Birth of Icelandic foals
The mare often gives birth during the night when she thinks that no one is watching. Even though the cute little foals are playful and run and jump around they always stay close to their mother. They usually breastfeed on average once per hour until they are about 9- 11 months old if they are not weaned from feeding earlier.
When can you see Tölt in Icelandic horses
The foals are usually very playful and run around all day. You can see early on, within the first year the special gait Tölt and Skeið (flying pace) when they run around and play. Not all foals show these gaits but those horses who do are easier to train for Tölt (when training starts) than other horses that don´t show Tölt when they are foals. It takes a bit more effort to train other horses for Tölt if they don´t show it within the first year. The foals are considered youngsters when they reach one year old and the first training starts when the horses are about 4 winters old. All Icelandic horses can be trained for Tölt!
The color change of foals
The Icelandic horse is known for its many and unique colors. The foals usually change colors when they are about 3-4 months old and can look totally different when they grow up.
