Racehorses as foals

[Katewerk]

Having seen a baby pic of a well known, recently retired stallion with legs as crooked as a crow - one would think that broodmare owners would ask for foal photos as part of the decision making process.

The majority of foals are born crooked--there's a lot of leg on a foal to cram into a very small space. Many, if not most, straighten and self-correct as they grow and mature. Sometimes minimal intervention is used (hoof trimming, confinement to a paddock, etc) and obviously sometimes surgery is done. But one of the biggest knocks against surgical intervention is that it's often unnecessary since so many foals grow into better legs on their own. So in most cases, looking at foal pictures isn't going to show you anything beyond "cute".

Thanks for the perspective - makes some sense. If memory serves, in the photo I referenced the foal was wearing casts.

[TBird]

Having seen a baby pic of a well known, recently retired stallion with legs as crooked as a crow - one would think that broodmare owners would ask for foal photos as part of the decision making process.

The majority of foals are born crooked--there's a lot of leg on a foal to cram into a very small space. Many, if not most, straighten and self-correct as they grow and mature. Sometimes minimal intervention is used (hoof trimming, confinement to a paddock, etc) and obviously sometimes surgery is done. But one of the biggest knocks against surgical intervention is that it's often unnecessary since so many foals grow into better legs on their own. So in most cases, looking at foal pictures isn't going to show you anything beyond "cute".

Thanks for the perspective - makes some sense. If memory serves, in the photo I referenced the foal was wearing casts.

The cast you saw was most likely a splint. They're not used for crookedness, they're put on foals who have a joint (usually fetlock) that's contracted when they're born. The splint stretches the tendon that's too tight so that the foot will rest on the ground like it supposed to. Was it something like this? http://www.dynasplint.com/divisions/veterinary/equine/

[serenassong]

I was just going to mention that, sometimes it takes them a bit to get straight from being in the womb, especially if it's a large foal. Ribs can sometimes get broken during the birth process as well.

[serenassong]

I remember years ago seeing a picture of Schramsberg when he was first born- his legs looked awful- it was because he was contracted. You would swear by looking at that he would never make a racehorse, but was a stakes winner, and now a sire in Canada. His first foals were born this year, and they look fine. They grow out of a lot of things.

[Katewerk]

Thanks for the responses!

[BaroqueAgain1]

Love that photo of Secretariat...even at just three months old, he had 'that look' about him. I wonder if he ever went through an awkward stage?

[Ridan_Remembered]

Love that photo of Secretariat...even at just three months old, he had 'that look' about him. I wonder if he ever went through an awkward stage?

From everything written about him, I don't believe Secretariat ever did go through an awkward stage. The first time I personally saw him was when he broke his maiden at Aqueduct in 1972. He was already a stunningly beautiful colt then.

As mentioned elsewhere in this forum, I've always been partial to bright red chestnuts. Nine years before Secretariat came along, there was another beautiful chestnut two-year-old who burst on the scene. I don't think he ever went through an awkward stage either. He set or equaled three track records in only four starts before bowing a tendon whereupon he was retired from racing. His name was Raise a Native. I looked for a foal picture of him to post here, but couldn't find one.

[Private Thoughts]

A flashy chestnut I always was partial to was Majestic Prince. He was a record priced yearling but I have never seen a picture of him as a foal or yearling.

[Life At Zen]

Love that photo of Secretariat...even at just three months old, he had 'that look' about him. I wonder if he ever went through an awkward stage?

From everything written about him, I don't believe Secretariat ever did go through an awkward stage. The first time I personally saw him was when he broke his maiden at Aqueduct in 1972. He was already a stunningly beautiful colt then.

As mentioned elsewhere in this forum, I've always been partial to bright red chestnuts. Nine years before Secretariat came along, there was another beautiful chestnut two-year-old who burst on the scene. I don't think he ever went through an awkward stage either. He set or equaled three track records in only four starts before bowing a tendon whereupon he was retired from racing. His name was Raise a Native. I looked for a foal picture of him to post here, but couldn't find one.

My paint gelding has Raise A Native on his dam's side. By his son Raise Your Glass.

[Ridan_Remembered]

A flashy chestnut I always was partial to was Majestic Prince. He was a record priced yearling but I have never seen a picture of him as a foal or yearling.

Majestic Prince, of course, was from Raise a Native's second foal crop, and the Prince's dam was from a really excellent female family. I was 22 and still living at home in the NYC metro area at the time, so I went to see the Prince run in the Belmont Stakes. I was right up against the fence just past the finish line and saw Arts and Letters give the Prince his only defeat, much to my disappointment. Two things that have stuck in my mind all these years is first, the Prince was really sore and should never have run, and second, Arts and Letters seemed so thin to me at the time. His ribs were showing and, particularly in comparison to the Prince, A&L's chestnut coat seemed dull.

In retrospect, I realize A&L was one of those late-developing colts who didn't really start to put it together until the spring of 1969. He racked up quite a string of victories starting with the Belmont and wound up Champion 3-yr-old and Horse of the Year.

The next year, 1970, saw the birth of another beautiful chestnut colt who would be given the name Secretariat.