Beau, TWH newborn colt, weighing in at 40 lbs.
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Foals of light horse breeds, at birth, weigh about 8-10 % of their mature body weight. That weight should double in the first three to four months. At the withers, a foal will be 60% of its mature height at birth. In contrast, mature height at the hock is reached by six months of age.
There is new evidence that suggests that the weight of the placenta correlates to the condition of the mares reproductive tract and also correlates to the health of the foal. The normal placental weight in light horses is 10 to 13 pounds.
A normal afterbirth should weigh about 11 percent of the foal's birth weight (about 10 to 14 pounds for most riding horse breeds, less for ponies). A heavy placenta (around 20 pounds) or one that is bloody in appearance could mean an infection.
With the total placental weight being approximately eleven percent of the foal's weight, you can estimate the foal's weight with that figure. An expert eye may be able to eye-ball whether the foal is underweight.
Most foals at birth weight about 8.5 to 10 percent of the mare's weight. A 1,200-pound broodmare may have a foal weighing 100-125 pounds; ponies being somewhat less, 70 to 85 lbs.
A foal achieves up to 45%-50% of its mature weight and 70+% of its mature height at 6 months of age.
Input from pony breeders:
"I approximate based on a 50 pound bag of grain and an 80 pound bag of quick crete. The filly I had that was born on Monday is less than a bag of grain, but not much. I feel she weighs about 40-45 pounds. Both parents are 13.0, give or take."
"Our pony foals weigh in around 80 lbs but then usually they are out of large ponies by our stallions. In comparison our WB foals have been weighing in in the 130lb to 145lb range...monsters compared to the ponies!"
