Late nights rounds of checking pregnant horses, helping mothers through the birthing process and raising baby foals. These are just a few of the roles of students who take equine focused classes in the University of Connecticut’s Animal Science Department during the spring.
This spring is no different, as eight foals are expected to be born, with the first one due March 8. Students are largely involved in the process of breeding, birthing and raising these horses, according to Horse Unit Supervisor Lisa Nulton.
“Our first foal due is March 8, so we’re in the last month, and then we have several due the end of March and April. So, the students have started tracking the mares’ progress and they handle them three times a week,” said Nulton.
Five of the foals to be born will be a Morgan horse breed. Nulton explained that UConn has a long history with the breed, having first received them from the state government in the 1930’s. Two of these five foals are “embryo transfer babies” and therefore are not being carried by their genetic moms, according to Nulton.
As for the other three horses, two of the foals will be a Quarter horse breed and the other will be a Dutch warmblood breed.
These horses were bred last spring in the breed farm classes that the department offers. These classes allow students to learn the “general breeding anatomy and physiology of a breeding mare, management of her before any baby is involved, and just getting them pregnant,” according to Nulton.
Along with overseeing all of the horses at UConn, Nulton is an academic assistant in the Animal Science Department and teaches many classes related to the care and breeding of young horses. She teaches the mare and foal classes, horse training classes and a rehab program for the horses.
Currently, Nulton is teaching a mare and foal class in which students are assigned one of the eight pregnant mares to take care of and study throughout her pregnancy and after. The students will also help birth and take care of the foal.
“They take care of the mare in full until the end of the semester, they learn everything from anatomy and physiology associated with that process to the basic handling, management and training of those horses,” said Nulton
Really, it takes so much hard work to do it right
Lisa Nulton, Horse Unit Supervisor,and to work in this industry. And a lot of these students want to go out and be part of the horse industry.
Throughout the semester, students will handle the horse three times a week. Nulton explained that students will study the mare’s mammary gland development, the shape of their belly, if the baby has dropped and use milk calcium testing to determine when the horse will give birth. The students will also take class time to have discussions about what they have observed.
Once students have determined the time frame that the horse will give birth, they will start “foal watching” in which they stay overnight with the horses, according to Nulton.
“They’re there overnight, and they take shifts of who’s sleeping and who’s awake, and they give me a call when the mother’s water breaks. We come down, and we manage that entire folding process, and hopefully mom can do it herself, but we’re just there in case we need to intervene if there’s a complication,” said Nulton.
After the baby is born, the students will take care of the foal and finish the semester by handling them and teaching them how to be horses that have lives around students, according to Nulton.
Once the semester ends, Nulton said the foals get to relax and be baby horses.
“We let them be babies for the summer. We turn them out with their moms. We still handle them twice a day, but we let them just be in a field with them,” said Nulton.
The fall semester allows for students to then train them on manners as the horses grow, Nulton explained. Once the horses reach 2 or 3 years old, they then will be sold to people and farms around the country. This allows students to learn how to manage and sell horses as well.
“We’ve had horses just in the last two online sales go to Montana. We also sell horses to Pennsylvania and New Jersey, so they kind of just go all over the place. On the rare occasion, we’ll keep one here or there, and then they’ll get raised in our riding program, and then we’ll use their genetics back in the breeding program,” said Nulton.
Nulton hopes that through this program, the University is preparing students for the hard work that goes into working with horses.
“Really, it takes so much hard work to do it right, and to work in this industry. And a lot of these students want to go out and be part of the horse industry. And to do that, they need to learn how much work ethic is required, to be humble and take advice from other people. The more you’re willing to learn, the more successful you’ll be,” Nulton said.
More information on the baby foals or classes offered by the animal science department can be found on the Department of Animal Science website.