i was just thinking about my preemie and my orphan, and a thought occurred to me. Does the shock or trauma of the birth/loss of their dam affect their growth rate? I know preemies IRL generally grow slower, but what about the orphan? Unless you have a surrogate mare being bottle fed, would it affect it in a negative way or the opposite, the extra nutrients from formula and personal care make them thrive? Anyhow just a thought. Carole
Being premature affects their birth height (and, I think, their full-grown height as well), but they don’t grow any slower than normal.
Being orphaned has no effect on the foal.
Thanks I noticed my little early one was growing really slow I haven’t looked at her predicted height.
Her predicted height would be the genetic one, not necessarily what she’ll grow to if she’s premature. (Premature only “counts” if it’s > 3 weeks early, though. And bear in mind that that’s 3 weeks early from when the mare was supposed to foal, not necessarily her due date, as that can be incorrect.)
I’ll have to look she was early but not like some of the others this year I think it was 2-3 weeks from predicted date early
The due date can be off by up to 6 weeks in either direction (in extreme cases), so 2-3 weeks from the due date might still be non-premature.
Oh good thanks! 