New Foal Submission Guidelines
The Onaqui Catalogue Foundation (OCF) aims to document foal births at the earliest opportunity while ensuring the mare-foal bond remains undisturbed. Thank you for playing a crucial role in this effort; we sincerely appreciate your contributions.
What you need to know
Safety and Distance
Your safety is the top priority, and it’s also important to ensure that your presence does not disrupt the foal or alter natural behaviors. Please take photographs/video from a distance of at least 300 feet to minimize disturbance. (This is the length of ~4 semi trucks or the length between goal lines of a football field).
If the horses become agitated or change their behavior due to your presence, increase your distance until their behavior returns to a neutral state. Signs horses are being affected include horses approaching you, lifting their heads, gathering in a tighter group, or moving away.
Foal records help OCF track key information of the herd, including:
- Birth dates
- Dams (mothers of foals)
- Any abnormalities present at birth
- Likely genetic color of the foal
- Behavior of the band and bachelor horses around the foal
What information to document in the field
Essential information:
- A large context shot (photo or video) showing other horses near the dam and foal
- Photos or video of the foal nursing
- A photo of the dam (if not clear from the nursing photo)
Additional valuable information:
- Location of the foal (GPS preferred)
- Sex of the foal. To determine this, please see our guide.
- Information about the foal’s behavior is important. Is it walking with the dam? Is it nursing? Is it mostly lying down? Video is especially useful for capturing these behaviors.
- Observe the behavior of other horses toward the foal, as well as their interactions with each other near the foal. Video is particularly useful for capturing these behaviors.
