Raising a foal comes with tons of fun and excitement, but it also comes with just as much (if not more) stress, confusion, doubt, puzzle solving and maybe even some tears. They’re a whole new ball game, one that even the most experienced horse owner doesn’t yet understand what they’re getting into for the first time. There are plenty of subjects to touch on that could fall into this description, but the one I want to talk about right now is the growing pains that YOU (yes, you.. not your horse) will go through.

The first five years of your horses life brings about so much growing and change it’s easy to miss if you’re not paying attention. You might look at a perfectly balanced weanling one day, and the next morning you have some gangly, butt high creature. Your cute adorable foal will randomly transform into a lanky string bean yearling before you know it. Then, they’ll blossom into a nicely filled out two year old. You might jump for joy that your gazelle grew back into an actual horse, but oh wait… OOPS, butt high again.

Besides providing proper nutrition, as much turn out as possible, and a healthy amount of exercise for your growing horses age.. there isn’t much you can do for them. Giving your horse time to grow and mature is the most helpful you can be… even if those gazelles are hard to look at. We as equestrians like to be in control! This is one of those annoying things we have to let go of and just enjoy, and trust me, the time will fly and they’ll grow fast! So do not rush through the adorable baby years. Just take lots of pictures!

Jasper

I thought I would share with you some photos from my horses awkward growing stages. This winter I’ve spent quite some time staring at Jasper’s previous spring pictures where he was a perfect little nugget. Not the hairy, chunky, butt high horse he currently is…

So here is the evolution of Jasper’s conformation shots over the past year and a half:

September 2016 – New born Jasper! One of my favorite things about him as a new born is how straight his legs are for the most part. I’ve seen some wonky legged foals, which is not unusual, but he had already straightened out pretty nicely after a couple of days. His neck is a little short, and ears a little large.. but he can grow into both of those things and they’re not anything I terribly mind.

November 2016 – 2 months old What a tiny fluff! It’s funny to look back and see how big Jasper’s ears actually were because I remember thinking how cute and tiny they were at the time! Still looking very good though, stands nicely square naturally. His head and neck look more proportionate but I think that’s just the angle of the photo honestly. Please also note mama Jewel photobombing us.. can you see where Jasper gets it from?

March 2017 – 6 months old Legs are looking shorter now because of all of that hair. He was actually at a great weight here even though he looks extra thick but he had at least 3 inches of hair. looks a little butt high but its actually just fuzz.

April 2017 – 7 months old First time clipped! 1 week after the previous picture, what a difference a hair cut makes! See how much longer his legs appear now. His neck looks longer too, it’s stretched out in this one of course.. but over all he has a much more slender appearance. Great condition for him age. You don’t want them too fat or too thin, should be able to feel ribs.. He could have even stood to lose a couple of pounds but I was very happy with this.

July 2017 – 10 months old One of my favorite photos. Even though he is not filled out yet, this was a perfect weight! Seriously wish we could go back to this some days. The only thing is his head is still a little big, so hopefully this spring he will have grown into it better.

August 2017 – 11 months old Starting to fill out! Beginning to look overall thicker.

December 2017 – 15 months old Much fuzzier, but filling out even more! He’s also starting to gain more weight, which is not intentional. The pasture he goes out in right now is so full of sugar he’s been blowing up on it. It’s the only place for him to go out though and I’d rather him be a little chunkier than inside and unhappy so I don’t mind.

February 2018 – 17 months old Surprisingly Jasper is truly butt high for the first time! Just compare it to the December picture, his hind is obviously higher after only 2 months. I was really hoping he would not get any taller but looks like that is not going to be the case. Comparing this picture to the ones from April or July is pretty significant. You can see how much thicker his neck and chest are now. He is a little out of shape here, but I’m confident after losing a few pounds, building up some muscle, and a fresh hair cut he will look great in a few months!

Wallace

Now onto the read head. Wallace’s progress pictures are a little more significant to me, possibly because they are spaced out more, but he also started out much different than Jasper.

May 2017 – New born Wallace! Cute little petite body with long legs to match. His legs are a little wonky, but totally normal and not bad at all for a new born! His head does look a little awkward but it’s just the angle of the photo.

July 2017 – 2 months old Where is that butt going?! This boy has some legs! You can see how much they have straightened out from the previous picture and are now underneath of his body much neater. Comparing this to Jasper’s 2 month picture is significant! We can see Wallace has lots of growing to do. They also look very different because Jasper was born so late that he already had winter coat at this age where Wallace has a spring coat and looks much more slender.

December 2017 – 7 months old Wallace is much more even here. He still looks slightly butt high, but the fuzz can be deceiving and he has A LOT of it! In Jasper’s 7 month picture he was freshly clipped, It’s too cold here now to clip Wallace but if I had, I am confident he would look extremely more slender and not so much more filled out than he appears here.

February 2018 – 9 months old Much more proportionate! He is in a little bit of an awkward stage right now, if you were to put hands on him you could feel he’s much lankier than he looks without all of the fuzz. But hes much more even now, and growing in all of the right places it seems! His neck is getting longer, but desperately needs to fill out, its very thin! He is on a great diet, so this will come with time. I cannot wait to clip that fuzz and see what is under there!

Another picture from today shows how much hair he really has. The purple arrow shows a spot he has rubbed his butt and is now bare there. The green arrow shows how much higher the hair makes his butt look! He has a good 2-3 inches of hair. This is why it’s so important to feel your horse when judging them, always take note what is under that winter coat! Same goes for his neck, it looks nice and thick in this picture, but if you were to feel him you would notice he really has a stringy, undefined neck (which is ok because he is only 9 months old). You can feel some ribs on him, which you would never know unless you felt for them.

Once Wallace gets clipped. you won’t recognize him!

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I love being able to go back and see them grow through pictures. This shows so nicely how much they change over the first couple of years. I’m really excited to see how both boys continue to progress. They have different body styles so its very interesting to me to see them side by side as well. For instance, many people think Wallace is taller than Jasper when really Jasper is a half inch taller! This is because Wallace carries himself much higher than Jasper. Jasper can usually be found with him head touching the floor while Wallace always looks like he’s on high alert. Wallace also has longer legs which makes him look taller. I do believe he will out grow Jasper, but for now he’s still the little brother!

I’d love to see your growing babies progress pictures! Please share on Instagram with #SMeqgrowingpain and/or tag @theponybunch!