What Is A Baby Horse Called?

I was having a discussion with some friends the other day about the names of baby animals, and one that came around that we couldn’t agree on was horse.

My friend was insisting a baby horse was called a pony, when I knew that was just a smaller horse. I couldn’t get through to him, though, and I certainly couldn’t remember what a baby horse was called to prove him wrong.

So, when I had the chance, I looked into it straight away.

So, what is a baby horse called?

A baby horse is called a foal. The word foal actually applies to a couple of different ruminant animals, although it is most commonly used for horses. The term ‘colt’ is also used exclusively to describe young male horses. There are also different names at different stages.

So, the simple answer is that a baby horse is called a foal.

As it gets a bit older it will be called other things when still in infancy, and the word ‘colt’ is also used to describe young male horses, although in their absolute infancy they would be a foal as well.

So, let’s look at the question in more detail.

Is a pony a baby horse?

No, is the simple answer.

A pony is just any horse that stands less than 14.2 hands tall. It has nothing to do with how old the horse is and everything to do with how tall it is.

That is the only metric for deciding what is a pony.

A foal is the universal name for any baby horse in the earliest stages of infancy after birth.

There are other terms to get used to, but any baby horse is a foal.

It is not a pony.

When the horse is between 1-2 years old, it is called a yearling—i.e., one year old.

Again, this is the same across both sexes.

So, an new born horse is a foal and when it reaches a year old it’s called a yearling.

So, you may have also heard the term ‘colt’, and this one is a bit more complicated still, so let’s have a look at that.

Is a colt a baby horse?

A baby horse may be a colt, but the word colt is not meant to describe a baby horse.

First of all, all colts are male.

Colt doesn’t just describe age, but sex.

Females are not colts, regardless of age, and all baby horses are not colts.

The word colt describes any male horse under four years old.

These terms are often used in racing, again as very subtle differences can be made by age and sex.

Knowing what those differences are is really important to breeding good horses.

When a colt reaches adulthood, it becomes a stallion.

Stallion, again, is a sex specific term and only applies to adult male horses.

A gelding, finally, is a male horse that has been castrated; not to be confused with any of the other names.

Another term you may have heard is ‘filly’.

If colt describes a male horse at a young age, then I think you can probably guess what a filly is.

What is a filly?

Filly is essentially the female counterpart of the term colt.

A filly is a female horse under the age of four (or thereabouts).

Again, these distinctions are really important for a lot of reasons, not just racing.

Horse racing around the world is usually mixed sex, and horses of both sex are always used in horse racing even if those races are split by sex.

Fillies are just as important as colts to racing, then.

When a filly reaches maturity, she is then called a mare.

What is a yearling?

Yearling is a non-specific term, and does not refer to either sex but to both.

As I mentioned, a yearling is just any horse that is between 1 and 2 years old.

This is often when horses are at their racing prime, and many races are set in the yearling category.

Yearling is a common term for animal infants, since it’s meaning is usually pretty clear.

Again, these distinctions are really important in breeding horses since you need to know when a horse is at its prime.

What is a foal’s mother called?

The final thing you might be wondering about is if there is a special name for a foal’s mother.

So, as we’ve established, the universal term for baby horse is foal.

When a mare gives birth to a foal, she becomes that foal’s dam.

A mother horse is called a dam, then.

Not before she gives birth but only after is a female horse called a dam, and even then, you’re likely to only refer to her this way for as long as she is rearing the foal.

So, there are a few different terms, as for horse breeders, it’s really important to be able to make subtle distinctions between different types of juvenile horse.

For racing in particular, a horse may only race for the first few early years of its life, making those years really crucial.

This is a large part of the reason why horses have multiple different names for their offspring, and horses at different stages of life.