happens to pass on his headstrongness to his offspring- i am certain if it werent for his style and looks they'd have revoked his breeding rights because of his poor temper found in his foals. And technically the average height for the breed standard is under 16 hands, and for many years anything nearing 17 was frowned upon by FPS. my foal is out of smallish sport style stock- probably wont make it past 15.2-.3, unless it pulls some ancient genes from its pocket. It'd be terrific if it were more baroque by some mystical chance of fate though... i wonder what the chances of that are. lol.
I've been working with horses these twenty years now, taking lessons off and on when not working at barns or caring for others animals. More recently working on training using natural horsemanship approaches. Never had one of my own though, let alone a foal. My husbands uncle is a breeder/trainer, plus my own trainer that i was working with... all within my reach. I wish more of the Nat. trainers did more in this corner of the country.
Iam thinking of shipping baby off for real training later in life, in four years or so, to a frisian farm to learn basic riding and driving skills. I'll do the ground work as far as I am able and then pay someone from there. Contrary to popular horse-person belief you dont have to hatch from a magical egg in order to have had grace bestow upon you the privileged ability to work with horses. Just need love for the species, common sense, intelligence and consistency.
Much to the chagrin of many I plan on ruining the foal anyway- we're training for western instead of english *the breeders gasp!*. Those european friesian forefathers are turning in their big ol equine graves. lol!!
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They wean a lot earlier than I'd prefer. At 4 months. Such a slow developing breed- I'd rather leave it on the dam until 6 months honestly. But oh well, it seems to be the industry norm in the area. You can bet I am not doing it that way though when its my mares and foals.
The very end of september, or the very first days of October is when baby comes home.
You know, the only foals I've found video for out of Anne have been fillies. I wonder if his male sperm is just really exceptionally slow. When I think about it I dont remember seeing more than 1-2 colts out of him while sluething around.
Either way I am STOKED. boy or girl. Its just fun to guess... hehe.
